Hi,
this is my first post here, and I hope if anyone can help us, it will dovetail into other questions and requests for help that other people have.

We live is a very dry (usually) southwestern desert climate.
Our house is small (less than 1400 sq. ft.) and has a flat roof.

In May 2015, we noticed that the paint had a blistered appearance along a small area of the south wall. Neither one of us is 'handy' although I do have a brother who is excellent at DIY/elect/AC repairs. The moisture varies along the wall and goes from completely dry to very wet and back again along the length of the wall.

In time through various mistakes and having professional roofers, plumbers and leak detection over we have found out some things it isn't. It definitely isn't a slab leak. It definitely isn't our above ground plumbing. It definitely isn't our neighbors irrigation system. Our water pressure is fine throughout the house.
Also the moisture was all along the baseboard area and none none at all from the bottom quarter of the wall to all the way up top.

We are thinking that maybe we are down to only two things---one is a burst pipe below ground (but this doesn't seem to match up with the other things we have discovered about this problem) or --a combination of the ac/heat unit condensation pipe moisture in the summer and the water from the defrost cycle in the winter--the unit is on top of the house. Also, now that the south wall of the bedroom has about three or four large holes in it:, the moisture is finally drying out--and we haven't been using the ac or heat in a long while now--this seems to fit the ac/heat unit being the problem??

However, there is nothing we have heard that fits everything with this problem and it is driving us crazy. And I think this must be fixed before fixing our roof at a cost from 2200 to 5500 dollars.

We were wondering if any of you have had a similar experience? Any guidance/advice would be appreciated more than you know! Also wrt the roof
Has anyone advice between getting a whole new roof versus using a product called Roofix or having a roof built over the existing roof? The man who had the best ratings out of anyone said he would only build a completely new roof at a cost of $7800.00 dollars which we thought rather high for such a small house.
But he had been is business 30 years, fantastic reviews, lifetime guarantee
family owned company.

And with both of us in our mid 70s and not being in the greatest of shape we won't be doing any DIY roofing for sure---we are open to trying anything else!

I am sorry if this post has been needlessly wordy and again would appreciate any advice on any of these issues.
Thank you!

 

Welcome!

It's not clear from your post if this is related in any way to the rainy season. I guessing your exterior walls are cmu? (Cement block/brick/ with drywall inside?) A little more info there would help. Water can get into a cmu wall and run down the interior of the block, masking the true location of the leak.

If your roof is flat, that would be the first thing I would guess. Some pics of the house would give us more to go on. But a small roof leak I some cases might not show up until it runs down the walls and hits the concrete floor. More info and pics might help.

 

I'm in definite agreement of a few pictures. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html

 

Thanks for the replies! The wall is stucco/drywall -the house was built in 1981 so the roof has been exposed to the Phoenix desert sun for 35 years-the roofers said many repairs have been done to roof--we agree that the so called monsoon (rainy) season has made roof leak and like I mentioned possibly water from the ac condensation line. I don't know if pics would help now that it has all started completely drying but will try to post some anyway if u think they would. If only we had been aware from the start when the problem began---'but it is looking more and more like a roof leak!
Thanks again!

 

Well, what you stated about the leak showing up here and there made me suspect a cement block construction, where water can run down the open cells of the block, and collect in the bottom, where it then will slowly seep out and wet the stucco or drywall. That water has to go somewhere where it's trapped inside the wall. Hope you get it fixed before it gets any worse. Guess you have about 6 more months till the next "monsoon", right?

 

Thanks again for replies!
I will try to come back as we hopefully get things figured out.
Yes we absolutely want to get it done before monsoon anywhere from late June to early Sept. Although, usually to me it seems like it lasts mostly July-mid August.

Now without any rain or ac/heat usage everything is either dry or within 2-3 %
Moisture.

A man that we trust completely was just over and said we do NOT need a new roof and only the slightest repair on the one we have. So we were very happy about this -'-but it is a cautionary tale
for people to get second and third opinions and to realize everyone--' almost anyway---wants to upsell you on things.

This man, howeve, is hoping it is condensation line that is producing water also , because if it isn't he is as stumped as we are and he said it looked ok from what he could tell. He is also going to ask 2 -3 others to see if they have any advice about source of water.

Thanks again any advice/ideas are appreciated!