[panthar]

My daughter left the hand shower dripping outside the bathtub yesterday on 2nd Floor and water kept dripping from the shower onto floor then to carpet and then to drywall ceiling below on 1st floor (Car Garage Below).

Bathroom floor was ceramic tiles - So water was there and I had lots of foam rugs in bathroom, probably it soaked lot of water already.

Carpet - 2 Feet X 2 Feet was drenched wet. I pulled it out and saw the foam carpet below was very soggy. and wood below also was soggy.

Went downstairs in garage, I saw there was joint tape of drywall popping out and water dripped below like (2 cups maybe).

QUESTION : After I let the carpet, foam carpet below, wood below , dry wall dry ... Do I need to do anything ?

Do I need to rip apart the dry wall and replace it.


I drilled couple of holes in ceiling in garage to see if there was any water standing there, I did not see any water collection anywhere .. I just saw that the ceiling dry wall pretty soaked since drill bit had wet mud stuck to it.


WHAT ARE MY NEXT STEPS ... ANY IDEAS ?

JUST DRYING IS THE SOLUTION OR ANY FURTHER STEPS ARE NEEDED ?

THIS IS A BRAND NEW HOUSE 2015 CONSTRUCTION.

 

[ChuckF.]

Is there any way you can ventilate the space above the drywall? I would cut a 2x2' square out of it and stick my head up there and soak up any standing water. Then put a fan up there and another one on the ground blowing up at the ceiling. Let the fans run for a few days and then reevaluate the condition of the drywall.

 

[panthar]

I purchased a spy camera and will drill a whole and run the camera behind the dry wall to see what is the condition on the other side of the wall. But that will take like may be 1 week to get the wire spy camera. Would that be ok or tooo late ?

Do I need to cut the 2 X 2 section right away ?

 

[ChuckF.]

Hard to say, is it still dripping into the garage? How big is the wet spot? Do you hear dripping inside the ceiling? Does the wet spot feel mushy or just wet? Is the cardboard coating of the drywall blistering up? Does the ceiling glisten with water?

 

[Nestor_Kelebay]

I purchased a spy camera and will drill a whole and run the camera behind the dry wall to see what is the condition on the other side of the wall. But that will take like may be 1 week to get the wire spy camera. Would that be ok or tooo late ?

Do I need to cut the 2 X 2 section right away ?

Panthar:

Your best bet is to let everything dry out before you do anything. It's very possible that all you'll need to do is scrape some loose paint off the ceiling in your garage and repaint that area.

Does the spy camera you purchased have a light SOURCE? One of the problems with these kinds of cameras is that they don't have a light source to illuminate what's in front of the camera, so all you see is darkness when you stick it into a hole. They work great in demonstrations, but as soon as you use them in a real application, then unless you can get a source of light into the wall, ceiling or floor, then the camera is useless because all you see is darkness.

 

[ToolSeeker]

I don't think the camera will do you much good it may see a standing puddle but if the ceiling is insulated it won't see anything. Also it won't tell you how wet the drywall is.

As long as the leak is fixed and the water source is gone just let it dry really well. If the paper on the drywall is not loose after it dries, you are good to go. Just re-tape the joint, mud, sand, prime, and paint.

 

[panthar]

Hard to say, is it still dripping into the garage? How big is the wet spot? Do you hear dripping inside the ceiling? Does the wet spot feel mushy or just wet? Is the cardboard coating of the drywall blistering up? Does the ceiling glisten with water?

Yes Chuck, I still hear water dripping in ceiling. I hear "tip tip tip tip" of water drop ... 5-7 seconds apart ... the wet spot on the floor upstairs is bit dried now ... but the ceiling dry wall as I told when i drilled hole in it was mushy sheet ... wet mud ... cardboard coating on the drywall is not blistering anywhere .. only the tape joint at one place popped out ... I pealed it and let the water fall down from there ... it let like 4-5 table spoon of water fall from there ... that's it ...

