I’m updating the status of my flooding issue from this post.
First off, I’ve had an outpouring of comments, phone calls, and emails from family, friends, and my blog readers (aka my online friends ;)) with advice for how to handle this situation.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
I was almost in tears this morning when I woke up to this mess. I just did.NOT. want to deal with this today ever.
But I took a few deep breaths and somehow managed to get my big girl panties on and take this fiasco by the horns.
I really couldn’t have done it without all of you though. You reminded me that I should call my insurance agency. You let me know I needed a roofer, not a plumber. You even gave me referrals (I’m still trying to get someone to answer their phone!)
I’ve had phone calls and emails with kind friends offering to bring over dinner and send their husbands over to help me out.
This outpouring is literally bringing me to tears. Thank you everyone for your help. I’m fine now and I’ve gotten it all under control, but the generosity is just overwhelming me.
Okay, now on to the update!
I don’t have anyone scheduled to come over yet, but I do know what the issues are and from the look of things, this might not be too expensive after all. Whew.
As for the laundry room:
I need someone (not me!) to go onto my roof and fix whatever is wrong with the dryer vent. It’s obviously leaking. Maybe a seal around it is broken, or the cover for it has blown away. Who knows. But I’m pretty sure I don’t have a big horrible hole in the roof. Just a little leak in the vent.
Now on to the bigger problem, the closet:
I grabbed a tarp, some painters plastic, and a ladder and prepped the area.
I knew this would be very messy and gross, so I made sure to cover everything before I started.
Then I got my supplies:
Fortunately I have all this equipment already because of all the renovating I did at our last home.
* flashlight
* sheetrock saw
* face mask
Then I just started cutting.
OMG, it was disgusting. This thing has been leaking for quite awhile!
The sheetrock was super wet and soggy and even a bit slimy.
I almost threw up it was so nasty. Good thing I didn’t though because I had a face mask on. That would have been just downright disgusting.
So I just kept sawing until all the wet sheetrock was cut out and then I used the sheetrock knife to knock all the nasty wet insulation down as well.
And here’s the problem:
See that silver pipe?
Water is running down the side of it from the roof and when it bends the water drips off the pipe and into the insulation.
Good thing I prepped the area before I started. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. I’ve had way too many ambitious projects that I just dug into without doing the proper prep work.
Currently at this point this is the hole in my closet.
I’ve since added a bucket to catch the drips while I wait for a professional to come fix the leak.
Once I get the leaks all taken care of, I’m going to save money by fixing the sheetrock myself. I’ll show you how to fix a ginormous hole in your ceiling. Lucky you!
I ventured into the attic to get a better view, but there’s really nothing I can do so I came back down. Well, I kinda chickened out because there’s no light in there and my flashlight batteries died and I don’t have any new ones! I’m so creeped out by the dark attic.
However, while I was up there for a total of about 30 seconds, I snapped this picture (with the flash).
I’ve labeled it for easy viewing. The water is dripping down the silver pipe that is labeled. There’s also a 2nd silver pipe running through the attic. One of these is for the dryer.
The pipes are so close together and go to basically the same area of the house so I don’t know which is for the dryer. So the leak may or may not be coming from the same place. Let’s hope it’s the same leak because that will save me even more money!
Thanks again for all your help!
Now I can get back to crafting. Yay! I’ve got a few fun Fall things in the line up that I can’t wait to finish and show you!!!
* edited September 2010: I fixed the sheetrock in the closet here. *
** edited March 11, 2012: Update to this flooding issue **
Oh man what a mess! I’m so sorry all this happened today. You are quite the handy gal I must say!! Hope you get it all fixed up. 🙂
Glad you’re feeling better. Even though the problem still exists, it just feels good to have a course of action in place! Good luck!
OH YOU GO GIRL!
I wish I lived closer I’d help with the repair.
My guess is the vent pipe where the water is running down may be venting a gas appliance of some sort like a gas water heater maybe. The flexible (slinky looking) pipe is typical flex dryer duct. It could be as you said simply replacing a blown off vent cover or the flashing around the pipe under the shingles may neat to re-sealed.
Please keep us updated. Just think, you can add home repair to your resume!
Does your roof have a warranty? We just found ours. It is posted on the top of the ladder that goes into the crawl space. I have been up there a bunch of times and never noticed it until a few days ago
Oh no! I missed your original post! It has been raining like CRAZY!
I will keep my fingers crosses that the rain stays away until someone can come and fix it for you!!
Oh no. I missed your previous post but this is so horrible. I hope this is can be repaired reasonably and soon. It is still raining buckets here and our roof vent repair that DH did this summmer seems to be holding. I hope yours is nothing more than what we had. Looking forward to your fall crafting creations. 🙂
i just cant belive it! you are such a big girl! i cant belive you dealth with eveything on your own, found the leak, cut a hole in your ceiling, accessed the damage everything AND found the time to take a pix and post! YOU ARE AMAZING!! Good luck with the roofers tomorrow! Lucky it happened to you and not me, i’d be sitting in a pool of water crying
HIGH FIVE TO YOU!
If our contractor that replaced our roof last winter would drive 1500 miles, I could give you a referral. Our contractor was awesome! Hope you find a good one real soon. I wish I had some big girl panties like you have. I’m too much of a wimp and don’t have a clue what I would be doing to investigate. You go, girl!
My husband owns a roofing company, but we’re in SC. When your roofer comes, go ahead and ask him to replace ALL of your vent boots. If one has gone bad, dry rotted, or has a cracked seal, the other ones are going to go soon. They’ve all been on your roof and exposed to the same conditions for the same amount of time. They’re made of rubber/plastic, and most dry rot over time. So, save yourself a future headache, and deal with them all at once now. Also, you should expect to pay less than $200 for this repair (unless your house is super high or steep.)
I have the # for a plumber and roofer in the Austin area. My bro-in-law works for an a/c co., but used to be in the roofing biz. You will still need to check references, but they are coming on b-i-l’s recommendation
roofing David Dibonito 512-934-3200 and Redeemed Plumbing 512-775-8506
Oh! Good grief!! what a mess : (
I’m so sorry – I hate water issues! Better to find it now & deal with it, I guess, rather than having the problem festering up there! You’re a rock star for all of your trouble shooting. Hope someone calls soon!
I also missed the first post, what a mess! That is a very long dryer vent! I remember my Dad saying they should be only a few feet long. Of course, he’s been known to make things up at times. LOL!
I hope you get this all resolved quickly and as cheaply as possible.
WOW, way to get in there and do it yourself! Just a month into the home–not fun!
You need Mike Holmes!! The guy on HGTV who fixes things “right”!! Ha! Let us hope your roofers actually fix the problem. And good for you taking the bull by the horns and taking out all that crappy mess! That wasn’t easy, I know.
Good luck on all the repairs!!
Hugs
SueAnn
What a woman! My roof leak now doesn’t look so bad – it’s gross looking, like cancer, but not as big as yours. Remember, this was hard high wind driven rain – probably lots of people had leaks with this storm. You’re lucky to get a roofer so fast.
AAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWKKKKKKKKK! 😯 Hope that you get it all taken care of soon. Water is NO fun when it is leaking through the house!! UGH!