On May 20, 9:33 am, "John Grabowski" wrote:
"Alex" wrote in message

ups.com...





We got home tonight and there was some water leaking on our main floor
ceiling right under where our washing machine is on the top floor.
From what I can tell it looks like there is water leaking behind the
wall were the pipes are as the wall is wet toward the bottom in the
laundry room but dry higher up where the pipes attach to the hoses.
There was also water on the floor under the machine. I turned off the
cold water (hot is always off) and saw that there was some buildup of
water near the valves as well.

I'm planning on calling the person builders representative first thing
tomorrow but the house is over 1 year old so I'm weary of them not
taking responsibility. First off, who is the best people to deal with
and assess the situation? Would the builder liable even after 1 year
for this type of problem? Any other recommendations on what we should
do? Since it looks like the problem could get worse and I'm even
weary of the structural integrity I hope we can get this figured out
soon. BTW, this is a newly constructed 1 year old townhome.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

I do a lot of work in townhouses built by one large builder. The laundry
closet is on the second floor. Downstairs is the cottage cheese/popcorn
type ceilings. I can always tell when they have had a leak because the
ceiling is almost never the same. It seems that these units have a history
of plumbing problems. If there isn't one there now I would suggest the
installation of a pan under the washing machine. If your water heater is on
the second floor I recommend a pan under that also. You should also get in
the habit of turning off the water to the washer when finished. A one
handled valve is made to make this an easy step.

As Edwin suggested find out what the cause was and what the solution is
before pointing fingers. It is quite possible that the builder will take
responsibility for the problem and help get it resolved, but I wouldn't bet
on it.

My sister bought a six year old house several years ago. For quite a while
she noticed a wet spot in the crawl space, but didn't think much of it. One
day she had a company come in to clean her ducts. One guy removed a vent
cover and a bunch of water started to shoot out. The vent cover screw was
drilled into a water pipe for the bathroom on the other side of the wall.
This was from the original installation by whoever installed the vent cover.
It had dripped into the crawlspace for several years.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Also, before contacting your insurance company, I'd figure out what
it's going to cost to fix it, assuming the builder won't. And check
your deductible. If you're only going to collect a couple hundred
bucks after the deductible, I wouldn't involve the insurance company.
There's a good chance they will raise your rates enough that you don't
come out ahead.