A hopeful home buyer asked: "So are you saying that even the home
inspector won't be able to tell me if its a good bet or my worst
nightmare without drilling holes into the ceiling?"

What we're saying is that it's *possible* that the home inspector won't
be able to tell where the problem is. On the other hand, (s)he might go
upstairs and find a gap around the shower stall where there should be
grout or caulk. The exact location of leak can be hard to determine
simply by visible and/or physical evidence of damage. As the good
Reverend pointed out, water will sometimes follow a hidden path due to
surface tension and not show up anywhere near the actual leak. No one
in the group can say for certain whether or not the inspector will be
able to determine the problem without some type of access to the
damaged area.

So, get your contingencies lined up ahead of time, make sure the
inspector has *your* best interests in mind and don't let the real
estate agent be the one making the call about the repair.

On Jan 24, 7:19 pm, "dissident" wrote:
So are you saying that even the home inspector won't be able to tell me
if its a good bet or my worst nightmare without drilling holes into the
ceiling? We actually got the seller to negotiate because of this
problem. My real estate agent thinks the work will be done in the ball
park of about $5000. I am also planning to getting a bathroom guy on
the day of home inspection to see what these experts think........

On Jan 24, 6:46 pm, Speedy Jim wrote:



dissident wrote:
I am a novice in home repair and yet I am buying my first home which is
conditional upon home inspection, during which I plan to find out about
the problem which is haunting me. This house is 6 years old and was
rented out so, of course, the tenants didn't bother to take care of the
house. What I see is a stain from water leak on the ceiling of the
living room, which seems to follow the outline of the shower stall in
the bathroom right upstairs. It is about 4-5 inches long, straight line
kind of, and is on only one side. Then there is another stain about a
couple of feet away near the smoke detector. This is more kind of
circular stain ..... there is the upstairs hallway here and the
upstairs is carpeted..... I can also feel that that section of the
carpet is kind of raised as if someone spilled a whole lot of water
there....surrounding is ok.

So now my question to you is that do you (experts and experienced
people out there) think this may be something major ??? I know that the
home inspector probably will find this out...but I still want to know
about the experience people have had. Can a big jug of water if spilled
can show stain on downstairs ceiling like in this 2nd stain I am
talking about?? Any advice on what to look for and what to ask on the
day of home inspection??

Thanks for the help!!To properly assess this will very likely mean opening
*some* part of the structure. Whether it is the ceiling
or a wall adjacent to the shower or...who knows.

You simply will not know the cause(s) nor how to repair
until the opening is made. Sure, you and the inspector
can gaze into a crystal ball.......

Make the sale contingent upon the seller rectifying the
problem and restoring all surfaces, or....low ball
the offer.

Jim- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -