MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
edited December 2023
Maybe a GC to get a better idea on where the problem is likely coming from first?
I don't know if a plumber can tell without cutting the walls and that may turn into an expensive plumbing job vs a GC doing it first. Not sure, but yeah plumber will need to be involved regardless.
So we have two bathrooms stacked on on top of each other. One on the main floor and one in the finished basement.
In the lower bathroom we’re noticing peeling paint on the drywall box that covers where the toilet sewer pipes from the upstairs bath run.
If you scrape away the peeled paint, the beginning of water damage and maybe a very small mount of mold starting to show. Presumably something in there is leaking a little.
I’m guessing we start with a plumber and hope they can go in through the top to fix whatever it is? Otherwise someone will have to do some demo to access the problem area.
This box
The toilet is directly above that
VishNub on
+1
amateurhourOne day I'll be professionalhourThe woods somewhere in TennesseeRegistered Userregular
Vish just coat it in a gallon of flex seal and then paint over it.
So we have two bathrooms stacked on on top of each other. One on the main floor and one in the finished basement.
In the lower bathroom we’re noticing peeling paint on the drywall box that covers where the toilet sewer pipes from the upstairs bath run.
If you scrape away the peeled paint, the beginning of water damage and maybe a very small mount of mold starting to show. Presumably something in there is leaking a little.
I’m guessing we start with a plumber and hope they can go in through the top to fix whatever it is? Otherwise someone will have to do some demo to access the problem area.
This box
The toilet is directly above that
A typical toilet drain wouldn't require such a bump out in the first place so hard to say what sins it might be hiding. I don't believe you're going to be able to identify and fix the leak without removing the drywall. And replacing the drywall is certainly a lot easier than tearing up the flooring to fix it from above. When it comes to water damage and mold, you don't want to ignore it, so I'd be tearing that section open and repairing/replacing even if you could fix the leak without doing so.
Edit: The stain in that picture is in an odd spot for a leaking drain. I'd expect it more on the bottom of the bump out, not near the top. But that box could be hiding something that would cause water to flow that way. But the other possibility is that the bubbling paint isn't from an internal leak but could just be from surface condensation from the shower if the bathroom is not vented or the vent isn't being used, and the paint used wasn't moisture resistant bathroom paint.
SiliconStew on
Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
Well that shower has been used I think twice by humans, though the spiders use it extensively.
so unfortunately I don’t think it’s that.
Another possibility is that the caulking around the toilet upstairs has kind of dried out and pulled away. Floor water from eg. Post showers dripping past the toilet would also make sense.
Forgot to feed it, huh? Better hope you can find another one for the kids.
+2
webguy20I spend too much time on the InternetRegistered Userregular
Today was gutters today. The big tree in front of the house has finally finished dropping leaves and it wasn't raining. Took about an hour. The downspouts seem pretty clear so we'll see once it starts raining tomorrow.
Today was gutters today. The big tree in front of the house has finally finished dropping leaves and it wasn't raining. Took about an hour. The downspouts seem pretty clear so we'll see once it starts raining tomorrow.
Ugh, I* gotta get up there and do mine. It's pouring and I can see where the gutters are overflowing onto the driveway.
we move into a newer home build a few years ago and one of the things we did was remove two trees. one was right in front of a window out a bedroom on the main level, and the other was about 15 feet away in the middle of the lawn. I love trees and we left the ones in the back but dealing with gutters and leaves all over the lawn is unfun.
So we have two bathrooms stacked on on top of each other. One on the main floor and one in the finished basement.
In the lower bathroom we’re noticing peeling paint on the drywall box that covers where the toilet sewer pipes from the upstairs bath run.
If you scrape away the peeled paint, the beginning of water damage and maybe a very small mount of mold starting to show. Presumably something in there is leaking a little.
I’m guessing we start with a plumber and hope they can go in through the top to fix whatever it is? Otherwise someone will have to do some demo to access the problem area.
This box
The toilet is directly above that
A typical toilet drain wouldn't require such a bump out in the first place so hard to say what sins it might be hiding. I don't believe you're going to be able to identify and fix the leak without removing the drywall. And replacing the drywall is certainly a lot easier than tearing up the flooring to fix it from above. When it comes to water damage and mold, you don't want to ignore it, so I'd be tearing that section open and repairing/replacing even if you could fix the leak without doing so.
