Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.

On Sep 1, 8:10*pm, wrote:
Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.

You need more help than some half baked home inspector can give you.
You will need a structural engineer or architect to really get at the
root of the problem. Expect to pay some serious wages to these people,
but with their documentation it may be possible to recover damages
from the gypsies that peddled the place to you. If you are budget
constrained, then the other alternative is to bail out, and document
your losses for 2009 taxes.
Bad site grading is a leading cause of water leaks. Unless you are in
an arid area, you may even be living over an old intermittent aquifer.
There will likely be collateral damage in the form of mold since this
is probably not a unique event. Sadly, the situation doesn't seem
amanable to easy solutions, but you could get lucky.

Joe

On Sep 1, 6:10*pm, wrote:
Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.

How about some more information....

general location of the home
photo of the leaking area (outside, at grade, roof & any flashing in
this area)

any doors or windows in this area?

leaks during a hard rain might indicate a flashing problem or if the
water pools near the slab, bad surface drainage (poor grading)

when you say hard rain..... thunderstorm? an inch in an hour?

cheers
Bob

wrote:
Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.

The water could be coming right through the stucco... I once lived in a
condo that had this very problem, seems the builders added a surfactant to
the stucco to make it easier to apply and they applied it way too thin, this
technique was later found to make the stucco even less water resistant than
normal. There are literally thousands of homes and buildings around here
leaking due to this crap.

Get a professional opinion then seek any legal recourse you have as soon as
possible.

wrote:

Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.


Before you call structural engineers or mold experts, locate where the
water comes in. If it comes in
under an exterior wall during heavy rain, you probably have a downspout
too close to the wall, ground
improperly sloped toward the house, or a roof leak. Have you inspected
the attic during heavy rain?

Home is on a slab? Slab exposed? If so, check the bottom edge of
stucco to see if it needs caulking.
Concrete block and stucco? Stucco painted? Any plumbing in the leaky
wall? Under the slab?

wrote:
Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.

In addition to the other hints, water may be entering from a location far
removed from the area it appears. Once water enters, it can flow down
through conduit, joists, wiring, vents, plumbing raceways, ductwork, the
underside of the roof, insulation, or any other thruway.

Or, as another poster pointed out, the water may be comin UP from some
bizarre source.

On Sep 1, 9:10*pm, wrote:
Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.

If you can find a 'forensic' architect or engineer in your area, they
may be able to help. An architect who specializes in residential
renovation might help.

In the mean time, look at the location of the leaks in relation to
windows, doors and outside paved surfaces. Windows are, in the
Charleston SC area, a major source of leaks. The joints between stucco
and window frames is a frequent problem.

T

wrote:

On Sep 1, 9:10 pm, wrote:


Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.



If you can find a 'forensic' architect or engineer in your area, they
may be able to help. An architect who specializes in residential
renovation might help.

In the mean time, look at the location of the leaks in relation to
windows, doors and outside paved surfaces. Windows are, in the
Charleston SC area, a major source of leaks. The joints between stucco
and window frames is a frequent problem.

T



If the home is stucco without paint, can water be absorbed? One of the
lasting memories from
hurricane news was the story of damage in Florida homes from wind driven
water going THROUGH
stucco walls. Older homes, with more coats of paint, didn't suffer that
effect. Almost all modern
homes here are concrete block and stucco.

On Sep 2, 12:05*am, BobK207 wrote:
On Sep 1, 6:10*pm, wrote:

Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.

How about some *more information....

general location of the home
photo of the leaking area (outside, at grade, roof & any flashing in
this area)

any doors or windows in this area?

leaks during a hard rain might indicate a flashing problem or if the
water pools near the slab, bad surface drainage (poor grading)

when you say hard rain..... *thunderstorm? *an inch in an hour?

cheers
Bob

No doors or windows in the area. No major water pooling there either,
though the back patio on the other wall does have poor grading, and
the patio roof leaks, but the water does not seem to come in from that
side. And where it does first appear, is way down the other wall on
the side of the house which is away from the patio. Heavy rain, that
lasts about 1 hour is what it takes to have water appear.

