On Jul 15, 9:55 am, photoflavor wrote:
Greetings. As a new homeowner (moved in 6 days ago), I have already
found the need to find and join this list. As we were unpacking boxes
yesterday, I looked up to notice that the paint was bubbled up and
separating from the the ceiling in the dining room (wasn't like that
on the day we moved in). Since there is a bathroom directly above, I
assumed that there must be a leak. After finding a pin and puncturing
one of the bubbles, I discovered that my assumption was correct. It
appears as though there is a leak from a pipe under the floor near the
toilet since the grout seems to be wet. There is no evidence of water
ON the bathroom floor. Now... to the questions:

1. This house is brand new - we bought it during construction.
Shouldn't the builder be responsible for fixing this? Should he also
be responsible for repainting the ceiling in th dining room?

2. Once the leak is fixed, is there anything else that should be
repaired? Will the floorboards need to be replaced - since they got
wet? Will the tile/grout be damaged or prone to mildew? I guess what
I'm asking is... aside from the obvious things like the leak and the
paint, are there other issues to think about?

As a first time homeowner, I'm rather clueless about this stuff and
would immensely appreciate some advice. I'm just praying this isn't
the tip of the iceberg for this house.

Thanks!

Hi,

I know the feeling. But don't panic yet. I had a similar issue. A
brand new home and two months later my roof leaked. Water dripping and
a huge bubble which burst with water all over the floor. Turned out my
issue was a piece of flashing coming loose. The roof guy was there the
next day and within two weeks the painter had come and fixed the
paint. Not quite perfect because old and new paint don;t quite match.
Two years later still O.K. My builder I think was good. And very
responsive.

My guess in your home is that the plumbing was probablly O.K. when it
was put in. Supply lines are usually pressured checked by compressed
air prior to sheet rock going up. Also as another poster said, if it
was supply side, then it woudl have been aparent right away. What
probablly happened was that your house is setteling a bit, as did my
house. We had some small cracks show up in the tile grout etc. these
were a pretty easy fix. Maybe your house moved sufficiently to break a
drain seal. Pipe is still O.K. etc, just that you have a seal broken
somewhere.

What needs to be replaced depends on how much water and for how long.
I think you spotted the problem pretty much as soon as it happened. So
that is probablly going to be O.K. Note when a house is built, the
frame, wall and floor boards where open to the weather for about a
month or so. Builders do put up plastic tarps to keep rain off, but
some does get through, and this is the case in all houses. So long as
the area dries out O.K. afterwards and remains dry you should be O.K.
Take a look when the person somes to fix the leak. He will have to
removed the sheet rock to fix the leak anyway. If it looks O.K. then
it probablly is. It is is all moldy, then yes you may have an issue.
However seeing that you spotted the problem in the space of a day, I
think you shuld be O.K.

Best, Mike.