Edit: The stain in that picture is in an odd spot for a leaking drain. I'd expect it more on the bottom of the bump out, not near the top. But that box could be hiding something that would cause water to flow that way. But the other possibility is that the bubbling paint isn't from an internal leak but could just be from surface condensation from the shower if the bathroom is not vented or the vent isn't being used, and the paint used wasn't moisture resistant bathroom paint.
We had a leak below our upstairs toilet when the wax seal between the bottom of the toilet and the drain in the floor went bad. It dripped down into our basement, thankfully unfinished. I replaced it with a foam rubber type deal, I think it was Oaty brand, did the trick.
AbsoluteZero on
0
AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
Any recommendations for non-silicone bathroom caulk? I have tried several brands of the silicone stuff but it always cracks after about a year and I'm so very tired of scraping out caulk and redoing it annually. The gaps are very small too. I think our old house just moves too much with seasonal heating and cooling etc.
AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
It seems to adhere just fine. The stuff seems to lose it's elasticity after a few months and cracks right down the middle. I could try doing a real fat bead but I'm not confident silicone is going to work. I've tried a zillion times with a bunch of different brands.
For example our downstairs bathroom doesn't have this problem, but it's set right on the concrete foundation so I don't think it moves as much with expansion and contraction as the upstairs bathroom that's set on rather old wood joists and flooring.
I haven't seen much of silicon cracking down the middle - usually it either pulls away from one side or the other depending on the shrink / hot / cold / house settling cycles.
One really common mistake people make when caulking / re-caulking though is not cleaning the surface where they are applying caulk. If it's a fresh surface you want to make sure any wax, oils, dust, etc is cleaned off with soapy water.
If the surface was previously caulked you need to clear out the old caulk, then need to use a solvent to remove any of the residue from the previous caulk. Even if the old caulk seems like it peeled away clean if it's a porous surface there's still residue left behind, and new caulk won't bind as well to old caulk and will end up peeling or cracking much sooner than it would on a properly prepared surface.
Also while the 'all in one' standard caulk / sealers usually work fine for general use if you get ones specially made for the particular surfaces they will usually last enough longer to be worth the marginal price premium. It's enough of a pain in the ass to redo caulk to get the more expensive premium tube.
Silicone is absolutely what you need. Get one of the fancy "mould free" varieties and it'll last you up to 10 years. By design it expands and contracts with whatever two surfaces it's adhering. You just need to remember that you're not "filling a gap" you're providing a waterproof barrier over the void between surfaces.
As mentioned by zagdrob - make sure the surface is properly clean (all previous residue removed with a stanley knife / razor blade) then run a little solvent over both surfaces to get rid of any oil or residue from your hands. Cut the applicator tube at a 45 degree angle about 1/4 of the way down so you get a bead that's 2-3 times larger than the gap you're covering and run a continuous bead on each edge. If you've got one of the little plastic doofers that you can run down the bead to flatten it out (after spraying with solvent to make sure it's clean) use one, otherwise put a rubber glove on, cover a finger with washing-up liquid run it down the bead. It should be flat against both surfaces with a nice curve so that water runs down without pooling.
If you're doing a bath make sure you fill it with water before applying the silicone as having it "stretched out" initially helps it last longer with natural use. The default "empty" state of the bath will push the silicone more into the gap to help with adherence / waterproofing.
I've sealed up a few baths / showers in my time through an old summer job and the joys of homeownership. The only time I've had to replace a silicone seal is when I cheaped out and didn't get the anti-mould stuff and had to scrape up mouldy silicone after a couple of years.
The one about the fucking space hairdresser and the cowboy. He's got a tinfoil pal and a pedal bin
+6
MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
edited December 2023
I usually use DAP and buy the expensive stuff. Mold resistant, 10yr life, Wi-Fi enabled, etc.
To echo what @electricitylikesme said, you just need to keep the bead bigger (thicker) so that it can better resist movement over time (humidity, temperature, etc). Use a Fugi Kit (or clone) tool to get the perfect bead profile.
Silicone is absolutely what you need. Get one of the fancy "mould free" varieties and it'll last you up to 10 years. By design it expands and contracts with whatever two surfaces it's adhering. You just need to remember that you're not "filling a gap" you're providing a waterproof barrier over the void between surfaces.
As mentioned by zagdrob - make sure the surface is properly clean (all previous residue removed with a stanley knife / razor blade) then run a little solvent over both surfaces to get rid of any oil or residue from your hands. Cut the applicator tube at a 45 degree angle about 1/4 of the way down so you get a bead that's 2-3 times larger than the gap you're covering and run a continuous bead on each edge. If you've got one of the little plastic doofers that you can run down the bead to flatten it out (after spraying with solvent to make sure it's clean) use one, otherwise put a rubber glove on, cover a finger with washing-up liquid run it down the bead. It should be flat against both surfaces with a nice curve so that water runs down without pooling.
If you're doing a bath make sure you fill it with water before applying the silicone as having it "stretched out" initially helps it last longer with natural use. The default "empty" state of the bath will push the silicone more into the gap to help with adherence / waterproofing.
I've sealed up a few baths / showers in my time through an old summer job and the joys of homeownership. The only time I've had to replace a silicone seal is when I cheaped out and didn't get the anti-mould stuff and had to scrape up mouldy silicone after a couple of years.
@SporkAndrew could you do me a solid and point me to the specific caulk you prefer for sealing up baths? I feel like I have bad luck picking out caulk and wind up with junk every time.
So I'm looking at a house now. The house itself looks OK, some potential issues but nothing unsolvable.
The garage outside, though, is not level. To the point the garage door can't open. On a scale from 0-runawayscreaming how bad is that to fix?
Really hard to say without an expert looking at it / inspection.
It could be anywhere from a not a big deal, some things just need to be loosened up and adjusted / re-aligned...to a concrete leveling company can level everything in an afternoon...to the easy answer is 'bulldoze and rebuild that portion of the structure'.
Pretty much any house is going to settle some after it's built, is this the only place that's out of whack?
It's an outbuilding and yeah, everything else looks fine. It was built on a slight slope, and from the looks of the foundation of the garage (it's visible in the back) it's either quite old or wasn't properly protected against settling.The main house OTOH seems fine
Phoenix-D on
0
MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
edited January 2024
So good news is it won't take the house with it, but could be bad like zagdrob said.
Would you be in position to replace garage between hopefully getting something from sellers plus rolling additional money into mortgage?
So good news is it won't take the house with it, but could be bad like zagdrob said.
Would you be in position to replace garage between hopefully getting something from sellers plus rolling additional money into mortgage?
Rest of the group vetoed that one anyway, alas. We were looking at taking $30k off list but they weren't comfortable with the interior renovations. (It needed a basement finished).
Still better than whatever they did to this poor stove in another place
Phoenix-D on
+2
amateurhourOne day I'll be professionalhourThe woods somewhere in TennesseeRegistered Userregular
So good news is it won't take the house with it, but could be bad like zagdrob said.
Would you be in position to replace garage between hopefully getting something from sellers plus rolling additional money into mortgage?
Rest of the group vetoed that one anyway, alas. We were looking at taking $30k off list but they weren't comfortable with the interior renovations. (It needed a basement finished).
Still better than whatever they did to this poor stove in another place
Why?!
They destroyed it so can never be used again. Just rip out and put a decorative cap on the vent.
+2
JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
Geth, close the thread. One of y'all is free to make a new one.
Posts
I don't know if a plumber can tell without cutting the walls and that may turn into an expensive plumbing job vs a GC doing it first. Not sure, but yeah plumber will need to be involved regardless.
This box
The toilet is directly above that
That's a problem for five years from now!
A typical toilet drain wouldn't require such a bump out in the first place so hard to say what sins it might be hiding. I don't believe you're going to be able to identify and fix the leak without removing the drywall. And replacing the drywall is certainly a lot easier than tearing up the flooring to fix it from above. When it comes to water damage and mold, you don't want to ignore it, so I'd be tearing that section open and repairing/replacing even if you could fix the leak without doing so.