To answer some questions asked by others about photos and our
location: We do have some on our website about our horror story and
the sorry inspection we had, www.badhomeinspections.info

Also this is a single story, wood frame/stucco. We're in So.Florida.
The hurricane brewing in the Atlantic is making this urgent. So we're
going to call a leak detection professional and see what they have to
say.

Still interested in any input from here though. Thanks for the
responses.

On Sep 2, 10:25*am, Duff wrote:
From your pictures I see some water damage that has occured over most
of the 18 years the house has existed. *The problem was there before
the new roof was installed.

I also see pine needles in your gutter and roof drainage areas. *You
lost a great deal of credibility when you took those pictures. *Get
off your lazy ass and clean out your gutters. *That's home owner
maintenance chores and something you should have done the day title
passed to your name.

You can hire professionals, but I'd be doing it myself. *It is quite
easy to trace an active leak. *It may mean doing a little sheet rock
work after you start cutting holes to trace the leak source, but
that's quite easy to learn with lots of help right here in the forum.

So get off your lazy ass and get busy.

On Mon, 1 Sep 2008 18:10:11 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

Just a matter of time before your ilk shows up in these forums to
shoot of their big mouth before getting the facts.

#1 patio is cleared of pine needles and debris. we did that as soon as
we bought a ladder and saw what was up there.
#2 we took the pictures BEFORE cleaning it to show what the inspection
didn't address

#3 go crawl back under you rock

Maybe putting some photos of the your yard and the outside of your house on
your website would help. That may help people here see how the ground is
graded, whether there are flower gardens etc. near the house that trap
water, etc.

Also, when it rains, are there puddles on the ground near your house or does
the water run off away from the house?

wrote in message
...
On Sep 2, 12:05 am, BobK207 wrote:
On Sep 1, 6:10 pm, wrote:

Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.

How about some more information....

general location of the home
photo of the leaking area (outside, at grade, roof & any flashing in
this area)

any doors or windows in this area?

leaks during a hard rain might indicate a flashing problem or if the
water pools near the slab, bad surface drainage (poor grading)

when you say hard rain..... thunderstorm? an inch in an hour?

cheers
Bob

No doors or windows in the area. No major water pooling there either,
though the back patio on the other wall does have poor grading, and
the patio roof leaks, but the water does not seem to come in from that
side. And where it does first appear, is way down the other wall on
the side of the house which is away from the patio. Heavy rain, that
lasts about 1 hour is what it takes to have water appear.

To answer some questions asked by others about photos and our
location: We do have some on our website about our horror story and
the sorry inspection we had, www.badhomeinspections.info

Also this is a single story, wood frame/stucco. We're in So.Florida.
The hurricane brewing in the Atlantic is making this urgent. So we're
going to call a leak detection professional and see what they have to
say.

Still interested in any input from here though. Thanks for the
responses.

On Tue, 2 Sep 2008 11:29:54 -0400, "alta47" wrote Re
Leak Detection:

Maybe putting some photos of the your yard and the outside of your house on
your website would help. That may help people here see how the ground is
graded, whether there are flower gardens etc. near the house that trap
water, etc.

Also, when it rains, are there puddles on the ground near your house or does
the water run off away from the house?

Judging from some of the damage shown by some of the photos, it looks
to me like a drainage problem allowing water to accumulate at the base
of the exterior walls. From there it seeps into the house.

On Sep 2, 7:03*am, wrote:
On Sep 2, 12:05*am, BobK207 wrote:



On Sep 1, 6:10*pm, wrote:

Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area..
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.

How about some *more information....

general location of the home
photo of the leaking area (outside, at grade, roof & any flashing in
this area)

any doors or windows in this area?

leaks during a hard rain might indicate a flashing problem or if the
water pools near the slab, bad surface drainage (poor grading)

when you say hard rain..... *thunderstorm? *an inch in an hour?

cheers
Bob

No doors or windows in the area. No major water pooling there either,
though the back patio on the other wall does have poor grading, and
the patio roof leaks, but the water does not seem to come in from that
side. And where it does first appear, is way down the other wall on
the side of the house which is away from the patio. Heavy rain, that
lasts about 1 hour is what it takes to have water appear.

