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Living room ceiling leak from bathroom upstairs???

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Living room ceiling leak from bathroom upstairs??? dissident 01-24-2007
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Posted by Doug Miller on January 24, 2007, 9:02 pm



>So, get your contingencies lined up ahead of time, make sure the
>inspector has *your* best interests in mind and don't let the real
>estate agent be the one making the call about the repair.

This is sage advice, to which I can only add this: make sure that the
inspector is one that *you* hired and selected, not one recommended by
*either* of the real estate agents involved.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Radiant Heat 468x60
Posted by The Reverend Natural Light on January 24, 2007, 7:17 pm



It's tough to tell where the water is coming from by looking at the
ceiling. The straight line you see is where water is pooling at a
drywall joint. The circular stain follows the outline of the smoke
detector hole. I've seen exactly the stains you describe before. If
you can eyeball the ceiling for a while and figure out where the
drywall joints are, perhaps you can narrow the leak down to a 4x8 foot
proximity. Or the water could be following some other path before it
hits the drywall.

I had a house for a while that had a leak stain on the main floor
ceiling but there was no plumbing above it. If a shower had leaked,
the stain would have been far away. Looking back on it, I'm certain
now that the dryer vent that exited through the roof was leaking during
heavy rain. Water would run down the vent pipe, behind the dryer, and
onto the ceiling below. So you never know. Could be anything.

Talk it over with your inspector. Perhaps bring in a plumber. Run all
the appliances. Fill the sinks and bathtubs (all the way to the
overflow). Check the attic and crawlspaces. Etc.

It's a very common thing to happen so don't let it kill your deal
unless it looks like the sellers are trying to hide something.

-rev



> I am a novice in home repair and yet I am buying my first home which is
> conditional upon home inspection, during which I plan to find out about
> the problem which is haunting me. This house is 6 years old and was
> rented out so, of course, the tenants didn't bother to take care of the
> house. What I see is a stain from water leak on the ceiling of the
> living room, which seems to follow the outline of the shower stall in
> the bathroom right upstairs. It is about 4-5 inches long, straight line
> kind of, and is on only one side. Then there is another stain about a
> couple of feet away near the smoke detector. This is more kind of
> circular stain ..... there is the upstairs hallway here and the
> upstairs is carpeted..... I can also feel that that section of the
> carpet is kind of raised as if someone spilled a whole lot of water
> there....surrounding is ok.
>
> So now my question to you is that do you (experts and experienced
> people out there) think this may be something major ??? I know that the
> home inspector probably will find this out...but I still want to know
> about the experience people have had. Can a big jug of water if spilled
> can show stain on downstairs ceiling like in this 2nd stain I am
> talking about?? Any advice on what to look for and what to ask on the
> day of home inspection??
>
> Thanks for the help!!


Posted by dissident on January 24, 2007, 9:08 pm


Thanks for all the sound advice.
I will keep in mind all the points made here......... : )


Posted by Mike on January 27, 2007, 1:37 am



>
> It's tough to tell where the water is coming from by looking at the
> ceiling. The straight line you see is where water is pooling at a
> drywall joint. The circular stain follows the outline of the smoke
> detector hole. I've seen exactly the stains you describe before. If
> you can eyeball the ceiling for a while and figure out where the
> drywall joints are, perhaps you can narrow the leak down to a 4x8 foot
> proximity. Or the water could be following some other path before it
> hits the drywall.
>
> I had a house for a while that had a leak stain on the main floor
> ceiling but there was no plumbing above it. If a shower had leaked,
> the stain would have been far away. Looking back on it, I'm certain
> now that the dryer vent that exited through the roof was leaking during
> heavy rain. Water would run down the vent pipe, behind the dryer, and
> onto the ceiling below. So you never know. Could be anything.
>
> Talk it over with your inspector. Perhaps bring in a plumber. Run all
> the appliances. Fill the sinks and bathtubs (all the way to the
> overflow). Check the attic and crawlspaces. Etc.
>
> It's a very common thing to happen so don't let it kill your deal
> unless it looks like the sellers are trying to hide something.
>
> -rev
>

The inspecter has a moister tester he uses to test for moisture. That is 1
thing he can do. he will recomend you hiring a qualified plumber to cover
his ass. Just make sure he has a long background in the building
trades!!!!!!!!!!!!! there is lots of Rookies out there. Absolutly stay
away from Franshises








>
>> I am a novice in home repair and yet I am buying my first home which is
>> conditional upon home inspection, during which I plan to find out about
>> the problem which is haunting me. This house is 6 years old and was
>> rented out so, of course, the tenants didn't bother to take care of the
>> house. What I see is a stain from water leak on the ceiling of the
>> living room, which seems to follow the outline of the shower stall in
>> the bathroom right upstairs. It is about 4-5 inches long, straight line
>> kind of, and is on only one side. Then there is another stain about a
>> couple of feet away near the smoke detector. This is more kind of
>> circular stain ..... there is the upstairs hallway here and the
>> upstairs is carpeted..... I can also feel that that section of the
>> carpet is kind of raised as if someone spilled a whole lot of water
>> there....surrounding is ok.
>>
>> So now my question to you is that do you (experts and experienced
>> people out there) think this may be something major ??? I know that the
>> home inspector probably will find this out...but I still want to know
>> about the experience people have had. Can a big jug of water if spilled
>> can show stain on downstairs ceiling like in this 2nd stain I am
>> talking about?? Any advice on what to look for and what to ask on the
>> day of home inspection??
>>
>> Thanks for the help!!
>



Posted by Norminn on January 27, 2007, 7:14 am


dissident wrote:

> I am a novice in home repair and yet I am buying my first home which is
> conditional upon home inspection, during which I plan to find out about
> the problem which is haunting me. This house is 6 years old and was
> rented out so, of course, the tenants didn't bother to take care of the

Or, the renters might have called the owner a dozen times about the
problem. I was a renter, many years ago, and had a puddle on my dresser
one morning. I called the landlord, because the water came from
upstairs apartment. "I told them to keep a bucket under the sink."
Landlord knew their sink had no trap, and he could well afford to repair
it.

> house. What I see is a stain from water leak on the ceiling of the
> living room, which seems to follow the outline of the shower stall in

I painted the condo upstairs from mine several years ago when owner was
ready to sell. Their master bath had aluminum/glass door that had no
caulking around it, which let water run outside, rust out the corner
bead on the wall and rot the wallboard behind the tile. Same straight
like of cracked and peeling paint on our ceiling right below it.

> the bathroom right upstairs. It is about 4-5 inches long, straight line
> kind of, and is on only one side. Then there is another stain about a
> couple of feet away near the smoke detector. This is more kind of
> circular stain ..... there is the upstairs hallway here and the
> upstairs is carpeted..... I can also feel that that section of the
> carpet is kind of raised as if someone spilled a whole lot of water
> there....surrounding is ok.

Could be particle board beneath the carpet that got wet, expanded.
>
> So now my question to you is that do you (experts and experienced
> people out there) think this may be something major ??? I know that the
> home inspector probably will find this out...but I still want to know
> about the experience people have had. Can a big jug of water if spilled
> can show stain on downstairs ceiling like in this 2nd stain I am
> talking about?? Any advice on what to look for and what to ask on the
> day of home inspection??
>
> Thanks for the help!!
>
There could be a plumbing leak, a roof leak, or just careless use of the
shower. If you can get into the attic, check it out. Roof (or other
exterior leaks) can travel a good distance, running down rafters, pipes,
wires or ducts to the "lowest" spot and puddle there. If the shower
plumbing has an access panel, look in there as well. Probably a 50:50
chance a home inspector will find the origin of the problem.

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