Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
bathtub.

The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
the leak inside the walls.

I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.


How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
of the pipe?

The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".

I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.

On Friday, June 29, 2018 at 7:00:52 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
bathtub.

The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
the leak inside the walls.

I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.


How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
of the pipe?

The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".

I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.

Limit usage to as few fixtures as possible, monitor for the leak when
activating one at a time. If it's a supply line leak, then it should be
leaking all the time. I suppose you could put some red food coloring
in the toilet, blue in the tub, etc too. Look for missing caulk in
and around the shower.

micky posted for all of us...



Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
bathtub.

The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
the leak inside the walls.

I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.


How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
of the pipe?

The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".

I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.

Didn't you ask this question before? I remember someone did, if not you.

I think the consensus was to rip out the drywall and trace it. Or use an
inspection camera. Check the caulk around the tub... My brain fizzled out...

--
Tekkie

On Fri, 29 Jun 2018 15:58:59 -0400, Tekkie®
wrote:

micky posted for all of us...



Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
bathtub.

The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
the leak inside the walls.

I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.


How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
of the pipe?

The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".

I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.

Didn't you ask this question before? I remember someone did, if not you.

I think the consensus was to rip out the drywall and trace it. Or use an
inspection camera. Check the caulk around the tub... My brain fizzled out...


Had a similar situation 3 weeks ago. Got a call from a buddy who was
going in to have his hiip replacement reworked the next day - he had
water dripping from the corner of his kitchen cupbord and pocket door
frame, and wet marks along the edge of the plaster ceiling. I went
over to check. The upstairs bathroom sink was directly above the leek.
I tore down some of the soaked plaster (this was plaster over gypsum
lathe) and uncovered the plumbing to the upstairs sink. Totally dry.
Followed the water to the left (towards the outside wall) and
eventually came to the copper sewer stack and vent stack. Water was
dripping from a corroded section of the 4 inch copper pipe which ended
up being the vent stack. Knowing there would be no more damage caused
while they were gone to Toronto for his surgery we arranged for the
insurance adjuster and a plumber to come take a look when he returned
home. Ends up some animal had gotten into the vent stack and
deteriorated there - holding water and causing corrosion.

Thw solution was to totally replace the vent stack and all the drain
piping from the upstairs bathroom to the sound copper drainpipe about
3 feet down the wall - which involved removing the rest of the
cupboard above the kitchen island, the pocket door wall, and the rest
of the kitchen ceiling.

Now the insurance cmopany will have a remediation company come in and
replace the kitchen ceiling, the wall that had to be opened in the
spare bedroom to acces the bathroom plumbing, and repaint the entire
kitchen and bedroom - and possibly the dining room - and replace the
cabinets. He had the option of factory built cabinet that would not
match perfectly, or credit towards having the cabinets custom made.

I'll be building the cabinets next month after all the drywall and
paint repair is done.

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 29 Jun 2018 07:30:54 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, June 29, 2018 at 7:00:52 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
bathtub.

The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
the leak inside the walls.

I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.


How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
of the pipe?

The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".

I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.

Limit usage to as few fixtures as possible, monitor for the leak when
activating one at a time. If it's a supply line leak, then it should be
leaking all the time. I suppose you could put some red food coloring
in the toilet, blue in the tub, etc too. Look for missing caulk in
and around the shower.

My best guess now is that a link I thought had been plugged with my dead
skin and other body dirt was not plugged after all.

When I first moved in, I visited 3 or 4 other houses in this group of
100 which had leaked into the dining room ceiling, and had had one sheet
of sheetrock removed and replaced, maybe partially to repair a leak.

I had the same leak, but only down the chain of the chandelier.

It never leaked when I took a bath, only when my brother visited and
took a shower . I took my showers in my other bathroom, which had a
dedicated shower, and eventually I had him do that too.

For lack of a better reason, I concluded that the suction of the bath
water draining was enough to keep the water from leaking out the drain
pipe, but the water draining from a shower didnt' do that.
Conceivable??????

But I still thought it would have leaked by now. So I concluded that
dirt had plugged the leak.

The house is 40 years old. At age 30 or 35, I had to replace the
washers in the bathtub. But the new ones only lasted the difference, 10
or 5 years. And 3 or 4 times before I caught on, I left the water
dripping. I think all that water filled the floor under the tub, and
some came up beside the tub. This would account for why the floor was
wet there (I didn't mention that before.) Could water seep up from the
floor from an under-tub drain leak?????

Anyhow, my hope is that I can still use the shower stall or take a bath
in the tub, but I'm afraid to do it. If I dont' get up enough nevve by
tomorrow, I may have to join a health club in order to clean up.

On 6/29/18 1:48 PM, BurfordTJustice wrote:
Unzip your pants..




"micky" wrote in message
...
: Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
: hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
: a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
: bathtub.
:
: The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
: side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
: with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
: of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
: the leak inside the walls.
:
: I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
: to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
: afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.
:
:
: How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
: putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
: of the pipe?
:
: The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
: behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".
:
: I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
: no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
: the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
: dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.


there probably are more appropriate groups to do your soliciting in

On Saturday, June 30, 2018 at 1:46:53 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 29 Jun 2018 07:30:54 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, June 29, 2018 at 7:00:52 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
bathtub.

