What can I do right now about my leaking house?
July 4, 2022 4:39 AM Subscribe
Our house is leaking once again, after significant leaks occurred in March (and were fixed, or so we thought). What can we do to to minimise the damage until the leak specialist can assist, sometime next week?
My partner and I live in a 3 year old, 2 storey house (in Australia). The upper storey is slightly smaller than the lower storey, meaning there is a piece of gently sloping colorbond (prepainted metal) roof along one side of the house. We had record-breaking rains back in March, and water started to leak through the ceiling of the lower floor, in spots corresponding with the line where the shallow roof meets the wall of the upper floor. We put up a small tarpaulin over the spot where we thought the main leak was occurring, and when that didn't work, we rigged a much larger tarpaulin over most of the shallow roof. It's hard to know if this was effective or if the dripping eventually stopped when the rain eased.
Our insurance came to check out the damage, and according to them, the water likely came in through poor seals around the upper floor windows. A leak specialist agreed with this assessment, and put approximately a ton of silicone along the edges of all the window frames, and in various places on the roof for good measure.
Fast forward to now: we've had heavy rain over the last week, and we have more leaks. Initially not in the same place as the OG leak (actually, in the time I've been writing this, that spot has started leaking again) but in the same line, corresponding with where the roof meets the upper floor of the house.
We've called the leak specialist back, but he can't come until next week, and we are worried about the damage that might occur if the leaks continue until that time. Our large tarp is not large enough to cover the distance between the most distant leaks. Due to the record-breaking rains in March, and the resulting backlog of work, roofers are not even answering their phones right now - if we actually need a roofer, it will take months, most likely.
What can I, a not-very-handy woman who is afraid of heights (but did gamely climb out a window to place the previous tarps) do right now, or over the next week, to minimise the damage?
My partner and I live in a 3 year old, 2 storey house (in Australia). The upper storey is slightly smaller than the lower storey, meaning there is a piece of gently sloping colorbond (prepainted metal) roof along one side of the house. We had record-breaking rains back in March, and water started to leak through the ceiling of the lower floor, in spots corresponding with the line where the shallow roof meets the wall of the upper floor. We put up a small tarpaulin over the spot where we thought the main leak was occurring, and when that didn't work, we rigged a much larger tarpaulin over most of the shallow roof. It's hard to know if this was effective or if the dripping eventually stopped when the rain eased.
Our insurance came to check out the damage, and according to them, the water likely came in through poor seals around the upper floor windows. A leak specialist agreed with this assessment, and put approximately a ton of silicone along the edges of all the window frames, and in various places on the roof for good measure.
Fast forward to now: we've had heavy rain over the last week, and we have more leaks. Initially not in the same place as the OG leak (actually, in the time I've been writing this, that spot has started leaking again) but in the same line, corresponding with where the roof meets the upper floor of the house.
We've called the leak specialist back, but he can't come until next week, and we are worried about the damage that might occur if the leaks continue until that time. Our large tarp is not large enough to cover the distance between the most distant leaks. Due to the record-breaking rains in March, and the resulting backlog of work, roofers are not even answering their phones right now - if we actually need a roofer, it will take months, most likely.
What can I, a not-very-handy woman who is afraid of heights (but did gamely climb out a window to place the previous tarps) do right now, or over the next week, to minimise the damage?
This is a ridiculous situation and I am sorry that you are going through it.
I agree with rockindata that pulling and reinstalling windows and/or siding may be in your future. Caulk is not a correction to the defect.
Your question, however, was specifically about DIY minimizing damage.
Let's think about what's going on in the walls and what is bad about that.
Water is getting into the wall system from the outside and making its way to the ground floor ceiling. Along that path, insulation, framing, and [I assume] plasterboard/Gyprock are getting too moist.
One thing to care about is how much pooling there is and how to speed up the wall/ceiling drying out. We want to figure out where water is pooling and release it. We don't know for certain what's going on, but we want the water out as quickly.
