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Zeddica t1_iqsitsy wrote

Water that should be outside is coming inside? No, this will not resolve itself. You have a leak in your roof and it’s getting into the space between your ceiling and the roof itself.

If left alone, eventually you will have a huge mold problem.

And winter is coming…

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quadmasta t1_iqsvf7e wrote

Eventually it will resolve itself. The ceiling will fall and the water will no longer be dripping from the ceiling; it'll drip from the rafters instead.

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Bubbagumpredditor t1_iqty1cf wrote

WE had this with a bathtub. Soloution: Rip open plaster ceiling and install drop ceiling after numerous plumbers couldnt fix fully. Replace/repaint drop ceiling panels as needed.

DO NOT BUY A HUDRED YEAR OLD HOUSE UNLESS YOU ARE VERY< VERY VERY HANDY.

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frzn_dad t1_iqufgky wrote

Don't need to be handy if you are rich.

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EleanorRigbysGhost t1_iqvc12k wrote

If any rich heads with old houses out there are reading this, I am very handy and will gladly take your money.

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fabeeleez t1_iqu19ke wrote

My in laws have a hundred year house but they've taken very good care of it

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Bubbagumpredditor t1_iqu1p18 wrote

Oh, dont get me wrong, it was a lovely house, but still had the original plumbing and electric and guess why hit burned down?

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[deleted] t1_iqu6yd7 wrote

[deleted]

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Bubbagumpredditor t1_iqucpl9 wrote

Nope, bad switch.

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FerretChrist t1_iqv6r54 wrote

Dragon attack?

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Spamalot7107 t1_iqv95vd wrote

Trogdor?

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yacht_boy t1_iqu1fi9 wrote

Ehhh. Just renovate the bathroom properly. Replace the tub and all the associated plumbing. While you're at it, might as well do the rest of the bathroom over.

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Bubbagumpredditor t1_iqu1ue4 wrote

You sound like someone whos isnt wrong but who didnt have 2 kids in school form 1986-1994.

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yacht_boy t1_iqu2a0a wrote

I was 11 in 1986. But I do have 2 kids now, and my house is 175 years old.

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beardedheathen t1_iqu2xig wrote

I'm a decade younger with two kids and a house that's 125 years old. I wish I'd had other options because I'm a diyer because of budget issues.

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pops101 t1_iqu9spz wrote

I'm a decade younger than you and have neither kids or a house. If something is leaking then I really have a problem.

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oh-propagandhi t1_iqucqdo wrote

I'm right in between y'all in my house that's 8 years old. Houses always need fixing. The 12 year old one did and the 40 year old one did too. There's always something.

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Kevven t1_iqv4qof wrote

That's nothing. I was 135 years old in 1986. We bought a two year old house and it was a nightmare cause I was leaking all over the place!

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yacht_boy t1_iqugnae wrote

It's not too late to burn it down!

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burnerman0 t1_iqvsigr wrote

I assume you're saying this is the same time as you had your house with the leak? Or else I'm not sure what having your kids graduate 20 years ago has to do with fixing a leak now...

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greeblefritz t1_iqvggl5 wrote

Just did a full kitchen remodel on my 120ish year old house, with two kids in school. Once they are old enough you can actually use their help and teach them things.

(Although to be honest I'm a little premature in using the past tense, I've still got some trim to hang and I installed the blower motor on the range hood backwards, so I have to fix that before it's truly 'done').

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UsedUpSunshine t1_iqu4608 wrote

While you’re at it change the door frame in every room. Then the floors. Redo the kitchen. It’s a workflow that starts when you work on your house. You start and you’ll never stop.

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imanze t1_iqu76pm wrote

I’m sorry.. I don’t mean to be a dick but are you saying your solution of a constant and active leak was to remove an awesome plaster ceiling and replace it with a drop down ceiling so that you could just rip them out as they got water damaged? … Are you planning on addressing the leak? Disposable ceilings, now i’ve literally heard it all.

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AKA_Squanchy t1_iqu2quw wrote

Seriously! I grew up in a 1928, my dad is still battling it (he was a carpenter, and he taught me lots of handiness). My wife kept looking at craftsman homes and other classics and I finally had to tell her to stop, no way in hell I was going to deal with all that.

