 Msradell
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY |
to MIA_Leak
Re: Mystery LeakActually, I'd probably cut the hole myself to see what's going on and then call a plumber or HVAC person depending on need. It's a problem with just condensation you can probably fix it yourself. You're going to probably have to call a sheetrock specialist in either case to fix the hole unless you can do that also. |
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 garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI |
to MIA_Leak
Ditto on cutting the ceiling open myself. I'd want to know right away what I'm dealing with, leaks can add up to big money quickly. |
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MIA_Leak
Anon
2012-Oct-1 3:32 pm
There is no way I am cutting up the drywall myself.
After calling around a bit, I think an AC company will be better suited for this job.
Multiple plumbing companies told me they can only help if there is a clogged pipe- which is more than likely not the case here. |
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garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI |
garys_2k
Premium Member
2012-Oct-1 3:34 pm
said by MIA_Leak :There is no way I am cutting up the drywall myself. Just wondering, why not? It cuts easily (especially if damp) with a box cutter. |
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to MIA_Leak
I had the same issue and what was wrong was the copper pipe to the air handler was missing a few inches of insulation which in the hot weather caused condensation on the pipe that dripped down onto the dry wall. In my case I could just go into the attic and see the problem.
Dry wall is easy to cut just use a circular saw or trim saw set for a 1/2 cut, zip zip easy enough. |
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 leibold
MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
ZyXEL P-663HN-51
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to garys_2k
I understand that cutting drywall is easy, but when I don't know what is behind (or in this case above) it I rather leave it to someone that has the experience.
OP, your plan to get a plumber to investigate and take care off this issue was a good one. Like you however I found that some plumbers (especially highly recommended ones) are getting so much business that they can cherry-pick the types of issues they are willing to take on. You may want to try a few more plumbers instead of getting a HVAC specialist for an issue that may not be HVAC related. If you can't get any plumber to help, consider a general contractor that will also do the drywall repair when the problem is solved. |
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cowboyro
Premium Member
2012-Oct-1 4:00 pm
said by leibold:I understand that cutting drywall is easy, but when I don't know what is behind (or in this case above) it I rather leave it to someone that has the experience. Come on, really? A simple hammer will do... just make a small crack enough to rip more, if there in nothing to be damaged then cut with saw... sheeessshhhhh... |
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 robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX |
to MIA_Leak
I would recommend trying to find a handiman who does small jobs and can repair sheetrock. Once the sheetrock is cut then you can determine the proper "expert" for the repair if it is out of the skill set of the person who cut the sheetrock. At this point, without knowing what is causing the water damage, you really don't know what skill sets are needed to complete the repair but you do know that the sheetrock will have to be fixed, so start there. |
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garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI |
to leibold
Slit the paper into the board (cut it into a neat rectangle) and smack it. No need to even penetrate all the way through to break it away and get your eyes on what's leaking. |
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nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ |
to MIA_Leak
said by MIA_Leak :There is no way I am cutting up the drywall myself.
After calling around a bit, I think an AC company will be better suited for this job.
Multiple plumbing companies told me they can only help if there is a clogged pipe- which is more than likely not the case here.
I hate patching drywall yet I would cut a neat access to see who I needed to call if anyone. Then get a cheap drywall person to patch it up. Or maybe even patch myself depending on the texture. |
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 jjoshua
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Scotch Plains, NJ |
to MIA_Leak
Open it up with a utility knife and take a look. What could possibly be up there? |
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Msradell
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY |
to MIA_Leak
It's not that difficult to cut the hole and you'll save yourself quite a bit of money! After all this is a DIY forum so, "do it yourself"! |
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nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ |
to leibold
Even if you do not know what is above it then it is still easy to cut. Even a box cutter and a straight edge. Just have to go deep enough to have a straight edge not even all the way through. Then carefully remove the drywall. If it is damp or wet heck the center part would probably fall apart.
Not telling you to go through it many inches deep with a saw then hit something. |
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MaynardKrebsWe did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17 |
to MIA_Leak
said by MIA_Leak :OP here, given the possibilities of the actual root cause, and you all had to make a choice, would you call a plumber or AC repair?
I chose to have a plumber come out in a couple of days. My thinking is that there is nothing wrong with the AC system, and any issues with condensation/pipes/insulation a plumber should be able to handle.
Am I right with this assumption?