The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
the leak inside the walls.

I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.


How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
of the pipe?

The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".

I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.

Limit usage to as few fixtures as possible, monitor for the leak when
activating one at a time. If it's a supply line leak, then it should be
leaking all the time. I suppose you could put some red food coloring
in the toilet, blue in the tub, etc too. Look for missing caulk in
and around the shower.

My best guess now is that a link I thought had been plugged with my dead
skin and other body dirt was not plugged after all.

When I first moved in, I visited 3 or 4 other houses in this group of
100 which had leaked into the dining room ceiling, and had had one sheet
of sheetrock removed and replaced, maybe partially to repair a leak.

I had the same leak, but only down the chain of the chandelier.

It never leaked when I took a bath, only when my brother visited and
took a shower . I took my showers in my other bathroom, which had a
dedicated shower, and eventually I had him do that too.

For lack of a better reason, I concluded that the suction of the bath
water draining was enough to keep the water from leaking out the drain
pipe, but the water draining from a shower didnt' do that.
Conceivable??????

Sounds more like a leak in the pipe to the shower head or in water getting behind escutcheons or missing caulking where shower water hits it.





But I still thought it would have leaked by now. So I concluded that
dirt had plugged the leak.

The house is 40 years old. At age 30 or 35, I had to replace the
washers in the bathtub. But the new ones only lasted the difference, 10
or 5 years. And 3 or 4 times before I caught on, I left the water
dripping. I think all that water filled the floor under the tub, and
some came up beside the tub. This would account for why the floor was
wet there (I didn't mention that before.) Could water seep up from the
floor from an under-tub drain leak?????

Anyhow, my hope is that I can still use the shower stall or take a bath
in the tub, but I'm afraid to do it. If I dont' get up enough nevve by
tomorrow, I may have to join a health club in order to clean up.

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 30 Jun 2018 11:53:48 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Saturday, June 30, 2018 at 1:46:53 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 29 Jun 2018 07:30:54 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, June 29, 2018 at 7:00:52 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
bathtub.

The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
the leak inside the walls.

I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.


How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
of the pipe?

The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".

I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.

Limit usage to as few fixtures as possible, monitor for the leak when
activating one at a time. If it's a supply line leak, then it should be
leaking all the time. I suppose you could put some red food coloring
in the toilet, blue in the tub, etc too. Look for missing caulk in
and around the shower.

My best guess now is that a link I thought had been plugged with my dead
skin and other body dirt was not plugged after all.

When I first moved in, I visited 3 or 4 other houses in this group of
100 which had leaked into the dining room ceiling, and had had one sheet
of sheetrock removed and replaced, maybe partially to repair a leak.

I had the same leak, but only down the chain of the chandelier.

It never leaked when I took a bath, only when my brother visited and
took a shower . I took my showers in my other bathroom, which had a
dedicated shower, and eventually I had him do that too.

For lack of a better reason, I concluded that the suction of the bath
water draining was enough to keep the water from leaking out the drain
pipe, but the water draining from a shower didnt' do that.
Conceivable??????

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sounds more like a leak in the pipe to the shower head or in water getting behind escutcheons or missing caulking where shower water hits it.

Okay, it sounds more like that, but assuming for a moment it's not that,
what about the two questions I had with all the question marks?

But I still thought it would have leaked by now. So I concluded that
dirt had plugged the leak.

The house is 40 years old. At age 30 or 35, I had to replace the
washers in the bathtub. But the new ones only lasted the difference, 10
or 5 years. And 3 or 4 times before I caught on, I left the water
dripping. I think all that water filled the floor under the tub, and
some came up beside the tub. This would account for why the floor was
wet there (I didn't mention that before.) Could water seep up from the
floor from an under-tub drain leak?????

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^

Anyhow, my hope is that I can still use the shower stall or take a bath
in the tub, but I'm afraid to do it. If I dont' get up enough nevve by
tomorrow, I may have to join a health club in order to clean up.

On 6/30/2018 10:46 AM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 29 Jun 2018 07:30:54 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, June 29, 2018 at 7:00:52 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
bathtub.

The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
the leak inside the walls.

I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.


How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
of the pipe?

The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".

I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.

Limit usage to as few fixtures as possible, monitor for the leak when
activating one at a time. If it's a supply line leak, then it should be
leaking all the time. I suppose you could put some red food coloring
in the toilet, blue in the tub, etc too. Look for missing caulk in
and around the shower.

My best guess now is that a link I thought had been plugged with my dead
skin and other body dirt was not plugged after all.

When I first moved in, I visited 3 or 4 other houses in this group of
100 which had leaked into the dining room ceiling, and had had one sheet
of sheetrock removed and replaced, maybe partially to repair a leak.

I had the same leak, but only down the chain of the chandelier.

It never leaked when I took a bath, only when my brother visited and
took a shower . I took my showers in my other bathroom, which had a
dedicated shower, and eventually I had him do that too.

