Quote:
Originally Posted by santogr
I had a water leak from a pipe over one of my bedrooms. A plumber has come out and put a clamp over the hole in the pipe. I've had water accumulate on the sheetrock for about 5 hours, but I don't believe the leak continued for all 5 hours.
My question is this: should I punch a hole in the sheetrock? There won't be any water to pour out, the leak was small and slow. However, I can tell that the sheetrock has been saturated through. It has not started to bulge yet.
Any feedback is appreciated
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We do alot of water damage repairs from leaking pipes. Currently, we are doing repairs at two different apartment complexes (6 units) due to leaking pipes.
Punching a small hole in it to 'drain' will not allow it to 'dry'....You really should cut out the area of sheetrock that got wet. Start off cutting out a 1'x1' to 2'x2' square. Draw it out as a perfect square - so it will be easier to replace and repair later (once it has dried out).
If the damaged area ends up being larger than 2'x2', cut out a larger 'square' or rectangle..... If the sheetrock is just slightly damp but not mush (saging, soft), you can leave the hole open for several days to dry out.
If you have access to a moisture meter, use it 'test' the surrounding sheetrock (including the adjacent walls) for moisture. Remember that water runs downwards, not just on the ceiling it is above.
Below is an example of:
1.) A rectanguler cut-out on the ceiling.
2.) How other areas, besides the ceiling (the walls) are affected by the downward flow of water....
(I took these on 02/28/07 - hallway view of one damaged apartment unit's entry area)
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