The walls have ears... er, leaks
Sep. 29th, 2006 02:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vettecatNot sure how much you all remember, but, several months ago there was a major water leak from one of the units upstairs. That side of our kitchen was flooded, and afterwards the walls were all buckled and bubbly and stained. The owner of the unit agreed to pay for the damage, as it had been caused due to negligence, and after a few weeks a man came over to fix and repaint the walls. We thought that was it, but then a few months ago (when we had the bug problem) we happened to move a standing cabinet in that part of the kitchen, which the workman hadn't moved, and the wall behind it was all bubbled and warped too. We thought it was from the same leak, as it's immediately adjacent to the part of the wall that was fixed, and it was obviously water damage. So I called the management company and spoke to someone who said they'd let us know about sending a guy over. After a couple weeks I called again and left another message, and then another... still no response. I mentioned the problem to one of our trustees, who said she'd look into it. She mentioned a few times subsequently that she was working on it but hadn't gotten anywhere.
In the meantime, the rot in the kitchen wall from the water damage was getting visibly worse. In addition, I was hearing water dripping inside the adjacent wall (steady slow drip, like a sink that needs a washer). We also saw a couple of those little bugs again, which the exterminator told us are attracted to water... we were worried they might be living in the wall. Finally![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sdavido got frustrated enough to call himself, and actually got a response! I don't know whether the management guy just responds better to men, or what... but he finally agreed to come over and investigate.
The management guy came over on Wednesday. I took him into the kitchen and showed him the less-damaged part of wall (it's a corner section - the worse-damaged part is behind a heavier cabinet, so I moved the lighter piece first), along with a picture of the wall which we took in June when we first reported the damage. It's visibly worse, so I wanted him to see how it had changed over time.
He touched the wall and said that it was damp. Yeah, I knew that... but he said that he didn't think it was part of the flood damage, rather that it looked like an active leak. He said that he needed to look inside the wall, and went out to his truck and got a hammer. He then chipped away at the bottom of the wall until there was a hole (ouch), and then reached in and yanked away the piece of wall to expose the inside of the corner area. The sound of dripping water was now clearly audible. (Aha! I said I heard water running inside the wall...) There was also a strong damp, musty smell, like, well, wet wood.
He looked into the hole and felt around, and said it was a strong, fast leak. He said was going to try to get someone over here in the next day or two, because it needed to be fixed right away. He said we couldn't let that go on, it'll cause more damage and it can attract bugs/roaches. (Of course, it wouldn't have been as extensive if he'd responded when I called in June... or July... or August, or any of the times when the trustee called. ...sigh... Oh well, better late than never, I suppose.) He said they were going to have to take out that whole corner section of wall to expose the pipes, have the plumber fix the leak, and then replace the walls. It sounded like it'd probably take a couple days all told, but he seemed to feel that it's urgent (yay! finally!) so he gave the impression that they were going to fix it as fast as possible.
His assistant called shortly thereafter to say that they were sending over a maintenance guy Thursday morning to take out the wall and bring in the plumber to fix the leak. Then they needed to leave the section open to dry before they can close it up. Finally, some action!
The maintenance guy came this morning, and opened up that section of wall. The leak turned out to be from a valve that wouldn't close all the way. (With the wall open, it was almost a constant stream.) He had the plumber come and fix the leak, and put a temporary patch in place (which scarily looks better than the wall did!), with a fan blowing to dry it off. He says he can't see it being dry by Monday, so he's planning to come back Wednesday to tear down the rest of the walls and repair them. (He also was very surprised that he hadn't been called in sooner...)
So hopefully by this time next week, we'll have solid (not soggy) walls again. Yahoo!
(The only downside at the moment is that I emptied out the big cabinet Wednesday night, assuming he'd have to move it, and it turns out he didn't need to move it yet... so the contents are now in several bags taking up most of the kitchen floor, and I don't know whether or not to put them back. On the one hand I don't really want to have to do that all over again, on the other hand then we have to maneuver around bags of food for several days until he comes back. Bleah.)
In the meantime, the rot in the kitchen wall from the water damage was getting visibly worse. In addition, I was hearing water dripping inside the adjacent wall (steady slow drip, like a sink that needs a washer). We also saw a couple of those little bugs again, which the exterminator told us are attracted to water... we were worried they might be living in the wall. Finally
sdavido got frustrated enough to call himself, and actually got a response! I don't know whether the management guy just responds better to men, or what... but he finally agreed to come over and investigate.The management guy came over on Wednesday. I took him into the kitchen and showed him the less-damaged part of wall (it's a corner section - the worse-damaged part is behind a heavier cabinet, so I moved the lighter piece first), along with a picture of the wall which we took in June when we first reported the damage. It's visibly worse, so I wanted him to see how it had changed over time.
He touched the wall and said that it was damp. Yeah, I knew that... but he said that he didn't think it was part of the flood damage, rather that it looked like an active leak. He said that he needed to look inside the wall, and went out to his truck and got a hammer. He then chipped away at the bottom of the wall until there was a hole (ouch), and then reached in and yanked away the piece of wall to expose the inside of the corner area. The sound of dripping water was now clearly audible. (Aha! I said I heard water running inside the wall...) There was also a strong damp, musty smell, like, well, wet wood.
He looked into the hole and felt around, and said it was a strong, fast leak. He said was going to try to get someone over here in the next day or two, because it needed to be fixed right away. He said we couldn't let that go on, it'll cause more damage and it can attract bugs/roaches. (Of course, it wouldn't have been as extensive if he'd responded when I called in June... or July... or August, or any of the times when the trustee called. ...sigh... Oh well, better late than never, I suppose.) He said they were going to have to take out that whole corner section of wall to expose the pipes, have the plumber fix the leak, and then replace the walls. It sounded like it'd probably take a couple days all told, but he seemed to feel that it's urgent (yay! finally!) so he gave the impression that they were going to fix it as fast as possible.
His assistant called shortly thereafter to say that they were sending over a maintenance guy Thursday morning to take out the wall and bring in the plumber to fix the leak. Then they needed to leave the section open to dry before they can close it up. Finally, some action!
The maintenance guy came this morning, and opened up that section of wall. The leak turned out to be from a valve that wouldn't close all the way. (With the wall open, it was almost a constant stream.) He had the plumber come and fix the leak, and put a temporary patch in place (which scarily looks better than the wall did!), with a fan blowing to dry it off. He says he can't see it being dry by Monday, so he's planning to come back Wednesday to tear down the rest of the walls and repair them. (He also was very surprised that he hadn't been called in sooner...)
So hopefully by this time next week, we'll have solid (not soggy) walls again. Yahoo!
(The only downside at the moment is that I emptied out the big cabinet Wednesday night, assuming he'd have to move it, and it turns out he didn't need to move it yet... so the contents are now in several bags taking up most of the kitchen floor, and I don't know whether or not to put them back. On the one hand I don't really want to have to do that all over again, on the other hand then we have to maneuver around bags of food for several days until he comes back. Bleah.)
