Hey folks,

My boyfriend came home on Monday night to discover that the source hose to his upstairs toilet had cracked, allowing water to run all day and fairly effectively flood his house. We estimate that it was running for appx. 10 hours.

During that time it completely soaked the a good portion of the upstairs - carpeting, pad & subfloor. When he got home, water was literally pouring out of the pot lights and vents in the kitchen, downstairs bathroom and laundry room ceilings. It was also pouring into the garage - apparently along the (slab) foundation of the house, since the drywall above that flow wasn't markedly damp. Additionally, there was water dribbling out of the stucco on the outside of his house.

In the kitchen & laundry room ceilings, water pooled in seams, distending the paint and, in some places, causing it to tear and allowing the water to dribble out there, too. The walls in many places were spongy; on some, they were so wet you could mush the paint and drywall easily with your fingers. His patio ceiling (on the same wall from which the water was coming out of the stucco), there are nail pops that weren't there before and cracks at the edges.

The water mitigation people have cut a handful of holes into the ceilings and walls and set up ducts to allow air to get into the cavities and, hopefully, dry them out. To give you an idea of the magnitude, they have ~40 air movers, 2-3 heaters and 3 dehumidifiers in his house right now.

They said they were going to try drying the drywall out, first, and if - after a few days - there was still moisture, they would then cut it down.

So, that's the background. Now the questions:

As much as is possible to determine from my description, is drying out and 'saving' the drywall the 'right' way to handle this situation? Personally, I have concerns.

I'm concerned that the studs, joists and subfloor were saturated, and may not dry effectively when encased in drywall. I'm concerned that, on outside walls, there is insulation that got soaked. I'm concerned about mold - even if they spray chemicals, how can they be sure they've coated all surfaces if they're spraying blindly into a hold? I've also read that drywall loses structural integrity when it gets wet. But, mostly, I'm concerned about the framing (studs & joists) not drying out properly, since I know that wood loses integrity when it gets saturated.

So... thoughts? I'm sure the insurance company wants us to believe that just drying everything out will be 'OK'. It's cheaper for them. I'm inclined to want everything that got damp/wet pulled out and replaced, and want to be ready to make that argument if the time comes.

Thank you so much for any help you can offer. (Aaaaand... if you have carpet experience, can you stop by this thread and throw your thoughts in there? Same questions, really, just different materials.)

-Shalie

 

These people tend to know what they're doing

Water causes problems both with short term and long term exposure - you had short term exposure and the long term problems should be avoided by getting in and drying things out quickly (as an example, it's about two days wood or drywall need to stay wet before you have mold growth)

Talk to the company about your concerns, they should be able to put them to rest for you

I have not seen your carpet thread but carpet can generally be dried and saved but pad must be replaced if it gets wet

 

Framing members shouldn't have absorbed enough water in such a short period to be a concern.
As for the sheetrock, you're right that the structural integrity of the panels is shot. First thing I would have done is remove the ceiling sheetrock. That ensures the drying process is thorough and complete. Also, we can replace an entire ceiling, mud and tape it, and it will look right when we're done, in less time than it would take to repair a bunch of holes and it will be as structurally sound as before the leak occured. I'm suspicious that your mitigators are setting you(r boyfriend) up for a double billing - first for the dryout, and right back with "Oh, we're going to have to replace the sheetrock anyway."

 

Awesome. Thanks SO much for the input, guys, and allaying my concerns about mold and the framing.

My only other experience with this kind of thing is with a water leak my parents had where it was a slow leak over a long time that totally soaked the floor, subfloor and - ultimately - the joist under the house. The joist sagged, the floor and subfloor deflected and now, in addition to getting the damage from the water repaired, they are looking at having their house jacked up to fix the structural problem, too. Hence my concerns about structure.

From what y'all have said, it sounds like I have an argument for tearing down & replacing the drywall that got wet, and that his house won't be falling down because all the structure has been compromised. Thanks!

 

Yep, your situation and you parents' are different