Hello,

Yesterday we came down to the basement to relax to notice we had some wet spots on our couch and pillows. We did some looking to notice that the ceiling was web and these spots were above a seam of sheetrock as we could see about 2-3 feet of the tape sagging. Upon touch it was confirmed that it was wet.

Our 8 year old had showered that morning and we did notice the floor web but maybe no more than normal but we are assuming that maybe she didn't have the curtain in or something along those lines that cause the shower to possibly leak excessive water on the floor and ultimately into the basement ceiling.

We have fans on it current and there is less sagging now than yesterday. We will leave these on yet for a few days to verify things are dry.

Questions:
1. Is it possible this is ok and will dry up and go back to being unseen?
2. If the above does not happen how do you fix something like this easily so it is not noticeable?
3. Like i mentioned above i wasn't able to confirm it was the shower but sure seem suspect since that is all that I know of that occurred but how do you confirm that being we don't have access to see what is going on?

Thanks for the assistance.

 

1. Sheetrock does not shrink. Once it's gotten wet and sagged it will always have that sag.

2. Sheetrock is pretty easy to repair. Cut out the damaged area and replace with new. All edges of the sheetrock should be supported be wood so I cut on the center of the joists so there is a lip to rest the new sheetrock on and screw it in place.

3. If the ceiling was damaged I'd go ahead and cut out the damaged sheetrock and leave it open for a week or two. This will allow the floor above to dry thoroughly and give you a chance to confirm that there are no leaks.

 

If this is just a one time event it's possible it will dry up and present no problem, the odds are it will leave behind a water stain that will need to be sealed with a solvent base primer prior to being painted.

Just reread your post and if the tape has come loose it would need to be removed and redone. If the drywall isn't sagging and doesn't become soft after it dries it's a fairly straightforward fix. If the drywall stays soft/mushy it will need to be cut out and replaced.

While mold can be a concern it's usually a minor concern with a one time event.

 

Thank you both for your replies. The width of the wet location is probably 3 inches or so i would guess at the widest. In the picture below the red lines indicate the approximate location of the floor joists and the box is the approximate location of the wet. I would say the red line at the bottom of the image the wet extends a bit beyond the floor joist.

Looking for some steps on the process of replacing this and here is what I am guessing.
1. Cut a nice square extending maybe an inch or two beyond the wet so cut a 6" wide by 2-3 foot are out using even measurements that I can cut a similar piece out of some new sheetrock. so lets say 6"x24"
2. Since it spans 2 joists I can screw it in to hold it in place
3. get some mud and fill in the seams and let dry
4. sand the seams to blend and make smooth
5. buy a bottle of orange peel texture and attempt to blend the text extending out maybe another 12" beyond any seam
6. Prime
7. Paint

Does that seem about right? I think my concern is where the wet extends beyond the floor joist there wont be anything in there giving support. It will end in the void between the floor joist. Is this an issue?

 

When you cut out drywall make sure you cut enough to find source of water. If you don't find leak now it will happen again.Even if a wet floor caused it should not of had enough water going through to cause that problem.

 

Right so maybe I should make it a foot or two wide possible to allow for my head up there. So you believe it is probably a leak it sounds vs excessive shower water.

 

It's best to rule out/fix the leak first, no sense it making repairs twice. Even water splashed on the floor shouldn't let a lot thru to the ceiling below.
Often it's best to cut to the next joist and add a nailer for the patch piece. It all depends on how big the patch needs to be.

 

Will the method of patching this be done similar to this just on a larger scale?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...ture=emb_title

 

Yes, except he didn't use any tape, the joints need to be taped to prevent cracking. That method of patching works great but the larger the patch the more stress it puts on the adjoining drywall. How big do you expect your patch to be?

 

I am thinking it will be 12"x24" so I can get my head up there and see if i have a leak too. I am hoping some of this i can still screw to the floor joists. Would that aid in the stress?

 

A 12"x24" patch is fine to use wood secured to the back of the surrounding drywall. I thought maybe you were talking bigger than that.

 

Thanks everyone for the help. I pulled out the chunk of sheetrock and we have a big leak it is nearly a steady stream of water coming from the valve it seems only when we attempt to turn the shower part on. It is an american standard valve and below is the picture. Below is the best pic i can get of the valve model. I can take a pic of the front too with trim off if that helps.

If i replace this is it possible this could cause such a leak? I can't see in there to be able to tell if the actual pipe that goes to the showerhead came off or something. I did take the shower head pieces off too to see if i can feel around in there to notice if wet but the hole is pretty small for my big fingers.

Should i do a separate post on this over in the plumbing section now that I found the issue?

 

I looked up the number on the valve (R120SSBP) and it appears if you take that black spacer ring off, it should allow you better access to replace the leaking component. You can get a better picture of what you’re dealing with, too. My guess is the front section will come off and a replacement will solve the leak. Many manufacturers offer lifetime replacement of parts like valves so check with American Standard's warranty hotline if you can wait for the part.

As far as your post, I’d imagine a moderator can move it pretty easily so you can get a better response.