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Lawn-Scapes
02-06-2004, 10:20 PM
Sorry if this doesn't belong here... :(

I need your help.. With all the snow, ice and rain we've had lately my ceiling began to leak today. I wouldn't be so upset if I hadn't just finished putting new drywall up there last week. Let me explain... We just bought the house (our first) last year and this particular part of the house is a 12'x15' addition/sunroom. It has two 2'x3'x2' sky lights/boxes in the center. I believe the addition was built about 6 years ago. Not the best workmanship and I found out from a neighbor.. it was done by a friend of a friend of a friend. Anyway.. it had a wood ceiling (it looks kinda like Wayne's Coating but 3/4" thick) and we didn't like the way it looked so I drywalled over it. I wake up today and see dripping from the center of the room between the two sky boxes. I immediately went out on the roof and shoveled off the snow. The gutter was one solid block of ice so I started breaking that up.. only to end up completely ripping the gutter off the house. Not completely sure if that was the source of my problem, I went to Lowes and bought a couple of plastic drop cloths and covered the roof. I'm thinking maybe the skylights are leaking somehow or a combination of the two.

I cut a hole in the ceiling (through the sheetrock and wood) to try and see where the problem was, but it wasn't a very good vantage point. I did see some moisture toward the front edge where the gutter was. Should I cut another hole toward the center to get a better look?

I'm not really sure what to do. I called my insurance and a claims person is supposed to get back to me in a day or so. I have a $500 deductable but I'm not sure if it's $500 in damage. At this time I only see damage at the seams where the tape and mud is. Are they going to address/cover the problem or only the damages?

How do I know how much of the sheetrock is bad? How much moisture can sheetrock handle? Will there be a mold or rot problem between the sheetrock and wood?

A little more info.. This is a one story addition attached to a two story townhouse style duplex. I didn't have any problems last season with all the snow and rain we got.. and it was a lot! My neighbor built a two story addtion and attached to ours. The roof from his addition pitches to our addition.. so I believe this has something to do with it.

Sorry to ramble on but I'm lost being a first time home owner. My main concerns are to find the source and how to determine how much of my sheetrock needs to be replaced. BTW.. It looked pretty good before today THANKS!

Rich
02-07-2004, 02:56 PM
I would probably investigate the attached home first and see if any damage was done to your roof during the construction of your neighbor. Start there anyway.. a couple things cause roofs to leak. Either something has damaged the roof, the roof is getting old and beginning to deteriorate, or weather like high winds have damaged the roof.
Your insurance will want a full investigation of the problem before they agree to do anything. They won't pay for drywall repair if the roof is damaged and it will keep damaging drywall.

grumpydasmurf
02-09-2004, 02:10 AM
Rich this could also be a condensation caused leak but not likley due to the size of the porch area. What's more likley is ice damning.

What is the slope of the roof? What kind of underlayments were used?

Typically these "sun room" type additions have about a 4/12 pitch or less. This would be a candidate for a good ice shield, probably on the whole roof due to the skylights.

Rich you said insurance wont pay for drywall if the roof isn't fixed and I can not tell you how wrong you are. I've seen insurance companies offer to pay for the ceiling or wall but never offer anything for the roof KNOWING full well the roof is what caused the ceiling and wall to be stained/damaged. Then I always ask myself what the home owners were thinking for not questioning the insurance. Usually the home owner follows the logic of the insurance and does nothing to the roof and it leaks again later, then they finally call me out.

Rich
02-09-2004, 04:17 AM
I guess I make a clarification..haha.
For the homeowner.. make sure an investigation is done of the whole area - roof, drywall, etc.. That way your SOB's of an insurance company won't screw you. haha