Plaster wall damage under window

Found this on my Dining Room wall this morning when I moved a piece of furniture. Don't know how long it's been like this but at least a few weeks. Perforation on wall followed by bubbling and yellow staining under window trim. It's contained only in this area about a 2 foot range. Upstairs is a bathroom and a sewer pipe runs down this wall to basement. No stains on ceiling running down, however. Yellow gunk coming from under baseboard too. Area is dry to the touch. I believe it's a leak from the nearby window! Besides dealing with the leaky window, what is involved in fixing this wall???

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Welcome to the forums!

First fix the leak!! Then scrape off the loose plaster so you can better evaluate what needs to be done.... maybe post some more pics after you remove the loose. Most likely you'll need to apply a veneer coat of plaster. I normally use Durabond to repair plaster as it's easier if you don't have plaster experience. You could also use joint compound but it doesn't dry as hard as plaster or durabond does.

 

Thanks for the welcome! I have my handyman coming over later to check it out. I'm hoping the leak is indeed just coming from the window, I can't think of anything else since no leaks are coming from the ceiling.

 

The window is a good place to start although water can travel a ways inside a wall along framing members until it finds a place to exit. Do you know what part of the wall houses the drain pipe?

 

The drain pipe is located right behind this wall. There is a second story above, with the bathroom being right above. This is why it was my initial fear it was leaking of this pipe.

I remember last year when my handyman was taking care of my gutters, he noticed some small rot around this very window, so we're going to start looking there for sure.

Also, what is the gunk just above my baseboard (last image shows it more)? Is that from the water and plaster combining?

 

I'm not sure what the 'gunk' is. After scraping you should be able to get a better idea of what it is.

 

This may be more than you want to know. Gypsum plaster which is what is the basecoat of your wall is not very water resistant. It can stand to get wet once or twice if it dries out right away. If it gets wet a lot or stays wet it the gypsum dissolves right out of the sand. The sand, having nothing to hold it together settles to the bottom of the ruined area. The finish on the other hand is less water soluble so it actually stays intact, though tenuously so even if the plaster behind disappears. So when you scrape this off if a pile of sand runs out at the baseboard that is why. If this house is old enough to be plastered over wood lath the lath could have buckled when it got wet and pushed out the plaster so it bulges above the baseboard.

FIRST FIND AND FIX THE LEAK. Depending on the severity of the damage to the plaster it might be a simple recoat and paint job or it could mean removal and replacement of the plaster. Not an easy job but still, with guidance from people who know, a doable job. You might be replacing a window. If so do all of that and remove the loose plaster at the same time to avoid making a bad mess twice.

 

My friend came over to check out the damage. He ran through various scenarios for me but felt it may be a drain pipe leak. After removing the plaster, he found indeed that there was a crack along the drain pipe that extends a little ways up. See photos. He said that this crack has likely been here since the house was built and patched over the years but never really fixed. Without invasive measures, he felt that it could be patched with plumber's putty and a thin layer of mortar around the pipe. Thoughts on this? Then patch the wall back up. I apologize for the orientation of the photos, I can't seem to get them to orient correctly on here.

 

Cast iron pipes will eventually rust through and cause leaks like that. There is no way I would suggest a patch on something like that. Instead, cut out as much of the pipe as is feasible and replace it with PVC. They make rubber couplings to make the transitions.

A few months ago I worked in an old house where all the cast iron sewer pipe was leaking here and there, so it was ALL removed and replaced with PVC. Talk about a messy job!

 

whiile you havef the wall open replace the pipe.
Then we can tell you how to fix the wall

 

I agree! I might could see a patch job if the pipe was in an open basement where you could check on it from time to time but since it's hid in the wall you want to make sure it's right. No sense in patching the pipe, repairing the wall and then having to do it all over again when either the patch fails or a new leak pops up.

 

Bad idea !

The suggested patch is only a band-aid at best -- not *if* but *when* it fails you'll be back to square one -- I'll bet it'll be sonner than you think. Besides that *patch* is exactly the same thing as your friend said about the previous attempt(s) -- "....never really fixed ".

You already have a pretty *invasive* repair to do why not repair it properly --- cut out as much of the soil stack as feasible and replace it ---at least the exposed section down to the floor. Afterall, there is raw sewage on that pipe and within the wall cavity.

I also suspect it will probably become a more *invasive* repair once you look inside the wall --- mould , possibly rot and contamination from raw sewage.

 

My nephew knows someone who converted his CI system to PVC last year and I'm calling him in for an expert opinion. How can a section be replaced? If say 2 or even 3 foot of pipe is cut, wouldn't the entire stack fall down? What is done to hold the CI pipe in place or alternatively, how is this pipe even removed at all? Cut into sections from top to the bottom?