1) Get a strong magnet, and a heavy duty utility knife 2) Get a ladder 3) Get up on ladder with magnet, a pencil, and a ruler 4) Move the magnet around on the ceiling in the leak area until it 'grabs' a screw. This indicates that there's a joist in this spot. Mark the location. Do this over and over until you've found the boundaries of the area you want to cut out and all the joists in the area. Draw cut lines using your ruler centered on the screws long the joists. 5) Carefully cut the drywall out of the ceiling. Then do everything I and others have suggested to look around yourself and test things out. Then you'll know whether you need a plumber, a/c guy, roofer, or some combination of all three. When watever is wrong is repairs, find a handyman (with references and call them) who will patch your ceiling and paint it for you. if you don't want to do this yourself. |
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MIA_LEAK to MIA_Leak
Anon
2012-Oct-5 10:44 am
to MIA_Leak
OP here. AC guy came and cut hole in drywall. Right above the cut is a dryer exhaust line 90 degree elbow. So the dryer is in the garage, the exhaust goes through the ceiling in the dining room. At the wetspot location, there is a 90 elbow and the exhaust goes up to the attic. The elbow is the low point, and condensation collects there and drips on the ceiling. The dryer exhaust was cool to the touch, probably from the night before. AC guy told me the dryer exhaust is poor design, because hot air and lint goes all the way up through my house, instead of simply to the left and out to the left of the garage. Solution: He is going to remove as much of the dryer exhaust line as possible in my house. Then he is going to create a new exhaust line in my garage. I took some pics and also updated the floor plan with some detail. |
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to MIA_Leak
so the first owner had a dryer vent that went from the garage and vent out through the roof?
that's a very dumb**s move....
instead of venting it out sideways to the nearest wall....
did you get the house inspected before you bought it? I would think that any house inspector would see that and suggest relocating the vent nearby...but then again, inspectors can be like a box of chocolates... |
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MIA_LEAK
Anon
2012-Oct-5 11:10 am
I agree. Its very very very bad design. |
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to MIA_LEAK
There are two ducts in the picture. What is the second one for?
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said by mattmag:There are two ducts in the picture. What is the second one for?
If I had to guess based on the size and location its most likely from a bathroom fan that they tied into the dryer duct exhaust, whoever designed that mess really did not have a clue. I just hope that the dryer is electric and not gas, I would hate to think of how much CO leaked out of that mess over the years. |
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to mattmag
said by mattmag:There are two ducts in the picture. What is the second one for?
Oooh. I want to know the answer to that question, too. |
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to zippoboy7
said by zippoboy7:If I had to guess based on the size and location its most likely from a bathroom fan that they tied into the dryer duct exhaust,
Kinda my thought too, it seems to be coming from the direction of the half-bath in the diagram. |
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MIA_LEAK to mattmag
Anon
2012-Oct-5 11:21 am
to mattmag
The second one is the 1/2 bath ceiling fan exhaust. |
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| MIA_LEAK |
MIA_LEAK to zippoboy7
Anon
2012-Oct-5 11:21 am
to zippoboy7
Its an electric dryer, thank god. |
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to MIA_LEAK
Condensation collection in the elbow is a probable culprit for the water drips given the bad design. Assuming that pipe goes straight up and ultimately leads up and out through your roof, do not discount the possibility that rain water has found a way to penetrate into the pipe and is making its way down the pipe. Been there, done that.
Edit: For example, it could be a bad rubber boot around the pipe at the roof penetration. That's what happened to me. Water was coming down the outside of the last segment of pipe from outside and was funneled into the interior pipe which was female to the last segment which was male that penetrated the roof. So water was funneled into the interior pipe until it hit the lowest point and leaked out. |
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 Jtmo
Premium Member
join:2001-05-20
Novato, CA |
to MIA_Leak
One last thought, is there any builders warranty on the house? |
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to MIA_LEAK
Before you add a dryer vent through the side wall of the garage, check and see if your home is on a zero lot line lot and the garage wall is on the property line. Is there any windows on the side of the house where the garage wall is? Usually a home on a zero lot line development does not have windows on the side of the house that is on the property line. If the garage wall is on the lot line then going on the property adjacent to the garage to install or clean the vent would be trespassing. |
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to MIA_Leak
Moist air from drier meets colder environment.
Someone wasn't too bright... |
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 dcurrey
Premium Member
join:2004-06-29
Mason, OH |
to sempergoofy
Good point about going up and checking pipe on roof. May be able to see it from inside attic. Had plumbing vent stack boot had dry rotted out and cracked around pipe. Could see sky looking up at the boot from inside the attic.. Water just flowed down outside of pipe until it hit first elbow. Dripped into insulation from that point. |
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to cowboyro
My theory about the home being in a zero lot line subdivision is that builders do all sort of screwy things to avoid penetrating the wall on the property line in a zero lot line subdivision. In most zero line subdivisions the homeowner of the adjacent property is required to maintain the appearance of the neighbors wall (Paint it.) on the property line unless such maintenance is include in the HOA Fee. |
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to sempergoofy
The pipe does not go out through the roof. It exhausts into the attic.
AC guy went up there and found no evidence of a roof leak. |
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