I have a spare room I keep closed off. During the pandemic, I’ve basically used it for storage when I order bulk stuff online. I went in today to get something and about a 2X2 foot part of the ceiling had collapsed. I still can’t believe I didn’t hear that. It must have happened during the night. The rug underneath was wet (as was a 13 pound bag of cat food - grrr). I had issues with the roof leaking over that room that caused some water spotting about 4 years ago but not in that same area. I had the roof fixed with no other problems and the ceiling was fine.
I crawled around in the attic (I hate doing that) but I can’t see the area because it’s under some big ductwork. We are having light rain today but the ductwork was dry and I couldn’t see any leaking from the roof. We did have a heavy downpour yesterday which I’m thinking was maybe the final straw that brought the ceiling down. I can see now that there is water marking on the ceiling around the where it fell. I don’t know how long that’s been there - I never look at the ceiling! (Well, I have now. I went through all the other rooms and they are fine.)
I’m pretty sure it’s not a leaking pipe. I ran water for awhile and got on a stepladder and checked around the hole. I didn’t see or hear any water.
The irony of this is that I was planning to start getting quotes to get a new roof this week. I’d waited until the hot weather was done. Now I’ve got to get a new roof and a new ceiling. Damn.
Is there anything I need to know about dealing with the big gaping hole? I’ve put a large flattened cardboard box covered with garbage bags beneath it in case there is any more water coming down. We are dealing with the remnants of Ida but it isn’t raining hard and should be done by tomorrow morning. Any other advice would be welcomed.
Could be the roof wasn’t fixed as well as you thought. Could be lack of roof overhang - water running down the side of the house and finding a way in. If you have a covered veranda it could be water seeping in from the roof line of that (lack of flashing). Somewhere moisture is getting in.
You’re lucky. Years ago I had a ceiling fall in on my head while I was sitting reading a newspaper. Cause of that was water seeping from the roof line of a veranda. They are typically located right at ceiling height.
A pinhole leak in a water pipe can be hidden and be leaking for ages before the moisture creates damage. Sometimes hard to spot, especially if lighting is poor. But you were looking specifically and you’d likely have heard it hissing
Good luck!
This area is a couple feet from the original leak which was coming down the chimney. I checked that area and it is dry.
For the first leak, I happened to be in the room during a heavy rain and I heard the dripping on the ceiling. I noticed the water mark so got the roof fixed as soon as I could. That should have taught me to check ceilings occasionally but I didn’t. Lesson learned the hard way. Check your ceilings people!
I don’t have gutters. The old man I bought the house from had built it himself and lived here for 50 years. I figured if he didn’t think he needed them, I wasn’t worried about it. I have overhang on the front and back and partially on one side. The area that collapsed is not near the outside walls, it’s a bit less than 2 feet from the door to the room. Here’s a pic:
I’m very lucky that in 18 years this is only my 2nd major disaster as a homeowner. (The first was my hot water heater turning into an spewing fountain about 16 years ago - and I couldn’t find the shutoff valve.) After I discovered the hole this afternoon, I walked around the house saying “don’t panic, it’s going to be fine, don’t panic” (well, after I stopped saying “holy shit”). And after assessing the situation, I was ok. Yeah, it’s my own damn fault and I still can’t believe I never looked up at that ceiling but shit happens. I’m about to spend several thousands for the roof so a few hundred more for the ceiling isn’t going to make that much difference. I’m not really happy about having some worker in my house with Delta running rampant here but I’ll try to get someone who is vaccinated. That could prove to be a challenge. But, roof first and I’ll deal with the ceiling later. It is creepy having the gaping wound in the ceiling, though. I’m so glad it’s not in a living space.
hm. Ceiling collapses (again), not a major disaster, just another day in the life. In the rental I was sharing (shower leak), in the garage and in the spare room (overweight insulation / cheap crappy ceiling installation), in the living room (cracked tile). Never gave any warning.
Major disasters? Tradesmen. Weather can cause damage, but it takes a tradesman to really F things up.
Then I’ve been very, very lucky. I lived in probably a dozen apartments before I bought my house and only had a small ceiling collapse in one of them. I was on the second floor and the roof leaked through the third floor into my place. Water ran down the walls in the dining room and ruined my beloved Pearl Jam poster. The kitchen ceiling collapsed over my microwave. It didn’t really hurt the microwave but I made the management company buy me a really nice new one anyway because I was pissed about the poster. I gave the old microwave to my mother.
Good news sort of - it’s not the roof leaking. Bad news is that it’s the HVAC unit. I didn’t have the AC on yesterday and turned it on as I was getting ready for bed. I went in the spare room to turn off the light and water was dripping. It’s coming from the edge of the unit. It’s a slow drip so it’s probably been doing that for a while. The HVAC guys are coming between noon and 5. Only once in my life have they shown up before 3 and more than once after 7.
I said this was good news sort of. I wish it had been the roof - that was an easy fix. That would have had its own challenges but this could really suck. Fingers crossed for a good outcome.
A friend’s AC unit was mounted with some sort of rubber gasket thing on the legs and over time, one of the gasket things dried out and flattened so her AC started leaking. She said the service call was her only cost.
Fingers crossed that you just need a couple of rubber gasket thingies.
BTW, I’d probably be so creeped out looking at the ceiling that I’d close the door an not open it again. I’d make hubs do it if it was needed, lol!!!
I mean she might but there still will be a hole in her ceiling!
I have the exact same room in my house as the OP. A room I never go in, where I keep my bulk purchases, and previously all the stuff I was trying to sell online or organize for donation. I kept the door closed. During covid I’ve been cleaning the room out massively and finally think it looks good enough to keep the door open (I’ve often wondered how it affects my heating/cooling). Now after reading this post I am glad I keep that room open now just in case the damn thing starts crumbling down and I’m unaware!
Surely your insurance will cover some or all of this won’t it @aurora_marie? Or how about the warranty on the previous roof work?
Back in the day, parachutes draped from the ceiling were high fashion. Perhaps its time for that sort of thing to make a come back? Pot is legal in a lot of places now…
The tech showed up around 3 p.m. and was only here an hour or so. @DavidNRockies was right - there was some clogging. The tech thought the pump might be an issue but he said to just watch things for a few days and if I still have a problem, he’ll come back. This was the same tech who had replaced the control board on the unit earlier in the summer so I already knew he was vaccinated. That was a relief and he’s a really nice guy to boot. He recommended a company to fix the ceiling and said a lot of his customers have been happy with their work. I asked if collapsing ceilings were a normal HVAC problem and he just laughed. Apparently, I’m not the only person who doesn’t watch their ceilings.
I have to keep reminding myself that it’s only open to the attic, not the outside world. It just feels weird.
One day, when the world gets back to some sort of normal, I want to reclaim that room. It’s been closed off for a year and a half and I’ve forgotten what it was like when it was a part of the house. The cats will be happy, too. They have never understood why it’s off limits now and still try to sneak in when they get a chance.
I don’t know if insurance would cover it but it’s not going to cost enough that it would meet my deductible anyway.
I lived in probably a dozen apartments before I bought my house and only had a small ceiling collapse in one of them. I was on the second floor and the roof leaked through the third floor into my place. Water ran down the walls in the dining room and ruined my beloved Pearl Jam poster. The kitchen ceiling collapsed over my microwave. It didn’t really hurt the microwave but I made the management company buy me a really nice new one anyway because I was pissed about the poster. 
I gave the old microwave to my mother.
