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Water leak/damage from upstairs laundry advice Alex 05-20-2007
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Posted by Alex on May 20, 2007, 5:35 am
We got home tonight and there was some water leaking on our main floor
ceiling right under where our washing machine is on the top floor.
>From what I can tell it looks like there is water leaking behind the
wall were the pipes are as the wall is wet toward the bottom in the
laundry room but dry higher up where the pipes attach to the hoses.
There was also water on the floor under the machine. I turned off the
cold water (hot is always off) and saw that there was some buildup of
water near the valves as well.

I'm planning on calling the person builders representative first thing
tomorrow but the house is over 1 year old so I'm weary of them not
taking responsibility. First off, who is the best people to deal with
and assess the situation? Would the builder liable even after 1 year
for this type of problem? Any other recommendations on what we should
do? Since it looks like the problem could get worse and I'm even
weary of the structural integrity I hope we can get this figured out
soon. BTW, this is a newly constructed 1 year old townhome.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.


- Alex


AppliancePartsPros.com, Inc.
Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on May 20, 2007, 8:15 am

>
> I'm planning on calling the person builders representative first thing
> tomorrow but the house is over 1 year old so I'm weary of them not
> taking responsibility. First off, who is the best people to deal with
> and assess the situation? Would the builder liable even after 1 year
> for this type of problem? Any other recommendations on what we should
> do? Since it looks like the problem could get worse and I'm even
> weary of the structural integrity I hope we can get this figured out
> soon. BTW, this is a newly constructed 1 year old townhome.
>
> Thanks for any advice you can offer.

First, the actual cause has to be determined. Builder or a plumber could do
that. Could be the valve stem leaking. I don't know what your house
warranty is but the valve itself may just need tightening or it may be
covered by the manufacturer. Consequential damage is usually not covered.

If it was defective joint by the original plumber, the builder may be
liable. Read your warranty.




Posted by hallerb@aol.com on May 20, 2007, 8:20 am
> We got home tonight and there was some water leaking on our main floor
> ceiling right under where our washing machine is on the top floor.>From w=
hat I can tell it looks like there is water leaking behind the
>
> wall were the pipes are as the wall is wet toward the bottom in the
> laundry room but dry higher up where the pipes attach to the hoses.
> There was also water on the floor under the machine. =A0I turned off the
> cold water (hot is always off) and saw that there was some buildup of
> water near the valves as well.
>
> I'm planning on calling the person builders representative first thing
> tomorrow but the house is over 1 year old so I'm weary of them not
> taking responsibility. =A0First off, who is the best people to deal with
> and assess the situation? =A0Would the builder liable even after 1 year
> for this type of problem? =A0Any other recommendations on what we should
> do? =A0Since it looks like the problem could get worse and I'm even
> weary of the structural integrity I hope we can get this figured out
> soon. =A0BTW, this is a newly constructed 1 year old townhome.
>
> Thanks for any advice you can offer.
>
> - Alex

liability aside homeowners should cover the costs, and then its up to
them to recover costs from whoever might be responsible.

you need to upgrade your laundry room add a washer drain pan and auto
shutoff valve so it never occurs again. a main floor drain should be
required in all laundry rooms of new homes.

this is a very common problem and costly for insurance which
ultimately raises everyones rates


Posted by on May 20, 2007, 4:12 pm
hallerb@aol.com says...

> liability aside homeowners should cover the costs, and then its up to
> them to recover costs from whoever might be responsible.
....
> this is a very common problem and costly for insurance which
> ultimately raises everyones rates

It used to be that this was almost always covered by better homeowners
insurance packages. But, as you noted, it's become a very expensive
problem. Rather than keep raising rates for everyone, more and more
insurance policies exclude some or all of this sort of damage.

You could find that the pipe itself is not covered, and if tearing open
the wall reveals that this is an ongoing leak you just discovered, the
water damage from the leak may also be limited or excluded. Mold,
fungus, or rot resulting from the leak may also be limited or excluded.

Read your policy and talk to your agent before you decide to file a
claim for this sort of damage.

For an upstairs laundry, I strongly recommend a pan under the machine,
preferably one that drains to the outside, with a discharge that's
visible to the neighbors. I also would suggest an automatic shutoff
valve set for the hoses. (The valve controller senses current flow to
the machine and opens the valves, then closes them when power flow
stops. Like turning off the hoses between each use, but automatic so
you won't forget.)

--
josh@phred.org is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
Updated Infrared Photography Gallery:
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/photo/ir.html>

Posted by John Grabowski on May 20, 2007, 9:33 am

> We got home tonight and there was some water leaking on our main floor
> ceiling right under where our washing machine is on the top floor.
> >From what I can tell it looks like there is water leaking behind the
> wall were the pipes are as the wall is wet toward the bottom in the
> laundry room but dry higher up where the pipes attach to the hoses.
> There was also water on the floor under the machine. I turned off the
> cold water (hot is always off) and saw that there was some buildup of
> water near the valves as well.
>
> I'm planning on calling the person builders representative first thing
> tomorrow but the house is over 1 year old so I'm weary of them not
> taking responsibility. First off, who is the best people to deal with
> and assess the situation? Would the builder liable even after 1 year
> for this type of problem? Any other recommendations on what we should
> do? Since it looks like the problem could get worse and I'm even
> weary of the structural integrity I hope we can get this figured out
> soon. BTW, this is a newly constructed 1 year old townhome.
>
> Thanks for any advice you can offer.

I do a lot of work in townhouses built by one large builder. The laundry
closet is on the second floor. Downstairs is the cottage cheese/popcorn
type ceilings. I can always tell when they have had a leak because the
ceiling is almost never the same. It seems that these units have a history
of plumbing problems. If there isn't one there now I would suggest the
installation of a pan under the washing machine. If your water heater is on
the second floor I recommend a pan under that also. You should also get in
the habit of turning off the water to the washer when finished. A one
handled valve is made to make this an easy step.

As Edwin suggested find out what the cause was and what the solution is
before pointing fingers. It is quite possible that the builder will take
responsibility for the problem and help get it resolved, but I wouldn't bet
on it.

My sister bought a six year old house several years ago. For quite a while
she noticed a wet spot in the crawl space, but didn't think much of it. One
day she had a company come in to clean her ducts. One guy removed a vent
cover and a bunch of water started to shoot out. The vent cover screw was
drilled into a water pipe for the bathroom on the other side of the wall.
This was from the original installation by whoever installed the vent cover.
It had dripped into the crawlspace for several years.


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