 

[panthar]

I don't think the camera will do you much good it may see a standing puddle but if the ceiling is insulated it won't see anything. Also it won't tell you how wet the drywall is.

As long as the leak is fixed and the water source is gone just let it dry really well. If the paper on the drywall is not loose after it dries, you are good to go. Just re-tape the joint, mud, sand, prime, and paint.

Camera does have a adjustable light in built in front ... my main concern is that after it dries will there be any other danger like mold or something ?

 

[ZTMAN]

Since you continue to hear water drip, I would cut open the ceiling in the garage to see what is dripping. As wet as the drywall is , you will want to replace that that anyway. Cut an area from joist to joist. That way it will be an easy fix and give you enough room to get your head up there to see what is going on. Its a garage ceiling so you can paint the patch at you convenience.

You may also want to fix that dripping hand held shower head

 

[panthar]

Since you continue to hear water drip, I would cut open the ceiling in the garage to see what is dripping. As wet as the drywall is , you will want to replace that that anyway. Cut an area from joist to joist. That way it will be an easy fix and give you enough room to get your head up there to see what is going on. Its a garage ceiling so you can paint the patch at you convenience.

You may also want to fix that dripping hand held shower head

But I cannot see what portion of dry wall is wet ... I mean there is no wet mark stained on it .... I just hear dripping sound

 

[ZTMAN]

I would cut the area that was wet, and if the dripping is coming from a different area, cut where you hear the dripping. Was there a heating floor vent next to where all the water dripped?

 

[panthar]

I would cut the area that was wet, and if the dripping is coming from a different area, cut where you hear the dripping. Was there a heating floor vent next to where all the water dripped?

Dont have any floor vents ... I have all ceiling vents ... and there was no vent near the dripping ...

Attached 2 pictures ...

 

[ChuckF.]

Yes I would cut a hole. Standing water up there is the possible problem. If there is a joist along the line where the tape fell, cut a head-sized hole on both sides of the joist, if no joist, cut a single hole centered on the tape.

If there's insulation up there as someone pointed out, it can hold a lot of water for a long time.

 

[ZTMAN]

That's a lot of water to make its way from the bathroom to the carpeted area. At a minimum , I would cut open the garage ceiling on each side of the garage door opener bracket. I assume you floor joists run side to side, so I would make a cut to expose the joist bay on each side of the tape line. If you see a lot of wet areas, you may even want to consider calling you homeowners insurance company.

 

[panthar]

OK I am going to cut out portion of ceiling at couple of places and see what is going on where ... and then post back ... question now ... I am at work ... I dont have much work ... but I normally go back in evening ... shall I stick around till evening ? or rush right now to home and starting cutting it ... can this wait ? or am I inviting more problem ?

 

[jimn]

Your homeowners insurance coverage should cover all of this . If you decide to go that route then contact them soon. The might want to remediate the water issue immediately to prevent further damage

 

[panthar]

Yes it will cover but is it worth ? I am sure there is no structure damage ... only damage which I see it wet carpet which will dry ...

My main concern is mold ... but that is also which probably if I replace a complete dry wall sheet (2 X 10 = 20 $) ... I can paint it and done !!

WHy to claim insurance they will increase my premium for no big reason ... no ?

Sorry I am first time home owner so just reading it that way ... Am I wrong ? I mean for at max 50 $ work I will increase my premium on home insurance with this claim ... no ?
I am a good DIY kind of person ... not expert but good one..

 

[panthar]

I just cut a portion of dry wall and there was no water at all ... Insulation was also totally dry ... I cut it from one joice to another stuck in my head and touched the insulation ... All looked ok and dry.. But now I don't know other side of joice do I cut another portion now ?

 

[panthar]

Did some cuts and don't see anything dripping anymore , nothing wet or damp, feel bit cold looks like it was wet ... Suggest me now ? Anything I should do ?
May be it was not that bad leak I guess

What do I guys think ?

 

[ChuckF.]

Good, leave the fan blow on it for a day or two. Start planning to patch the holes with drywall, drywall screws, glue, boards or scraps of plywood, and patching compound.