To answer some questions asked by others about photos and our
location: We do have some on our website about our horror story and
the sorry inspection we had,www.badhomeinspections.info

Also this is a single story, wood frame/stucco. We're in So.Florida.
The hurricane brewing in the Atlantic is making this urgent. So we're
going to call a leak detection professional and see what they have to
say.

Still interested in any input from here though. Thanks for the
responses.

The photos on the website helped.......

They are good detail photos, photos showing the "lay of the land"
would also help.

But from 2600+ miles here's my best guess, looks to me like a site
drainage is the issue...not the roof

like standing in a shallow puddle, your shoes eventually will "leak"
& allow water to seep in

Heavy rain, that lasts about 1 hour is what it takes to have water appear.

no water intrusion with a light rain?

this is not a new problem, it has existed for a long time and unless
the problem was disclosed, constitutes fraud.

the husband of the previous owner died during the process of selling
the home????
When was the disclosure signed & when did he die?

previous owner pleads poverty? what about the proceeds of the sale?


The sale is pretty fresh, I would seriously consider "un-winding" the
sale.
The realtor should have known the condition of the property, Century
21 has resources & the inspection company better have E&O insurance.

I hate to say this because the results are usually expensive &
poor........

figure out what outcome you want ......

as my first attorney told me, there is very little justice....only
money

How much would make you "happy"?

unwind the sale?
a $5,000 check? a $10,000 check?

you have to know what you'll settle for before you make your claim,
you'll only get one chance

Century 21 would likely cough up their commission in exchange for a
release of liability.
Was there only one realty firm?

Pay a lawyer to write a letter to all parties involved stating you
position, your desires & your claim.

what is the limit in FL small claims court? You have three parties
maybe you can sue each one cheaply in small claims & recover a small
amount from each.

Personally I would have never purchased that property, unless I was
getting a very good deal and then maybe not. Low lying structures are
a PITA and I avoid them like the plague.

The AC unit noise was a real "miss" by the inspector. How much did
the AC "fix" cost & did the tech give any indication of the units
overall condition? Consider a small claims action against the
inspector for some portion of this cost.


You don't need a leak detection company....you don't have a "leak".
Water builds up around the house & seeps in.


You need to improve the property surface drainage, either do it
yourself (if you understand the issue & can do it) or get a good
landscaper to do it.

btw as CR mentioned stucco works in conjuction with tar paper....paint
is of little use.

good luck
Bob
Bob

wrote:

Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.


I checked the photos and web page you posted. First of all, I would
take down the web page
and get off the back of the home inspector........****ing them off won't
help your cause.

The ants aren't difficult to get rid of.........everyone in Florida gets
termiets or ants at some point.
For most ants, getting rid of their food and water is key. Univ. of
Florida has loads of good info.
Here is a link to page about ants......should read it in it's entirety:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG080

Household pests in general:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/TOPIC_GUIDE...d_Pests_of_Man

Termites ... READ IT ALL:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG097

Your website says that the inspector stated that the site was not graded
properly!!! Hell, why
are you posting on newsgroup? It looks, also, as if the home had long
term neglect. Hard to
tell from the photo whether the broken stucco is on concrete block or on
lath. When stucco
goes below grade, it is a perfect entry for subterranean termites. The
cracks and holes
in the stucco are another. The patch job on stucco is a mess...looks
like crap. There are
latex stucco patch compounds at the big box store, sanded and unsanded
(for texture) Easy
to apply and with a little practice will closely match the existing texture.

Difficult to tell from the picture of the porch roof whether it is level
or slopes. If it is level or
slopes toward the house, fix it right away or take it down. Pine
needles accumulate pretty
quickly, and can clog gutters. Clean the gutters.

Ants like starch, just like mildew. If the carpet is not in good shape,
rip it out and clean the floor.
Even without a leak, if the home was closed up for a while, expect
mildew. It takes about 5
minutes in Florida for anything to grow mildew without AC. Don't worry
about ants
outdoors - that is where they are SUPPOSED to be, just like trees,
grass, rain, sunshine, etc.

