Damp, leaks, or something else?

[Melling]

Hello all,

 

I'm about to buy a flat which has the following ceiling situation and I can't work out exactly what's going on. The neighbours say they had leaks from the roof which were fixed by the council (which is the freeholder and estate manager) although it took two sets of repairs, and they 'think' it's solved.  The vendor says that they have never had leaks or damp, specifically they say:

________

That bedroom has always been a spare bedroom, which was very cheaply decorated when my mum first moved in as she used it for sewing/machining. It was decorated with polystyrene tiles on the ceiling which my son removed a few months ago and wood chip paper which came away from the wall when he took the tiles down, having been there for so long. No plaster has ever been put up or removed. The idea being ,to decorate the room now, as a live in carer for my mum was being considered, but unfortunately she was taken ill.

There has never been any evidence of damp, wall cracks or any other kinds of damage that we are aware of. Once again that room has only been decorated once, but occasionally painted.

We can only assume that the upstairs small balcony above the window, which they have blocked in may be the problem. Any problem with the flat upstairs is dealt with by the council.

________

 

 

It is hard to explain this without there being some water having entered. Any ideas? I intend to go over with a builder, but I'm interested in peoples opinions on what this might be and how you might get to the bottom of it, or look to fix it.

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ProDave]

If this is a lower maisonette then a roof leak would not directly affect you, it would have to be a massive leak really badly affecting the top unit before it got to you.

 

What is above this bedroom, i.e. which room of the upper unit?  Kitchen or bathroom by any chance?  Actually if the room with the issue is where your green arrow is, that looks like a balcony above, so could well be a source of leaks or alternatively make that a very cold area of ceiling prone to condensation especially in a room not used or cared for.

[Melling]

@ProDaveThanks for your reply.

Above the room is that balcony which has got the temporary window (the room itself is indicated by the green arrow), so it has been turned into a room, so perhaps has more protection than it would have.

 

As for leaks, the neighbouring downstairs maisonette occupants said that they had trouble with leaks coming from the roof, so whatever it was that must've been a significant leak and perhaps is in the same area of the building as this room.

 

What do the markings in the photographs look like to you? Does that seem like some kind of water damage?