Occasional and simultaneous leaking from bathtubs

[kevkevqaz]

Hi! First time here..

I bought a house a few months ago to rent out and have had an odd issue with the bathtub plumbing. Every once in a while, both bathroom's tubs (from the pipes below/around) upstairs will leak HEAVILY when the water is turned on. I can't give an exact time occurrence and I'll explain why later.

Background:

Seller recently renovated the house (some shoddy/sketchy repairs) and I have never lived in it. The tenants first noticed the issue about 2 weeks after moving in (moved in early Sept 2018, noticed ~Sept 28th). One person was showering in the master bath, and a lot of water leaked + damaged the ceiling below. Briefly after, the other upstairs bathroom was used and the same thing happened.

A plumber came a few days after, and we couldn't figure out what was going on. Everything seemed to function perfectly. Then, he noticed that when the shower head was pointing at the wall, water would drip through this nook, and we thought that was it. I got them all properly sealed and there was no more dripping. Before late October, only the downstairs bathroom was used (which leaked into the crawlspace), and then they resumed using the upstairs bathrooms.

Well, two weeks later (about a week ago), after no issues, the same exact thing happened! There was water pouring from the master bathroom, and they used the other upstairs one and it poured as well. When using the master, he didn't even shower.. just filling up the tub.

In summary, we thought that the dripping water was from the nooks, but it is clearly not. It only happens occasionally (twice observed so far), and when it does, it affects both bathrooms. I can confirm that it is also happening with the downstairs bathroom- the water slides down the crawl space vapor barrier into the corner. Obviously I don't want this, but I have to deal with it for now.

Here are pictures of the plumbing I took in the crawlspace. I have no idea what's going on.. (does that purple goo mean anything??), and I don't want to hire another plumber to tear up the drywall and find nothing if I can first narrow the problem down.

Thank you and sorry for the long post!

 

[Reach4]

Well, two weeks later (about a week ago), after no issues, the same exact thing happened! There was water pouring from the master bathroom, and they used the other upstairs one and it poured as well. When using the master, he didn't even shower.. just filling up the tub.

Was there rain about that time?

Usually I would think that the shower curtain was not inside during a shower, or the person overfilled the tub and did not want to fess up.

If one bathroom is above the other, an event in the upper bathroom might work its way down.

Here are pictures of the plumbing I took in the crawlspace. I have no idea what's going on.. (does that purple goo mean anything??)

That link only shows one tub with no goo.

I am not a plumber or other pro.

 

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[kevkevqaz]

Was there rain about that time?

Usually I would think that the shower curtain was not inside during a shower, or the person overfilled the tub and did not want to fess up.

If one bathroom is above the other, an event in the upper bathroom might work its way down.


That link only shows one tub with no goo.

I am not a plumber or other pro.

Edited the link.

And yes, it was actually raining somewhat heavily the second time. We don't remember the weather the first time. I checked the attic / roof though, and there were no issues. I don't think that they overfilled the tub, because there is some water in the crawlspace that I think is caused by the same issue, but I can't pinpoint the timing of that because I'm not there checking all the time.

 

[Reach4]

If you know the date, you could look at https://www.wunderground.com/history/ or other historical record.

That one includes the rain for the month to date. So if you had a range, you could subtract the month to date amounts for end-beginning of the period you wanted to check.

 

[kevkevqaz]

Just checked that, it was not raining the first time it happened.

Do you think anything related with the sewage line could affect this? Like if there's too much flow to it, then all the bathrooms would leak somehow when they're turned on?

 

[Reach4]

The purple is the primer that is used when the PVC is glued. It is a little sloppier than some, but it is not a problem. It is not gooey. You could probably not detect it in the dark.

Is one bathroom right above the other?

 

[kevkevqaz]

No, neither of the upstairs bathrooms are above the downstairs one.