It is common that ceiling drips have traveled along the framing and the hidden side of the plasterboard and emerge at a seam. This often shows up as a neatly demarcated line of wetness in the ceiling. It can be deceiving to identify that mark as corresponding to a water intrusion directly above, so we want to think of water as running along horizontal as well as vertical surfaces. I've seen ceiling leaks show up several meters from the source.
If you are willing to poke holes in your ceiling, that is one way of releasing the water and minimizing the duration of the high-moisture condition, but you want to get as far "upstream" as possible. Try to identify where the water shows up first and if that's an area where you are OK with a bucket on the floor. If it is acceptable, poke a hole through the plasterboard with an awl or other pokey tool. If you hit a framing member in the ceiling, try to poke holes on either side of it. This is most useful when you have an active drip, as you do now. A silver lining, you might say!
Please be careful on ladders. Ladders are notoriously dangerous.
During your time close to the ceiling, you may develop suspicions about the water's movement. You might feel dampness. You might hear the pat-pat of drips hitting plasterboard. You may want to use those clues to make more holes in the ceiling, and I say give that a try. You may only need a bucket at the most "upstream" hole. You mention multiple dripping areas in the ceiling, so you will do this in several parts of the ceiling.
If the ceiling water damage is already pretty bad, cutting a hole in the plasterboard where repairs will need to be made can give you even better info and speed drying in that area, but that's your call. I'd start with poking holes to locate the path and drain the water.
Advanced mode - examine the wall system upstairs from the inside. If there is wooden trim at the base of the wall, removing that will give some new access points under those suspect windows. The plasterboard concealed under that trim can be cut out to look for leaks and air out the wall. Replacing plasterboard and trim can easily hide the scars of that exploratory surgery.
posted by Glomar response at 7:16 AM on July 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
I agree with rockindata that pulling and reinstalling windows and/or siding may be in your future. Caulk is not a correction to the defect.
Your question, however, was specifically about DIY minimizing damage.
Let's think about what's going on in the walls and what is bad about that.
Water is getting into the wall system from the outside and making its way to the ground floor ceiling. Along that path, insulation, framing, and [I assume] plasterboard/Gyprock are getting too moist.
One thing to care about is how much pooling there is and how to speed up the wall/ceiling drying out. We want to figure out where water is pooling and release it. We don't know for certain what's going on, but we want the water out as quickly.
It is common that ceiling drips have traveled along the framing and the hidden side of the plasterboard and emerge at a seam. This often shows up as a neatly demarcated line of wetness in the ceiling. It can be deceiving to identify that mark as corresponding to a water intrusion directly above, so we want to think of water as running along horizontal as well as vertical surfaces. I've seen ceiling leaks show up several meters from the source.
If you are willing to poke holes in your ceiling, that is one way of releasing the water and minimizing the duration of the high-moisture condition, but you want to get as far "upstream" as possible. Try to identify where the water shows up first and if that's an area where you are OK with a bucket on the floor. If it is acceptable, poke a hole through the plasterboard with an awl or other pokey tool. If you hit a framing member in the ceiling, try to poke holes on either side of it. This is most useful when you have an active drip, as you do now. A silver lining, you might say!
Please be careful on ladders. Ladders are notoriously dangerous.
During your time close to the ceiling, you may develop suspicions about the water's movement. You might feel dampness. You might hear the pat-pat of drips hitting plasterboard. You may want to use those clues to make more holes in the ceiling, and I say give that a try. You may only need a bucket at the most "upstream" hole. You mention multiple dripping areas in the ceiling, so you will do this in several parts of the ceiling.
If the ceiling water damage is already pretty bad, cutting a hole in the plasterboard where repairs will need to be made can give you even better info and speed drying in that area, but that's your call. I'd start with poking holes to locate the path and drain the water.
Advanced mode - examine the wall system upstairs from the inside. If there is wooden trim at the base of the wall, removing that will give some new access points under those suspect windows. The plasterboard concealed under that trim can be cut out to look for leaks and air out the wall. Replacing plasterboard and trim can easily hide the scars of that exploratory surgery.
posted by Glomar response at 7:16 AM on July 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
A leak specialist agreed with this assessment, and put approximately a ton of silicone along the edges
Without removing any siding? Then make sure you don't bring this person back.