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last_rights t1_iqudy83 wrote

Mines 1917.

We're pretty handy.

Some small plumbing leaks that we fixed, replaced some of the cast iron sewer pipe that was rusted at the toilet, and replaced the old leaky cedar gutter that rotted the rafter tails. We cut those off and put up fascia and had aluminum gutters installed instead.

That's pretty much all that we have been "forced" to do. Everything else was because we decided to.

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greeblefritz t1_iqvj0n9 wrote

Yeah, I don't think you can broadly generalize about older houses like people are in this thread. It has to be more case-by-case. If a 100+ year old house has been well maintained over the years then it's not going to be much worse than a newer one. Different types of problems certainly, but it's not not automatically a junk heap. Whereas I've heard numerous stories of newer houses needing repairs or remodeling within the first 10 years because of shitty contractors cutting corners and doing a bad job.

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sose5000 t1_iqveshs wrote

Find different plumbers. Every leak can be fixed if you don’t half ass the repair.

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CoolWhipMonkey t1_iquq6nr wrote

My parents’ house was built in the 1800’s. So. Many. Problems.

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wootled t1_iqv6700 wrote

Depends where you live - my house is just over hundred years old, but it’s pretty standard in the UK.

Pain in the arse to fit anything like cupboards or shelves as not a single wall is straight or at a right angle to anything else!

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My3rstAccount t1_iqu21i8 wrote

Exactly why houses shouldn't be an investment. The first thing you do when you get one is change everything about it anyway.

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StatusSea5409 t1_iqurzd5 wrote

Agreed, nextdoor neighbor before we moved has no ceiling in her living room. It caved in on the person before her, that person moved out, the complex "fixed" it, then it came back down a year or two after she moved in.

That wasn't the worst apartment of our 3 apartment section. The people under our two apartments needed the EPA to come deal with all the black mold in the walls under the flooring, if it could grow there it did. I have no idea how the complex is still standing with all the black mold in them.

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AlienDelarge t1_iqvlu5l wrote

>it'll drip from the rafters instead.

That will also solve itself with time.

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UnofficialSlimShady OP t1_iqsk5qw wrote

I was going to put a plastic tarp on the roof until I can get a roofer in next week. Anything else I could do?

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rivalarrival t1_iqsmxlv wrote

I used to work in property preservation. That's exactly what I would do. Make sure you cover all the way from the peak down to well below where you think the leak might be.

If the weather isn't conducive to immediate repairs, I would advise laying down the tarps, then using 1x2" furring strips to hold down the edges. Just lay them down on the edges of the tarp, and screw them to the roof.

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trash_recycle t1_iqt615n wrote

Depending on your insurance carrier, your policy and possibly your state, improperly fastening boards via penetrations (screws and nails) can lead to a denial in insurance coverage. Not to mention additional water intrusions. An alternative to this is to lay the tarps over the peak as described but instead of fastening through the roof roll 2x4s in the perimeter of the tarp, fasten additional 2x4s to the wrapped 2x4s. This sandwich the tarp between the boards and is often enough weight on its own to secure the tarps.

In the event of the possibility of heavy wind or additional security for the tarp you'll need sand bags and ropes. Place sand bags on key points on the tarp along the perimeter and criss-cross ropes over the ridge across to the opposite side of the structure and secure them to the ground via additional sandbags, poles, trees.

This method is more difficult to do and significantly more in material costs, but insures good coverage with no new potential for water intrusion via anchors. Also by not anchoring into the roof your potential for the insurance company to say "you negligently caused additional damages" is reduced.

If you know you don't have coverage or a viable claim, use the anchor method above and a tube or two of Henry's roof patch.

I've got 11 years in emergency property restoration (think ServPro/Belfor). Started using this method after SafCo and American Family denied coverage to a handful of our customers during a particularly bad storm and we ended up having to tear off and reroof one side of a customers home.

Edit: clarification for securing tarp to the ground.

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[deleted] t1_iqtu3hr wrote

[deleted]

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Hobywony t1_iqucu3i wrote

Not the houses that Wilson Goode renovated.

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UsedUpSunshine t1_iqu5be5 wrote

Every place I lived in Puerto Rico has flat roofs, but if you have a leak, you generally have a pretty big problem at that point. My grandma’s house has a small layer of concrete and tar. My grandpa said he’s never had a leak and it would be a “devastating cost” if the roof had a leak.

