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John H.[_5_]

On Thu, 03 Sep 2015 13:05:50 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 03 Sep 2015 12:24:09 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Thu, 3 Sep 2015 10:38:21 -0400, Justan Olphart wrote:

On 9/3/2015 10:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Sep 2015 09:21:13 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 9/3/2015 7:53 AM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Thu, 03 Sep 2015 07:27:00 -0400, John H.
wrote:

We came home to a puddle in the basement the week before last. It has become a major
problem. Apparently a pinhole leak has been going for quite some time, maybe a year
or more. The sheetrock walls between the kitchen and powder room have been soaked.
There is also a lot of moisture under the tiles in the kitchen around the same areas.
The wall covering (sheetrock) will have to come down, along with the kitchen cabinets
on that side. Plus, the tile floor and tile above the counter will have to be taken
out. The entire kitchen floor will be retiled.

If that wasn't enough, the leak has also caused a lot of mold. If the mold under the
tile cannot be cleaned, then the subfloor will also have to be replaced.

So, that's where things stand now. We're waiting on the insurance to approve the
estimate for the mold removal.

But, the trip to Shenandoah River State Park was a blast. Floating down the
Shenandoah on a tube has got to be one of the most relaxing activities going.

===

Bad news John, sorry to hear that. Is it a pipe leak? It's really
important to stay ahead of the mold issue.

For sure. One of our neighbors in Florida had a major roof leak during
one of the hurricanes and they didn't address the water damage soon
enough. Mold set in and they ended up having to abandon the house and
have it razed.

One of our houses also had some serious water damage to the inside. The
roof didn't leak but the wind blew the main entry double doors open on
the first floor (they opened inward) and then all the rest of the
double doors on the first and second floor were blown open outward.
Wind swept rain throughout the house resulted. Fortunately, my nephew
(who is a contractor) was there and he immediately ripped up the rugs
and any wet floorboards on the second story and cutout any wet sheet
rock sections that he found throughout the house. The first floor was
all tile on a concrete slab, so no floor damage was done there. He let
everything dry out and then replaced the affected sections. Fortunately
we didn't have any mold issues. I understand that once it starts, it
can be a bitch to get rid of.

Well, I'll let you know. It has most definitely started. The big question is how hard
will it be to get off the subfloor under the tiles. If it can be dried and either
cleaned or sanded off, then that will be done. Otherwise the whole floor will need
replacing.

This sucks.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Does your house have a basement? If so, the wetness and mold may not
have traveled too far assuming your base floor is planks and not plywood.

The basement has a concrete floor. No mold there. The mold is in the walls under the
leak and, most likely, in the material under the ceramic tile in the kitchen and
bath. I'm not sure what that material is, depends on how much money the folks before
me spent on putting in the tile.

Mold may be a little over hyped. If you live in a place like Florida,
mold is just a fact of life and I seem to remember it being pretty hot
and humid in DC too.

I bet your weather reports list mold and pollen counts in the air.

All that said, you should mitigate the mold and remove the moisture
wherever possible but don't go nuts trying to get the last .01%
There is a spray that kills mold on the wood (not bleach) and removal
of any damaged wood should be done.
There is a chance that you can pop up the tile and save it but chances
are you will be buying tile. Labor is going to be at least as much as
the tile unless you do it yourself.
If you are willing to tackle it, check out the tile outlet stores for
odd lots, Most of the time you do not need a whole pallet of tile so
finding a small batch is all you need. When we did our new bathroom,
we were able to get premium grade tile cheaper than the cheap crap at
Home Depot.

The new tile, including installation, will be covered under the insurance. They will
not make an attempt to save the old tile - takes too much time and careful work.
They'll just bust it up and get it out. Then the floor can dry and the mold can be
tackled. The mold in the walls will go out with the sheetrock. There may be mold on
the back of some of the kitchen cabinets, but hopefully it can be cleaned off once
the cabinets are removed.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!