Edit: The stain in that picture is in an odd spot for a leaking drain. I'd expect it more on the bottom of the bump out, not near the top. But that box could be hiding something that would cause water to flow that way. But the other possibility is that the bubbling paint isn't from an internal leak but could just be from surface condensation from the shower if the bathroom is not vented or the vent isn't being used, and the paint used wasn't moisture resistant bathroom paint.
so unfortunately I don’t think it’s that.
Another possibility is that the caulking around the toilet upstairs has kind of dried out and pulled away. Floor water from eg. Post showers dripping past the toilet would also make sense.
I just don’t really think we’re that wet…
She sounds like a very smart person.
Forgot to feed it, huh? Better hope you can find another one for the kids.
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Ugh, I* gotta get up there and do mine. It's pouring and I can see where the gutters are overflowing onto the driveway.
*Send the Mrs up there. I'm afraid of heights.
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My Backloggery
Its a 3 story townhouse. I ain't getting up there.
We had a leak below our upstairs toilet when the wax seal between the bottom of the toilet and the drain in the floor went bad. It dripped down into our basement, thankfully unfinished. I replaced it with a foam rubber type deal, I think it was Oaty brand, did the trick.
For example our downstairs bathroom doesn't have this problem, but it's set right on the concrete foundation so I don't think it moves as much with expansion and contraction as the upstairs bathroom that's set on rather old wood joists and flooring.
One really common mistake people make when caulking / re-caulking though is not cleaning the surface where they are applying caulk. If it's a fresh surface you want to make sure any wax, oils, dust, etc is cleaned off with soapy water.
If the surface was previously caulked you need to clear out the old caulk, then need to use a solvent to remove any of the residue from the previous caulk. Even if the old caulk seems like it peeled away clean if it's a porous surface there's still residue left behind, and new caulk won't bind as well to old caulk and will end up peeling or cracking much sooner than it would on a properly prepared surface.
Also while the 'all in one' standard caulk / sealers usually work fine for general use if you get ones specially made for the particular surfaces they will usually last enough longer to be worth the marginal price premium. It's enough of a pain in the ass to redo caulk to get the more expensive premium tube.
As mentioned by zagdrob - make sure the surface is properly clean (all previous residue removed with a stanley knife / razor blade) then run a little solvent over both surfaces to get rid of any oil or residue from your hands. Cut the applicator tube at a 45 degree angle about 1/4 of the way down so you get a bead that's 2-3 times larger than the gap you're covering and run a continuous bead on each edge. If you've got one of the little plastic doofers that you can run down the bead to flatten it out (after spraying with solvent to make sure it's clean) use one, otherwise put a rubber glove on, cover a finger with washing-up liquid run it down the bead. It should be flat against both surfaces with a nice curve so that water runs down without pooling.
If you're doing a bath make sure you fill it with water before applying the silicone as having it "stretched out" initially helps it last longer with natural use. The default "empty" state of the bath will push the silicone more into the gap to help with adherence / waterproofing.
I've sealed up a few baths / showers in my time through an old summer job and the joys of homeownership. The only time I've had to replace a silicone seal is when I cheaped out and didn't get the anti-mould stuff and had to scrape up mouldy silicone after a couple of years.
@SporkAndrew could you do me a solid and point me to the specific caulk you prefer for sealing up baths? I feel like I have bad luck picking out caulk and wind up with junk every time.
The garage outside, though, is not level. To the point the garage door can't open. On a scale from 0-runawayscreaming how bad is that to fix?
Really hard to say without an expert looking at it / inspection.
It could be anywhere from a not a big deal, some things just need to be loosened up and adjusted / re-aligned...to a concrete leveling company can level everything in an afternoon...to the easy answer is 'bulldoze and rebuild that portion of the structure'.
Pretty much any house is going to settle some after it's built, is this the only place that's out of whack?
Would you be in position to replace garage between hopefully getting something from sellers plus rolling additional money into mortgage?
Rest of the group vetoed that one anyway, alas. We were looking at taking $30k off list but they weren't comfortable with the interior renovations. (It needed a basement finished).
Still better than whatever they did to this poor stove in another place
Why?!
They destroyed it so can never be used again. Just rip out and put a decorative cap on the vent.