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rivalarrival t1_iqt8uf9 wrote

Insurers are going to try to deny coverage on any grounds they can invent. Merely having a leak in the roof can result in a denial of certain coverage. Failing to adequately anchor the tarp can result in a denial of coverage, as well as open you up to liability if your weighted-and-not-anchored tarp goes flying in a storm and causes further damage to the house, cars, neighboring property, etc.

If it's leaking, the roof needs considerable repair anyway. There's little risk to anchoring the furring strips to the deck. If you're not going to anchor the boards to the roof, don't use them at all. Just tie off the tarp to anchors on the ground.

The more important factor is getting the roof properly repaired as soon as possible.

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mydrivec t1_iqu9jz5 wrote

He doesn't know what to do besides poking a hole in the ceiling and you expect him to determine if the entire roof needs replacing?

Use the sandbag method to be safe mate!

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yacht_boy t1_iqu20za wrote

> If it’s leaking, the roof needs considerable repair anyway.

Not necessarily. Often it's just a missing shingle, bad flashing, or other small fix.

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TravelerMSY t1_iqtptf8 wrote

Yeah. Fastening the tarp down like that is for after a hurricane tears part of the roof off and it’s obviously getting replaced.

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GetSecure t1_iqt82ce wrote

I did this as a temporary measure on my shed, lasted 5 years...

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Wightly t1_iqu0q7d wrote

Just be aware that where the leak is on the inside of your ceiling does not necessarily correspond with where the leak is on top of your roof.

I had a leak in my basement ceiling and the water leak in my kitchen was 6' away. Trying to find a leak at my parents and the water was coming in 20' away from where it was showing on the inside.

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purpleelpehant t1_iqtbt6w wrote

Buy a dehumidifier. If you get insurance involved, they will appreciate it. At least ours did

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jnads t1_iqtiayo wrote

Tarp or if the leak spot is obvious get a tube of roofing caulk (black stuff) from your local home improvement store and temporarily seal it.

Go in the attic in the daytime and turn off your flashlight in the attic and see if you see any daylight (such as plumbing vents). If light comes in water can too.

Typical leak spots are where there are interruptions in your roof, such as vents, chimneys, etc.

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Asuyu t1_iqtxdp1 wrote

Use a dehumidifier if you have one.

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guter567 t1_iqty64f wrote

Make sure your roof is clean, first and foremost. If you have a lot of build-up I'd be willing to bet that's causing it. Especially if it only leaks when it's raining particularly hard

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xRockTripodx t1_iqtmp49 wrote

First, white fucking walkers. Next, mold. The gods of Westeros are douchebags.

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WorkingInAColdMind t1_iqu34kd wrote

The roofer should be able to find it but keep in mind that the leak outside could be far from the puddle inside - water runs down joists and can end up far away. Good luck.

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Great_Chairman_Mao t1_iqtvkz7 wrote

I just finally fixed a recurring roof leak. Went through 3 contractors over a ten year period. I really hope it’s fixed for good this time around. Rain season starts soon…

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ballhogtugboat t1_iqtvv0i wrote

How do you not have mold problems?

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Great_Chairman_Mao t1_iqtw43j wrote

I’m usually pretty quick to get it fixed each time it comes back. But you’re right I should bring someone in to check.

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[deleted] t1_iqtxzgk wrote

[deleted]

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Great_Chairman_Mao t1_iqu1pxg wrote

Our building got a new roof but the leak is in the bay window above my unit not connect to the rest of the roof. I just got the contractors who did our roof to rip out the whole bay window roof and replace it with a new one in the same style of the rest of the roof.

This should be the end of it.

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Bubbagumpredditor t1_iqtxtaa wrote

> If left alone, eventually you will have a huge mold problem.

Probably already have a medium to huge mold problem.

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Zed-Leppelin420 t1_iqthgr2 wrote

Eventually more like already and has been for some time usually when it’s a big storm that just over loads it and leaks a lot were there the whole time

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Monemkr t1_iqtaoru wrote

This can be fixed some dragon glass.

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no0k t1_iqth8y5 wrote

We must prepare for the Night King. Alert the Watch!

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