Home > categories > Construction & Real Estate > Tile > Water damage on ceiling tile?
Question:

Water damage on ceiling tile?

I have water damage on a ceiling tile in my basement. The water damage is on a tile on the perimiter of the room. The water damage is adjacent to the room wall. However when I pulled the tile up I was surprised that I didn‘t find the source to any water above it. There was also no water damage on the tile where the angle bracket held the tile up. The water damage on the tile started in a straight line from the edge of the angle iron. Also there appeared to be a larger brown stain on the finished underside of the tile with a much smaller slightly damp appearance on the unfinished top of the tile. I‘m wondering if this means that my water source is not above the tile but in fact moisture from the room. However all of my other tiles around this one are dry with no damage. Thanks in advance.

Answer:

you can paint these acoustic tiles, but you have to find the source of the leak. What is directly above it? Could the kids have done it from fooling around ? (they shook a soda can or a water balloon?) You should be able to tell if the source was from the room or above the tile (from the inside). Good luck.
it could be occasional condensation on a cold water pipe. there are sprays for stains on acoustical tile.
a small anount of bleach in a spray bottle and spary the stain. spray the stain and it should disapear. do not competely saturate the tile. not sure about the leak
Sometimes water leaks start at a different spot and move down to the center and just sits there and builds up. I would change the tile and keep checking it until I can figure out where the leak is, then fix it (the leak).
Check the other tiles on the perimeter for moisture along the same piece of angle.I would then look to see if any pipes run above the cieling at any point.Water will travel to a low spot then pool so the ceiling might not be entirely level,if thats the case then the water could be coming from the outside wall along the channel that holds the tile in place until it begins to rise again.There are an number of potential causes here check everything you can think of.

Share to: