Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    6,728

    Default Update #1 in OP: Water Damage Questions

    Update #1 of what I am sure will be a few: We decided to call a disaster water remediation company to come out and see what kind of damage we had and I am very thankful that we did. They had us call our insurance company and make a claim and there were quite a few areas of damage that were really quickly adding up.

    The master bathroom floor and subfloor will have to be completely ripped out and replaced, along with the vanity (no huge loss there.....it was builder's grade and almost 20 years old). The small areas of carpet that were wet in there will most likely be ok.

    In the living room downstairs, they had to remove a 4-6 foot square section of the drywall ceiling and all the insulation behind it because it was sopping wet. They also removed the baseboards in a couple of small locations and drilled multiple holes in the drywall behind where the baseboards would be to help force air into the wall to help dry things out. The carpet there (again, not a huge area and pretty old also) will likely be ok.

    In the basement, since it's unfinished, there's no major damage. There is a huge dehumidifier down there along with a couple of industrial fans/driers to help dry out anything that's still damp, but nothing too bad there thankfully.

    All in all, we have 7 industrial fans and 3 HUGE industrial dehumidifiers spread out on all three levels. DH and I literally cannot talk to each other in the living room without major shouting. Can't hear the tv either. This is supposed to last 2-3 days. They will check the moisture levels again tomorrow and I think Monday. The master bathroom floor replacement will start sometime after Christmas. The insurance company adjuster will be coming on Wednesday.

    We're supposed to be hosting three other people (FIL, MIL and SIL) for Christmas and while I know they won't care about the holes in the ceiling/wall, the noise will not work. Hoping and praying that things dry out fast and that we can at least turn these fans off for a few hours on Christmas day so that we can still host Christmas and not have to travel.

    So, that's the update. It's truly amazing how much mess and damage a relatively small amount of water can do.

    ************************************************** ********

    So, Ds (3) who is potty training, decided to go to the potty. Uncharacteristically, he must have used quite a bit of toilet paper and got the toilet clogged....and then, as it started overflowing, shut the door (this is upstairs in the master bathroom BTW, and didn't tell anyone. I was downstairs, but had no idea.

    My first clue was that I heard strange water sounds. At first, I didn't think much of it, but then I started thinking that something must not be right. Then I saw the ceiling in the living room dripping.

    I went upstairs, went in the bathroom and found the entire floor soaked, some of the carpet in the bedroom (maybe a couple of feet around the doorway) and the a little bit into the master closet carpet soaked. The toilet was still overflowing. I turned the water off, started mopping up the floor and then went back downstairs and tried to take care of that mess.

    Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, I went down to the basement to throw the first load of soaked towels in the washer....and discovered a flood in the basement. Not only was there a lot of water, but where most of the water was concentrated....was on top of the piles of wrapped Christmas presents. I was done wrapping.

    I am not too proud to admit that I just bawled on the phone to DH, who to his great credit got me to laugh and offered to rewrap the presents, and then took me us all out for dinner. I'm still cleaning up the mess.

    Now the question: The ceiling in the living room is really wet in spots. The floor under the tiles in our bathroom is soaked. (There were two tiles that had recently come up, so the water just flooded the subfloor under there.) I am thinking the entire bathroom floor will have to come up and be redone. It's not a big bathroom at all, but still....major pain. But I don't know how you tell how much damage there is and what has to be done. And then there's the ceiling in the living room directly under the master bath. About 8 years ago, we had a pipe leak from the tub/shower in that bathroom and had some fairly minor water damage in the same spot that was hit today. So I'm thinking based on where the water damage is, that it make also be under the tub/shower combo. Someone please tell me we're not going to have to rip that all out too.

    Any advice? I've got fans running and have done all that I can....
    Last edited by Indianamom2; 12-22-2012 at 09:03 PM.
    Christina
    DD 9/04
    DS 7/09

  2. #2
    kristenk is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Nov 1999
    Location
    .
    Posts
    6,041

    Default

    Oh, noooooooo! Kudos to your DH for doing everything he could.

    I think it's just a matter of wait-and-see right now, but I don't have much experience with water damage. It seems as if fans and getting everything dried out as quickly as possible is the key right now.

    How long do you think the toilet was overflowing? Do you have any concept of the amount of time that was happening?

  3. #3
    hillview's Avatar
    hillview is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    21,536

    Default

    I think you have to call a contractor or have your DH if he is super handy take a look at how much water damage inside the wall/floor/ceiling there really is. I might also call a water damage company. SO SO SO Sorry!
    DS #1 Summer 05
    DS #2 Summer 07

  4. #4
    WatchingThemGrow is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    20,073

    Default

    Yeah, having been in several homes where water damage had not been remedied and mold grew, made us sick, etc., I'd say you need to call someone like ServPro (national?) or some other flood/water damage company. From my understanding, if it is dirty water (which some of that was, right?) the saturated subfloor needs to come up.

    I will never forget the day we saw a drip in my dad's living room. What a mess that was!

    The last place we rented had a flood at some point and the basement's dropped-ceiling had been affected. There was tape around the ductwork and because of the moisture, the tape was all black and moldy. I sneakily looked at the landlord's kids' FB pictures and saw where they were playing around and the ceiling tiles were removed (like the flood happened around the time the pics were snapped.) Anyway, way too much info, but yes, get it all fixed IMO.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 1999
    Location
    So Cal
    Posts
    4,156

    Default

    Was going to say have a professional, if u can, get in there with some equipment and suck out as much water as they can. BUT it's down in the padding and possibly the plywood and could be under the tub like u said. Also it could have ran btwn the studs, the "serve pro"folks have gauges to detect moisture.

    We have friends who own a mold remediation biz...most of their clientele is Insurance referral.

    You may have to go that route. I'm SO sorry...I would flip...we lived in a rental yrs ago that had water seeping in the walls and I wasn't aware. Until I moved our bed and couch and saw it. Then the "issue" with DH about how big a deal it was began.

    Kudos to your DH for helping you on this. Pls smile...I now say if it's already happened and I have no control, just smile, crying doesn't fix it!
    Bodyboarding, music loving, clothing upcycler Mom to adult kid1, elementary kid2

  6. #6
    Mali is offline Silver level (200+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    292

    Default

    Get the professional water abatement people out there right away! They'll have all the tools to get everything dried out and be able to tell you where the water is with their sensors. After it is dried you can figure out what the next steps would be as far as repairs or replacing things, but you can't afford not to take swift action with getting everything dried out.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    6,728

    Default

    Bumping with Update in OP!
    Christina
    DD 9/04
    DS 7/09

  8. #8
    WatchingThemGrow is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    20,073

    Default

    *I* know what water damage can do, so I give you a getting the professionals out there right away!

    We got one of these moisture meters at Lowe's http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...isture%20meter so we could tell how fast things were drying out at the apartment, and we used it again when we moved into a split level that had water coming into the basement. We had those same fans and dehumidifiers running for 3 days. They really do work - slowly.

    Is there any way you could sneak off and do Christmas elsewhere, just to give yourselves a break from the noise?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    6,728

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by WatchingThemGrow View Post
    *I* know what water damage can do, so I give you a getting the professionals out there right away!

    We got one of these moisture meters at Lowe's http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...isture%20meter so we could tell how fast things were drying out at the apartment, and we used it again when we moved into a split level that had water coming into the basement. We had those same fans and dehumidifiers running for 3 days. They really do work - slowly.

    Is there any way you could sneak off and do Christmas elsewhere, just to give yourselves a break from the noise?
    Thanks!

    We could go two hours south to our in-laws like we normally do, but we usually end up travelling every.single.year. either the two hour trip for several days/nights or to my family 12+ hours away every other year. This year was supposed to be easy. Plus, we kind of need to be here the day after Christmas and the day before to deal with all of this stuff. We'll survive though...it's just that...stuff.
    Christina
    DD 9/04
    DS 7/09

  10. #10
    WatchingThemGrow is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    20,073

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Indianamom2 View Post
    Thanks!

    We could go two hours south to our in-laws like we normally do, but we usually end up travelling every.single.year. either the two hour trip for several days/nights or to my family 12+ hours away every other year. This year was supposed to be easy. Plus, we kind of need to be here the day after Christmas and the day before to deal with all of this stuff. We'll survive though...it's just that...stuff.
    I would go just because of the circumstances. And I know exactly how you feel. We either go 3 hours N or 12+ hours south every year. PITB. We're staying home this year, and now 11 people will be here to eat on Christmas day. So much for low key and relaxing!

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •