Pictures by drummerMrJ - Photobucket
Please look at the first four or five pictures. I didn't know how to do just an album with the wall pictures, so please excuse the pictures of my husband's drum stuff.

Something appeared on our wall in the living room a couple of weeks ago. It began to spread on that wall, and it is also on an adjacent wall.

I hope the pictures are good enough for some of you experts to give me some feedback.

Thank you!

 

Is this wall above grade? If so, how is it insulated? Is there a vapor barrier between the insulation and the sheetrock?

 

Okay chandler. You will have to speak English for me. What do you mean above grade? I am just assuming it is insulated. We didn't build this house. It's an old house. I have no idea if there is a vapor barrier or not if there is actually insulation there.

Do you have a guess as to what this issue is?

 

How long ago was the wall painted?
Is this a basement wall? (Below grade)
Is this drywall or plaster?
Is the house frame or masonry?
Pardon my ignorance but what is the weather like on Guam over a year long period?
When you say old, how old?
Are you smokers?

 

Thanks for the reply tightcoat. One of the walls that has this problem was painted about a month ago. The one adjacent to it was painted before we moved in. This is not below grade. Our house doesn't have a basement, but it does have a crawl space. I don't know if this makes a difference, but when we had some work done back in the summer, the guy that did the work said he could see the under side of our hardwood floors underneath the house. There is no insulation under the house. That would explain why my feet froze this winter!

The wall is a drywall, and the frame is textured cinder block (sp?). I think the house is over 50 years old.

We do not smoke, nor do we allow anyone in our home who does. (No disrespect to smokers.)

I don't really live in Guam. I am not a fan of giving out specifics like that, but I can tell you that I live in an area that has short winters and springs and very hot summers. We have very high humidity.

Is it possible that this is a mold problem?

 

It looks like a moisture problem that if not already, will turn into a mold problem.

 

I forgot to ask how long you have lived there in regards to seasonal changes. Is it possible that this was a pre-existing seasonal problem that had been covered up by fresh primer and paint prior to the house purchase for instance? A moisture problem usually is caused from condensation when warm air flow meets colder air either from the outside in or inside out and assuming your area requires a vapor barrier, which by regional climate conditions could be required on the inside or outside of the insulation depending. There could also be rain water seepage or snow melt/ice damn issues that have happened also. The more information you can provide the more this forum can help you in your investigation.

 

Hi Donna, as equinox said, it looks like a moisture issue, which could be or turn into a mold problem. I realize all of the questions are not what you want to here, answers would be better, but the picture and a few thousand miles between us makes it difficult to specifically say what it is.

If we assume it is moisture, then the source (as previously stated) would be condensation or a leak. Depending upon your climate we can point to or rule out the condensation. With a short winter season, you must already be well into the warmer weather so condensation seems less likely, unless you are already running the air conditioner a lot.

Since you see this on two walls, what is above those walls? Is it an attic and have you gone up there to look around?

The Q&A will take a few posts, but we will eventually narrow down the possibilities.

Bud

 

This is our first spring here. We moved here in July of last year. I suppose it is entirely possible that this is a problem that was covered up by paint. We have seen alot of condensation on the windows, so I would not be surprised if there had been some on the walls, and we didn't know it. Another problem we have had is....when we have a hard rain, there will be rain on the window sill of the large picture window in the living room.

Thanks for trying to help.

 

Bud,

We do have our air conditioner on daily at this point. The windows do not open, so we don't have the benefit of raising them and allowing a breeze in.

Please see my reply above to equinox about condensation on the windows.

We have not been in the attic, but I think that is going to have to be the next step.

The spots on the wall aren't wet to the touch, and they aren't sticky. I took some Lysol cleaner (not the spray disinfectant) and tried to clean off the spots that are brown on the one wall. They wouldn't come off.

Thanks for the help.

 

I have seen mold areas painter over and they don't take long to surface again. Condensation on the windows and water when it rains on the window sills is not good, especially the rain, as it is finding a way in and will be leaving water behind as it passes through.

Since you are in there less than a year, you might have recourse if the previous owner did not disclose a serious condition. You need to get this looked at as soon as possible so it doesn't just fade away for now and return with a vengeance next year.

1. It sounds like there is a leak associated with the wet sill, that needs to be determined and located. A picture of the outside of the house showing those windows would help.

2. The condensation during the cold weather is a combination of single pane windows and high humidity inside the house. Were you running a humidifier this winter?

Bud

 

These days it makes complete sense to have a proper home inspection done as a condition on a home purchase and I think you are now finding that out. You shouldn't be having to go through all these surprises. The real estate agent should have suggest it. If there are defects like you are finding now you would have at least known about them or expected them corrected as a condition of sale. There maybe several things going on based on what you have described that all require more investigation. I would start with finding out what the minimum code requirements are around vapor barriers, and windows in your area. In regards to the wall it really sounds like those are water stains that have come from moisture behind the wall board, and no they will never wash off. Water seepage is still a possibility, but so is not having a moisture barrier if one is required in your region. Remember about air flow and warm meeting cold, just like cold water in a glass on a warm day. Find out if required, is it needed on the outside of the insulation or the inside? If it is on the inside you can try and lift off a recepticle cover and see if it is visible on the edge of the wall board before you find yourself investigating with a saw blade. In some locations for new construction even the electrical boxes need to be completely air flow sealed on outside walls. Like any investigation it is always a case of elimination. Your leaking window could easily be only a caulking or glazing issue depending on how much damage has already been done to the frame and structure under it and the kind of window you have. I am not sure why none of your windows open. Is that normal for your area or something wrong with all of them. I am also beginning to think that you should consider bringing in a pro to further investigate things for you and provide you with his assesment. A really good home inspector should be able to provide you what you need to know about your house and maybe also find other things that are just waiting to surprise you yet. If in fact a moisture issue was a cover up with the listing, and something that was not dealt with by the previous owner I am betting there will be more you need to find out about. The inspector will know the local requirements against what he finds in your home, and probably be willing to even do more invasive investigations if required and you allow him to. On forums like this there is only so much help that can be provided without seeing things first hand.

 

I am so sorry to be so long in reporting this. I wanted to let you all know what a gentleman discovered about this problem. On the other side of the wall that is affected most, there is a screened porch. Apparently, at some point someone took out a window in the wall and replaced it with a decorative shelving unit on the screened porch.

He said that he thinks rain water is getting in the cracks around the decorative shelving unit. Upon measuring, the spots at the bottom of the wall are exactly the distance apart as the shelving unit on the other side of the wall is wide.

I agree with his feelings about the cause of this problem.

Thanks so much for all of the help here. You guys are always great.