Noisy AC? How old? Sales contract should state the age.

Get a reputable plumber and a reputable roofer to look for your leak.
Between the two,
you should get it identified. Gaps in fascia, uncaulked gaps around
doors and windows,
cracks in stucco can let in water, and, as another poster stated, water
can travel quite far
on rafters, wiring, pipes, etc., before it finds an exit. After seeing
the pix, my guess would
be clogged gutters, broken shingle, or running from porch roof if sloped
wrong or anchored
through wall.

The wood around garage door is no big deal .. end grain of wood sitting
on the ground will
suck up water and rot. I will be amazed if the home doesn't have
termites. Get another
inspection.

A couple of books on simple home maintenance tasks should help a lot.

clipped

You need to improve the property surface drainage, either do it
yourself (if you understand the issue & can do it) or get a good
landscaper to do it.

btw as CR mentioned stucco works in conjuction with tar paper....paint
is of little use.

good luck
Bob
Bob


In Florida there is no tar paper unless the home is quite old and it is
stucco on lath. It is stucco on concrete block, then
paint.

I just noticed the following on the OP's website about this house purchase:

1) "This is our horror story of a short sale, and an inspection done poorly
for a home we just purchased in West Palm Beach, FL."...,

2) "On 8/22, we had a building inspector from the county do an inspection on
the roof because we found that there was an open permit and it needed to be
closed."...,

3) "While he was there, the inspector noted that the water that was not
draining away from the house and patio but significantly downward, toward
it."

I assume you didn't have an attorney representing you in this transaction.
If you did, the attorney should have included info in the agreement of sale
regarding any open permits. It would also have been a good idea for the OP
to check on his/her own with the town regarding any violations or open
permits.

Since it was a short sale, the sellers had to walk away with zero money
after the sale. Otherwise, the mortgage holder(s) would not have agreed to
a short sale. They don't accept short sale offers where the seller gets ANY
money out of the deal.

I don't know who picked or suggested the home inspection company, but it
does look like they did a poor job on the home inspection. Nevertheless,
you probably have little or no recourse against the home inspector. You'll
see that if you look at all of the disclaimers you had to sign to get the
home inspection.

You probably have little recourse against the sellers, especially if the
husband is now deceased. You won't be able to prove his state of mind when
signing the disclosure form, so you won't be able to prove any intent to
defraud you on his part. You can forget about going after his estate
because, if they had to do a short sale, there probably are no assets ion
the estate or the estate debts exceed any assets that may be there.

You probably have little or no recourse against the Realtor because they got
a sellers' disclosure statement signed, plus you had your own home
inspection done by a "professional" home inspector. The Realtor is not a
building inspector, and the Realtor saw what you or anyone else would see
when looking at the property.

None of the problems with the property were hidden problems that you could
not have seen or discovered on your own or with the help of a competent home
inspector. One huge problem, for example, was readily visible to the town's
building inspector -- the problem with drainage going toward the house
instead of away from it.

Once the deal closed, all of the prior contracts and disclosures "merged"
with the deed, meaning all defects etc. became your problem as the new
owner -- absent some major intentional fraud.

My suggestion is to chalk it up as a bad learning experience, get the
problems fixed, and move on. My guess is that the drainage problem is
fixable -- maybe by regrading, or creating swales, etc. to drain the water
away from the house -- but no one can tell that from here without more info
or better outside photos. Are there ANY parts of the property that are
lower than the grade level at or near the house?

Good luck.

"BobK207" wrote in message
...

The photos on the website helped.......

They are good detail photos, photos showing the "lay of the land"
would also help.

But from 2600+ miles here's my best guess, looks to me like a site
drainage is the issue...not the roof

like standing in a shallow puddle, your shoes eventually will "leak"
& allow water to seep in

Heavy rain, that lasts about 1 hour is what it takes to have water
appear.

no water intrusion with a light rain?

this is not a new problem, it has existed for a long time and unless
the problem was disclosed, constitutes fraud.

the husband of the previous owner died during the process of selling
the home????
When was the disclosure signed & when did he die?

previous owner pleads poverty? what about the proceeds of the sale?


