Case study · Pacific Palisades, CA

Finding a Hidden Drain Leak Above a Pacific Palisades Garage

A Pacific Palisades homeowner spotted a water stain spreading across the garage ceiling below an upstairs bathroom. We traced the leak from below, marked the spot with tape, and confirmed it before cutting anything. One small opening between the joists exposed the problem, a failed ABS drain elbow at a metal hanger strap. The rest of the ceiling never got touched.

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Location
Pacific Palisades, CA
Service
Leak detection
Problem
Drain leak above a garage ceiling
Access
One small cut between joists

What the homeowner was facing

A stain and a hairline crack on the garage ceiling, with a bathroom somewhere above it. The fear with a ceiling leak is the hunt, tearing out drywall panel after panel until someone finally finds the pipe. The garage below was full of shelving, storage, and bikes that all needed to stay dry and dust free. Pacific Palisades sits outside our everyday Inland Empire and Orange County routes, and detection work like this is exactly the kind of job we travel for.

How we found it

We traced the drain line from below and narrowed the leak to a single joist bay, then marked the cut with painter’s tape before opening anything. Tracing first is the whole game. It turns a demolition job into a surgical one.

The cut

Full plastic containment went up over the shelves, washer, and dryer before the saw came out. Then one clean rectangular opening between the joists, exactly where the tape was. Inside, the ABS drain elbow had failed right at its metal hanger strap, wicking water into the insulation and staining the drywall below.

The result

One small access opening confirmed the diagnosis on the first cut. The containment came down, the shelves and bikes went back, and the garage was back in use the same day with a single drywall patch to close instead of a ceiling replacement.

Job photos

From the job site

Organized Pacific Palisades garage before hidden ceiling leak detection work began
The garage before work: full of storage that needed to stay clean and dry.
Painter’s tape marking the water stained garage ceiling below an upstairs bathroom leak
The stain, and painter’s tape marking the joist bay we traced the leak to.
Plastic containment sheeting protecting garage shelving and appliances during leak detection
Containment first: plastic over the shelving, washer, and dryer before any cutting.
ABS drain line exposed inside the garage ceiling joist bay during leak detection
Inside the ceiling: the ABS drain line in the marked joist bay.
Failed ABS drain elbow at a metal hanger strap found during Pacific Palisades leak detection
The source: a failed ABS elbow right at its metal hanger strap.
Single small rectangular access opening cut between garage ceiling joists
One clean rectangular opening between joists, exactly where the tape was.
Wide view showing how small the ceiling access cut is compared to the whole garage ceiling
The whole hunt, from the whole ceiling’s point of view: one small rectangle.
Garage shelving and bikes returned to place after leak detection cleanup
Containment down, storage going back.
Clean Pacific Palisades garage floor after hidden leak detection work wrapped up
Back in service the same day, with one drywall patch left to close.

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