crack & stain in ceiling under bathroom

[diy_dude]

we bought a 3 floor townhouse over a year ago. There are two bathrooms on the 2nd floor which reside on top of the 1st floor lounge. There was a crack in the ceiling on the 1st floor lounge which has grown over the year and also 2 stains on the celiling. Over the last year, i feel that the exisiting stains have expanded in size and two new stains have appeared. One of the bathrooms has had the grout disintegrate and for a period of a month, there used to be a bit of water on the tiles(which i am sure has gone through the grout). the tiles have started movig around, I showed it to a handyman in december and he said that there was bo cause for alarm, as the only issue was that they had not been laid well.

do you guys think it is a minor problem and i just need to get the bathroom floor fixed and the cracks in the ceiling touched up. and the ceiling repainted? or could i have damaged the joist and the ceiling could potentially cave in if i dont get it fixed asap?

can i get this done via home insurance? (they state that they provide insurance against accidental damage, like if my child pulls down the tv or i knock a whole through the ceiling doing diy)

should i be looking for a plumber or a carpenter or both to get an idea of what to do next? where can i get some good plumber/carpenter who can provide me with honest advice?

is there anything i can do to prevent further damage?

 

[bosshogg]

we bought a 3 floor townhouse over a year ago. There are two bathrooms on the 2nd floor which reside on top of the 1st floor lounge. There was a crack in the ceiling on the 1st floor lounge which has grown over the year and also 2 stains on the celiling. Over the last year, i feel that the exisiting stains have expanded in size and two new stains have appeared. One of the bathrooms has had the grout disintegrate and for a period of a month, there used to be a bit of water on the tiles(which i am sure has gone through the grout). the tiles have started movig around, I showed it to a handyman in december and he said that there was bo cause for alarm, as the only issue was that they had not been laid well.

do you guys think it is a minor problem and i just need to get the bathroom floor fixed and the cracks in the ceiling touched up. and the ceiling repainted? or could i have damaged the joist and the ceiling could potentially cave in if i dont get it fixed asap?

can i get this done via home insurance? (they state that they provide insurance against accidental damage, like if my child pulls down the tv or i knock a whole through the ceiling doing diy)

should i be looking for a plumber or a carpenter or both to get an idea of what to do next? where can i get some good plumber/carpenter who can provide me with honest advice?

is there anything i can do to prevent further damage?

Ok, first things first - you say that tiles in the bathroom are able to move, this would suggest that the tile adhesive is knackered. No matter what ANYONE tells you "if it seems to good to be true, it normally is" I'm sure you've heard that before.
As your stain is growing very slowly, at first it would seem that the failed adhesive and grout would be that problem. Explaining that, a stain would incur some sort of contaminant whilst simply water would only cause a damp patch. of course that,s not to say that the staining's not coming from some thing else on it's way to your lounge ceiling.
So first off the tiles need to be fixed along with the grout and once that's done remove the stain by washing it. Now a period of calm watching will determine if that was the problem- if not repost your next question...bosshogg