OR I Hate Water. Period.
OR Friday is a good day to tear open some walls!
OR More detail about my day than you ever wanted to know.
*Sigh*
*Another sigh*
Where do I begin? I don't even know anymore. We moved into our house (it was brand new) over a year ago. Immediately, there were problems. First, there was a problem on our ceiling with the drywall, and they had to re-texture the entire ceiling and then paint. There were multiple other fairly minor things that had to be fixed, but we thought we were good to go after that.
And then, a couple months later, I went down to the basement and heard water running. As I walked down the hall to the bathroom, I could feel the water squishing under the carpet, and the entire bathroom was flooded by the toilet. The water had made its way completely into the back bedroom, down the hall, and into another bedroom. We called our warranty person and the plumbers immediately. The issue was "fixed," and a water damage repair company came over, and we had a dozen huge fans going for a week to dry it out, and then everything was eventually put back together again. Incidentally, the actual leak led to several more plumber visits until it was eventually fixed.
And then, a few weeks ago, I was in the basement and discovered some odd discoloration on the baseboard and on the wall in the back bedroom. I naturally became immediately concerned about a possible water leak in the wall. Warranty person comes out again, uses a fancy machine to detect moisture, and deems that it is not moisture and that there is no water (it did feel dry at the time). I knew there was something more going on, so I persisted that I wasn't happy with this answer. He then sent out a company to do water testing, and they also find there is no moisture. Painters are then scheduled to come out today to fix discoloration.
Incidentally, we got a major rainstorm last night and this morning, and it has been raining like crazy. The painters arrived, and when I took them downstairs to show them the area, there was definite wetness. On the baseboard, on the carpet pad, on the wall. So, I sent them away and called the lovely warranty team AGAIN to come out.
Sidenote: We discovered we have high radon levels and decided to have a radon mitigation system installed on Tuesday. It happened to be attached to the outside of that very bedroom with an outlet that the guy had installed. So, the warranty people immediately became suspicious that this was somehow related (I insisted it wasn't because of the previous discoloration I had noticed a few weeks prior). Trying to determine the water source led to this wonderful scene:
And then, a couple months later, I went down to the basement and heard water running. As I walked down the hall to the bathroom, I could feel the water squishing under the carpet, and the entire bathroom was flooded by the toilet. The water had made its way completely into the back bedroom, down the hall, and into another bedroom. We called our warranty person and the plumbers immediately. The issue was "fixed," and a water damage repair company came over, and we had a dozen huge fans going for a week to dry it out, and then everything was eventually put back together again. Incidentally, the actual leak led to several more plumber visits until it was eventually fixed.
And then, a few weeks ago, I was in the basement and discovered some odd discoloration on the baseboard and on the wall in the back bedroom. I naturally became immediately concerned about a possible water leak in the wall. Warranty person comes out again, uses a fancy machine to detect moisture, and deems that it is not moisture and that there is no water (it did feel dry at the time). I knew there was something more going on, so I persisted that I wasn't happy with this answer. He then sent out a company to do water testing, and they also find there is no moisture. Painters are then scheduled to come out today to fix discoloration.
Incidentally, we got a major rainstorm last night and this morning, and it has been raining like crazy. The painters arrived, and when I took them downstairs to show them the area, there was definite wetness. On the baseboard, on the carpet pad, on the wall. So, I sent them away and called the lovely warranty team AGAIN to come out.
Sidenote: We discovered we have high radon levels and decided to have a radon mitigation system installed on Tuesday. It happened to be attached to the outside of that very bedroom with an outlet that the guy had installed. So, the warranty people immediately became suspicious that this was somehow related (I insisted it wasn't because of the previous discoloration I had noticed a few weeks prior). Trying to determine the water source led to this wonderful scene:
The whole time the walls are being torn apart as they are trying to see how high up the leak is, my stomach was not knots. If the problem was not with the outlet and was something else, we are 100% covered no problem. As much as having a water disaster sucks, it's great when someone else is footing the bill. However, if the source was indeed the outside outlet, how would it work with Curt the Radon man? He certainly seemed like a caring, responsible person, but what kind of result would we have in getting it fixed and paid for? It was all hanging in the balance.
They couldn't determine the source of the leak from the basement. We journeyed back up to the main level to pull out the inside outlet that was connected to the outside outlet to see if there was any moisture. There was.
I felt my insides shake when I heard this. I immediately searched through everything to try and find Curt's cell phone number. Luckily, I found it quickly and was able to reach him, and he said he would be over in 30 minutes. Thank goodness he was at least taking it seriously. I just kept praying that it would not be the outlet. Let's rule out the outlet. Come on, Curt, tell them you are very exact in your methods and there's no way there could be water in there!
He arrived and took off the outlet cover. Lo and behold, he had neglected to seal the cord!that was coming out of the wall. Not what I wanted to hear, Curt. There was definite moisture inside. He was very apologetic and said that he would pay for any damage (and he has insurance). At least there's that.
The question remains, however: Is that the end all, be all cause? Everyone's coming back on Monday to test it out. I just hope and pray that we find the definitetrue cause and that everything is indeed fixed without us paying a penny. And that it never happens again. No more water damage please! This whole process today lasted about 6 hours, including my precious alone time while Asher naps. There's just so many unknowns, I want it all resolved. Like now. I want my house put back together sans leaks or water or broken walls or pipes or outlets.
Whenever we sell this house, I think I'll be a renter for life. Of course, that's like saying, "I'll never drink again!" when you drank too much way back when. I hardly remember those days....ah, the young, carefree days of pre-homeownership!
They couldn't determine the source of the leak from the basement. We journeyed back up to the main level to pull out the inside outlet that was connected to the outside outlet to see if there was any moisture. There was.
I felt my insides shake when I heard this. I immediately searched through everything to try and find Curt's cell phone number. Luckily, I found it quickly and was able to reach him, and he said he would be over in 30 minutes. Thank goodness he was at least taking it seriously. I just kept praying that it would not be the outlet. Let's rule out the outlet. Come on, Curt, tell them you are very exact in your methods and there's no way there could be water in there!
He arrived and took off the outlet cover. Lo and behold, he had neglected to seal the cord!that was coming out of the wall. Not what I wanted to hear, Curt. There was definite moisture inside. He was very apologetic and said that he would pay for any damage (and he has insurance). At least there's that.
The question remains, however: Is that the end all, be all cause? Everyone's coming back on Monday to test it out. I just hope and pray that we find the definitetrue cause and that everything is indeed fixed without us paying a penny. And that it never happens again. No more water damage please! This whole process today lasted about 6 hours, including my precious alone time while Asher naps. There's just so many unknowns, I want it all resolved. Like now. I want my house put back together sans leaks or water or broken walls or pipes or outlets.
Whenever we sell this house, I think I'll be a renter for life. Of course, that's like saying, "I'll never drink again!" when you drank too much way back when. I hardly remember those days....ah, the young, carefree days of pre-homeownership!
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