Marina East condo leaked after install: drain line pitched wrong
A new Marina East condo had a unit installed that began leaking within its first month of use. This reclaimed waterfront district is still mostly first-generation install work. A drain line pitched the wrong way is easy to miss until the leak actually appears.
By Team Snowflake | Reviewed 11 Jul 2026
Case summary
LG Wall-mounted2 years oldCondoMarina East, Singapore
- Concern
- The homeowner worried the brand-new unit itself was defective and would need a full replacement under warranty.
- Found
- Drain line pitched the wrong way on the new installation run, letting water pool instead of draining out
- Key check
- Checked the drain line's fall along its full run before assuming the unit itself was defective
- Result
- The unit has stayed completely dry since the drain line was corrected and rerouted properly a few weeks ago. The homeowner avoided pursuing a warranty replacement for a unit that was never actually defective in the first place.
What we were told
The homeowner said it began dripping near the indoor housing within its first few weeks of use. The drip was slow but steady and worsened slightly over time. The condo itself was newly built, with the unit installed during the initial fit-out.
What we checked
We treated the early timing as the strongest lead rather than assuming a defective new unit. A factory fault usually shows a more obvious symptom than a slow, gradually worsening drip. We checked the fall of the drain line along its full run before considering a warranty claim.
The unit itself powered on and ran normally throughout, with no fault codes or unusual behaviour at all.
The drain line had a section that ran slightly uphill instead of maintaining a steady downward fall.
Water was pooling at that section and eventually overflowing rather than draining out properly each time.
No leaks were found anywhere else along the full accessible pipe run.
What we found
During the original installation, the drain line was routed with a short section pitched slightly uphill instead of maintaining the steady downward fall it actually needs. At low water volume, gravity was occasionally enough to clear it anyway. But once condensate volume increased with regular daily use, water began pooling at that uphill section and eventually overflowed, which looked like a defect in the unit itself rather than an installation error.
What fixed it
We rerouted the drain line to maintain a consistent downward fall along its full run. We did not replace the unit, since it tested completely normally throughout the visit. We advised the homeowner to ask any future installer to confirm the drain fall specifically. A new build does not automatically guarantee a correctly pitched run.
Outcome
The unit has stayed completely dry since the drain line was corrected and rerouted properly a few weeks ago. The homeowner avoided pursuing a warranty replacement for a unit that was never actually defective in the first place.
What this case teaches us
A leak in the first month often means the drain fall, not a defective unit
- A leak that starts within the first month of a new install is more likely a drain routing issue than a defective unit.
- A drain line pitched even slightly the wrong way can let water pool instead of draining out properly.
- Ask for the drain line's fall to be checked along its full run before pursuing any warranty replacement.
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