The sale is pretty fresh, I would seriously consider "un-winding" the
sale.
The realtor should have known the condition of the property, Century
21 has resources & the inspection company better have E&O insurance.

I hate to say this because the results are usually expensive &
poor........

figure out what outcome you want ......

as my first attorney told me, there is very little justice....only
money

How much would make you "happy"?

unwind the sale?
a $5,000 check? a $10,000 check?

you have to know what you'll settle for before you make your claim,
you'll only get one chance

Century 21 would likely cough up their commission in exchange for a
release of liability.
Was there only one realty firm?

Pay a lawyer to write a letter to all parties involved stating you
position, your desires & your claim.

what is the limit in FL small claims court? You have three parties
maybe you can sue each one cheaply in small claims & recover a small
amount from each.

Personally I would have never purchased that property, unless I was
getting a very good deal and then maybe not. Low lying structures are
a PITA and I avoid them like the plague.

The AC unit noise was a real "miss" by the inspector. How much did
the AC "fix" cost & did the tech give any indication of the units
overall condition? Consider a small claims action against the
inspector for some portion of this cost.


You don't need a leak detection company....you don't have a "leak".
Water builds up around the house & seeps in.


You need to improve the property surface drainage, either do it
yourself (if you understand the issue & can do it) or get a good
landscaper to do it.

btw as CR mentioned stucco works in conjuction with tar paper....paint
is of little use.

good luck
Bob
Bob

On Sep 2, 12:38*pm, Norminn wrote:
wrote:
Can anyone help with this. Water is seeping into the house we just
bought. There is no sign of visible water on the ceiling or wall area.
No window or door on the wall. It comes in on the floor area under the
base boards every time there is a hard rain. This is a wood frame
house, built in 1990, had a new roof 2years ago, but we don't know who
put in on. We caulked all visible cracks outside in the stucco, and
the expansion joint. Sprayed the hose at the ground area where the
water first appears and soaked the ground, but still no water came in
during the test. We had an inspection before we bought it, that
included a roof inspection, they did not report anything wrong. Of
course they didn't report a lot of problems we later uncovered. We
don't know what to do to find where this water is coming from.

This is our first home, and its turned into a nightmare.

I checked the photos and web page you posted. *First of all, I would
take down the web page
and get off the back of the home inspector........****ing them off won't
help your cause.

The ants aren't difficult to get rid of.........everyone in Florida gets
termiets or ants at some point.
For most ants, getting rid of their food and water is key. *Univ. of
Florida has loads of good info.
Here is a link to page about ants......should read it in it's entirety:http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG080

Household pests in general:http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/TOPIC_GUIDE...d_Pests_of_Man

Termites ... READ IT ALL:http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG097

Your website says that the inspector stated that the site was not graded
properly!!! *Hell, why
are you posting on newsgroup? *It looks, also, as if the home had long
term neglect. *

This will be the 2nd time I've stated that the pine needles and debris
have been cleaned out. Picture was taken BEFORE cleaning it.

The inspector that mentioned the land grading and drainage was the
code inspector for the city. After we closed, we found out the roof
permit was not closed and we are in the process of correcting it.
Title company is assisting since they should have caught it.

I've already seen the info on ants at the University of Fl website.
Have you read any of the articles on the Caribbean Crazy Ants that are
showing up in West Palm Bch and also in Texas? Might want to look into
it.

Not taking down the site about the inspector until they stop dancing
around and making excuses for their sloppy work and start cooperating
with us, which they haven't been willing to do in any calls we've
made. They should be ****ed off, I'm ****ed off. We tried talking to
them, now we'll do things the ugly way and see how that works for
them.

We are looking into all those legal resources. I do appreciate the
input on that, but with 3 hurricanes stirring up, the important issue
right now is the water problem.

We had another contractor come out today, as well as a leak detection
company who is also a roof contractor and general contractor. They
both are convinced the cracks in the wall are the problem. The leak
detection people went up onthe roof, into the crawl space, all over,
and said the roof is not the leak source. They also dont think it's
coming from the ground, or the leaking porch. The other contractor
agreed.