No one removed the interior walls to verify the source of the leak? Then you'll never know if you're fixing it. Start removing the wall below and half a meter to each side of the window. If it's not wet, then it's not the window. Without any pictures or further knowledge, sounds like the wall-to-roof connection should be investigated. After removing the interior wall above, if that doesn't reveal the source of the water, then it's time to remove the ceiling below (which also gives you a chance to air it out.)
posted by flimflam at 8:10 AM on July 4, 2022 [5 favorites]
Without removing any siding? Then make sure you don't bring this person back.
No one removed the interior walls to verify the source of the leak? Then you'll never know if you're fixing it. Start removing the wall below and half a meter to each side of the window. If it's not wet, then it's not the window. Without any pictures or further knowledge, sounds like the wall-to-roof connection should be investigated. After removing the interior wall above, if that doesn't reveal the source of the water, then it's time to remove the ceiling below (which also gives you a chance to air it out.)
posted by flimflam at 8:10 AM on July 4, 2022 [5 favorites]
I'm sorry. What a shit situation.
I'd definitely recommend contacting the original builders, as I would expect this should be covered under warranty. You may need to hassle them a lot to get them to do anything.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 5:00 PM on July 4, 2022
I'd definitely recommend contacting the original builders, as I would expect this should be covered under warranty. You may need to hassle them a lot to get them to do anything.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 5:00 PM on July 4, 2022
Response by poster: For Reasons, getting the builder to provide assistance is probably not an option, although I absolutely agree in principle.
Thanks for the other advice, I'm interested to hear any suggestions.
posted by Cheese Monster at 5:18 PM on July 4, 2022
Thanks for the other advice, I'm interested to hear any suggestions.
posted by Cheese Monster at 5:18 PM on July 4, 2022
Does the leaking happen everytime it rains, or only in very heavy rain?
Could you try putting a camera up to try to record what is happening with water flow during the heavy rain?
posted by kinddieserzeit at 7:30 PM on July 4, 2022
Could you try putting a camera up to try to record what is happening with water flow during the heavy rain?
posted by kinddieserzeit at 7:30 PM on July 4, 2022
Flashing is put around a chimney where it breaks through a roof. If you can contact the builder you might ask if the "step back" - the size change between floors - was flashed. If not, why not?
posted by Cranberry at 12:04 AM on July 5, 2022
posted by Cranberry at 12:04 AM on July 5, 2022
Response by poster: kinddieserzeit: the leak only happens in heavy rain.
cranberry: there is flashing linking the roof to the upper part of the building.
posted by Cheese Monster at 3:15 PM on July 5, 2022
cranberry: there is flashing linking the roof to the upper part of the building.
posted by Cheese Monster at 3:15 PM on July 5, 2022
Though there may be flashing, what matters is whether there is an intact and effective drainage plane . For example, if the house wrap that is behind your siding is behind the flashing, then water that gets behind your siding will drain into your house instead of down to the roof and away.
I agree with other posters that someone with an understanding of how a house is supposed to be put together is going to have to take a look, most likely by removing both the interior and exterior cladding, and figure out how to properly fix this situation. You should do this soon, because if you don’t have mold and rot already, you soon will.
posted by rockindata at 5:59 PM on July 5, 2022
I agree with other posters that someone with an understanding of how a house is supposed to be put together is going to have to take a look, most likely by removing both the interior and exterior cladding, and figure out how to properly fix this situation. You should do this soon, because if you don’t have mold and rot already, you soon will.
posted by rockindata at 5:59 PM on July 5, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
It sounds like you have a window installation that was never properly flashed or properly set up to drain, leading to to much water getting in and not enough water getting out. Unfortunately, you probably aren’t going to be able to caulk your way out of this, and someone is going to have to do something significant, such as reinstalling the windows(which will involve removing siding, etc.) to really fix the problem.
Another option may be to try and keep the upper story walls and windows as dry as possible by extending the roof overhangs and adding gutters.
posted by rockindata at 6:22 AM on July 4, 2022 [2 favorites]