For lack of a better reason, I concluded that the suction of the bath
water draining was enough to keep the water from leaking out the drain
pipe, but the water draining from a shower didnt' do that.
Conceivable??????

But I still thought it would have leaked by now. So I concluded that
dirt had plugged the leak.

The house is 40 years old. At age 30 or 35, I had to replace the
washers in the bathtub. But the new ones only lasted the difference, 10
or 5 years. And 3 or 4 times before I caught on, I left the water
dripping. I think all that water filled the floor under the tub, and
some came up beside the tub. This would account for why the floor was
wet there (I didn't mention that before.) Could water seep up from the
floor from an under-tub drain leak?????

Anyhow, my hope is that I can still use the shower stall or take a bath
in the tub, but I'm afraid to do it. If I dont' get up enough nevve by
tomorrow, I may have to join a health club in order to clean up.


I suggest looking at where water goes when showering. How much just
escapes and dribbles outside of the shower onto the floor if someone is
careless? Or, look for possible leak points in wall grout or caulk, or
at covers around the controls or spout.

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 29 Jun 2018 15:58:59 -0400, Tekkie®
wrote:

micky posted for all of us...



Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
bathtub.

The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
the leak inside the walls.

I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.


How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
of the pipe?

The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".

I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.

Didn't you ask this question before? I remember someone did, if not you.

I might have, but it would have been at least 20 years ago. Were you
reading then.

I also might have talked about this as a story some time since then, but
I haven't had a leak for at least 20 years, maybe 25.


I think the consensus was to rip out the drywall and trace it. Or use an
inspection camera. Check the caulk around the tub... My brain fizzled out...

The tub is not as deep as I would like, so in the past I've shloshed
some water onto the floor, but not this time. If anything, I saw water
at the base of the tub that had risen out when the tub was draining.

Or maybe it was the opposite, water that spread from the puddle on the
floor, but then I don't know how the puddle formed. The water to the
toilet is off, the toilet tank is empty, and no sign of leaking from the
sink.

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 30 Jun 2018 00:35:40 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Fri, 29 Jun 2018 15:58:59 -0400, Tekkie®
wrote:

micky posted for all of us...



Yesterday, I found water dripping from my dining room chandelier. This
hasnt' happened for 25 years, and when it did, it was after someoen took
a shower in the bathtub. I take showers in the shower and baths in the
bathtub.

The leak will be hard to find. Above the dining room are two bathrooms
side by side, each with a sink and a toilet, one with a shower and one
with a bathtub. Those two things are back to back. No evidence of any
of the leaking, no wetness underneath the sinks, etc. which would put
the leak inside the walls.

I don't think it's a drain pipe because I hadn't used much water prior
to noticing the drip, and I hadn't sloshed any water out of the bathtub
afaicr, certainly not enough to reach the floor below.


How do I find a leak inside the walls? Is there some clever way, like
putting a radio transmitter in the water that will beep when it gets out
of the pipe?

The alternative seems to be to take out the toilet and rip open the wall
behind it and look around. "Exploratory surgery".

I don't want to rip out the dining room ceiling because so far there is
no damage to it. The water exits through the electric box and runs down
the chandelier chain. That's what used to happen 25 years ago when it
dripped then, and there was no damage that showed up later.

Didn't you ask this question before? I remember someone did, if not you.

I think the consensus was to rip out the drywall and trace it. Or use an
inspection camera. Check the caulk around the tub... My brain fizzled out...


Had a similar situation 3 weeks ago. Got a call from a buddy who was
going in to have his hiip replacement reworked the next day - he had
water dripping from the corner of his kitchen cupbord and pocket door
frame, and wet marks along the edge of the plaster ceiling. I went
over to check. The upstairs bathroom sink was directly above the leek.
I tore down some of the soaked plaster (this was plaster over gypsum
lathe) and uncovered the plumbing to the upstairs sink. Totally dry.
Followed the water to the left (towards the outside wall) and
eventually came to the copper sewer stack and vent stack. Water was
dripping from a corroded section of the 4 inch copper pipe which ended
up being the vent stack. Knowing there would be no more damage caused
while they were gone to Toronto for his surgery we arranged for the
insurance adjuster and a plumber to come take a look when he returned
home. Ends up some animal had gotten into the vent stack and
deteriorated there - holding water and causing corrosion.

Wow. I hope it's not this big. FWIW, my drain and vent are plastic.

Thw solution was to totally replace the vent stack and all the drain
piping from the upstairs bathroom to the sound copper drainpipe about
3 feet down the wall - which involved removing the rest of the
cupboard above the kitchen island, the pocket door wall, and the rest
of the kitchen ceiling.

Now the insurance cmopany will have a remediation company come in and
replace the kitchen ceiling, the wall that had to be opened in the
spare bedroom to acces the bathroom plumbing, and repaint the entire
kitchen and bedroom - and possibly the dining room - and replace the
cabinets. He had the option of factory built cabinet that would not
match perfectly, or credit towards having the cabinets custom made.

That seems a fair option.

I'll be building the cabinets next month after all the drywall and
paint repair is done.

That should keep you off the streets and out of trouble. I'd rather
have matching cabinets too.