I think at this point we'll take that approach and see what happens,
even though we've had a few other opinions. We need to take a chance
and see if it works with these storms on the way.

wrote:

Not taking down the site about the inspector until they stop dancing
around and making excuses for their sloppy work and start cooperating
with us, which they haven't been willing to do in any calls we've
made. They should be ****ed off, I'm ****ed off. We tried talking to
them, now we'll do things the ugly way and see how that works for
them.

We are looking into all those legal resources. I do appreciate the
input on that, but with 3 hurricanes stirring up, the important issue
right now is the water problem.


You need not limit yourself to "legal" resources.

I recall a British company called "Telly's Smellies." They hired people with
absolutely no sense of smell, dressed them nicely, doused them with the most
vile substances imaginable (i.e., concentrated corpse), and rented them to
companies that had, um, delinquent accounts. The Telly agent would present
himself at the debtor company, ask for a check, and, if funds were not
immediately forthcoming, park himself in the reception area and announce:
"I'll wait."

Personally I would have never purchased that property, unless I was
getting a very good deal and then maybe not. *Low lying structures are
a PITA and I avoid them like the plague.

The AC unit noise was a real "miss" by the inspector. *How much did
the AC "fix" cost & did the tech give any indication of the units
overall condition? Consider a small claims action against the
inspector for some portion of this cost.

You don't need a leak detection company....you don't have a "leak".
Water builds up around the house & seeps in.

You need to improve the property surface drainage, either do it
yourself (if you understand the issue & can do it) or get a good
landscaper to do it.

btw as CR mentioned stucco works in conjuction with tar paper....paint
is of little use.

good luck
Bob
Bob- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for the input on legal recouse. I made another post that
addresses my thought on that. We are looking into it. But actually the
two contractors that came today said the property slopes up from the
street which they said is more important and where a flood would
occur. I was focusing on the back yard, it does puddle a little back
there and come onto the porch, but not the area of the leak. So that's
one thing I will take down off the website, I thought it was more of a
problem than it appears to be.

The air conditioner is 5 years old. Which we thought should be fine.
The paid the tech $100, he charged it with freon, and said there's no
way to really know how long this unit can last, to just wait and see.
But the leak detection company who came today is also a home
inspection company, and said we of a freon leak. Too bad they didnt'
do the original inspection.

It was a short sale, no proceeds went to the owner. We did get a good
deal on the house, if we can get these things corrected. An affordable
single family house, in a good neighborhood, with low HOA fees is hard
to come by in this area still. That's why we took a chance even though
we knew it wasn't perfect. But we didn't count on a mystery leak and
few other things the inspector should have found in my opinion.

wrote in message
...

.. . . . . But actually the
two contractors that came today said the property slopes up from the
street which they said is more important and where a flood would
occur. . . . .
--------------------------

If the property slopes down from the street toward the house, is it possible
to create swales that would cause the water to run to the side of and around
the house out to the back?

On Tue, 2 Sep 2008 20:37:10 -0500, "HeyBub"
wrote:

wrote:

Not taking down the site about the inspector until they stop dancing
around and making excuses for their sloppy work and start cooperating
with us, which they haven't been willing to do in any calls we've
made. They should be ****ed off, I'm ****ed off. We tried talking to
them, now we'll do things the ugly way and see how that works for
them.

We are looking into all those legal resources. I do appreciate the
input on that, but with 3 hurricanes stirring up, the important issue
right now is the water problem.


You need not limit yourself to "legal" resources.

I recall a British company called "Telly's Smellies." They hired people with
absolutely no sense of smell, dressed them nicely, doused them with the most
vile substances imaginable (i.e., concentrated corpse), and rented them to
companies that had, um, delinquent accounts. The Telly agent would present
himself at the debtor company, ask for a check, and, if funds were not
immediately forthcoming, park himself in the reception area and announce:
"I'll wait."

Trespassing is illegal. When asked to leave, you must leave.