I havd a small roof leak thru the main level into the basement (only
noticed during extreme down pours). I am not worried about the basement
because the water seemed to only be exiting through a non used, but
wired electrical box. so it seems it was just following a wire down. I
have since had a new roof installed and the leak is resolved. However,
on the main level below where the leak was is a closet in the foyer.
There are some paint cracks and bubbled paint there that indicates that
some water came through there. I took up the baseborad in the closet,
and cut out a small chunk of drywall, and did not notice anything
significant. Should I replace the drywall knowing that it got
saturated at some point, or would it be OK to just sand it down and
re-paint?

Thanks,

rekabm wrote:
I havd a small roof leak thru the main level into the basement (only
noticed during extreme down pours). I am not worried about the basement
because the water seemed to only be exiting through a non used, but
wired electrical box. so it seems it was just following a wire down. I
have since had a new roof installed and the leak is resolved. However,
on the main level below where the leak was is a closet in the foyer.
There are some paint cracks and bubbled paint there that indicates that
some water came through there. I took up the baseborad in the closet,
and cut out a small chunk of drywall, and did not notice anything
significant. Should I replace the drywall knowing that it got
saturated at some point, or would it be OK to just sand it down and
re-paint?

Thanks,


If all that happened is that it is stained, just
prime and paint. The only reason you would
replace is for appearance, e.g., a bowed surface
being the most common.

I guess I'm concerned that if the wall got saturated enough to
peel/bubble/crack paint, then their might be a good possibility that
mold could occur.

"rekabm" wrote in message
ups.com...
I guess I'm concerned that if the wall got saturated enough to
peel/bubble/crack paint, then their might be a good possibility that
mold could occur.

If this was an exterior wall, I'd be more concerned about the insulation
getting wet/ineffective, and creating a cold spot where condensation is
likely to form.

You did the proper thing, fixing the leak first. I'd try the cheapest
solution first- scrape, check for mushy spots with an icepick, repair those
with mud, paint with Kilz or similar, and monitor it for a few months. If
you don't get any visible bloom, and no cold or mushy spots when you poke at
it with your fingers, I wouldn't worry about it. If it stays dry, any mold
that is there will likely stay dormant. And all the scary stories aside,
unless you have allergy sufferers in the house, typical household molds
(that are present in almost all houses, BTW) are almost never dangerous or
even noticed.

aem sends...

rekabm wrote:
I guess I'm concerned that if the wall got saturated enough to
peel/bubble/crack paint, then their might be a good possibility that
mold could occur.

Once it is dry and you don't see mold, don't worry.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

rekabm wrote:
I guess I'm concerned that if the wall got saturated enough to
peel/bubble/crack paint, then their might be a good possibility that
mold could occur.

What happens if you push on the wall (not hard) at that point? I mean
is the drywall soft?

wrote:
What happens if you push on the wall (not hard) at that point? I mean
is the drywall soft?

No the drywall is not soft at all, but probably was at 1 point when the
leak existed as a hook (with weight on it) pulled out of the wall.