I noticed recently a spot on my patio (where the slab meets the brick veneer) that has been wet for quite some time. It’s located about a foot and a half from the hose spigot.
The other side of that wall is a bathroom, but unfortunately the toilet and sink are located on the opposite wall, so I can’t get to whatever leaking pipe there is through the vanity.
It seems to me that what I’m going to have to do is cut a hole in the drywall of the bathroom and try to find my leak. I don’t even mind repairing drywall all that much, but the paint in there is textured, I don’t particularly like it any more, and I’m all out of it…
…anyways, I’m obviously going to have to do this. Whether or not I can repair the leak on my own is a question I won’t be able to answer until I find it. According to a friend of mine who works with some plumbers the best piece of advice he can give me is to have the leak located and a hole cut so I can save on some ExpensivePlumberTime.
But how about how high the cut the hole? How big? Any chance of me accomplishing this by just pulling the baseboard off the wall? Should I just bleach the inevitable mold or is there something better?
I assume the bad pipe comes directly out of the slab from the homes I’ve been seeing built around here, if that helps out any.
The leak may not be inside the wall. I recently had a burst hot water pipe under my slab. The location of the leak was about 15 feet from the bathroom, but that’s where most of the water came up from under the slab around the pipes for the bathtub. The other place it came up into the house was around the water lines at the water heater and washing machine.
So, if you’re going to cut your own hole, start low. That way you can tell if it’s coming from above or below, whereas if you start high and don’t see anything, you’ll just have to keep working your way lower.
As far as the mold, I’ll leave that to the professionals, but your insurance company surely has a policy in place that would be a good place to start.
If you are sure that the external faucet is not the source of the leak. The water could be leaking around the thread or perhaps the stem and running back down the pipe. I’d at least turn off the water and either replace or check out the faucet for leaks. (ie: new washer and/or packing or just replace the faucet)
If that’s NOT the problem and it’s not the fixtures in the adjoining bath then you don’t have much of a choice.
If the house is on a slab there shouldn’t be water on top of the slab from underground plumbing. I’d just cut a square out of the inside wall the width of the studs as high and in line with the spigot. You should have plenty of working room and it’s doubtful that you’ll miss the leak. That will leave you clean straight lines and the studs available to reattach the panel. Be careful and you can replace it with drywall screws and tape. A little touch up mud and paint and there’s nothing to it.
Well, you gotta fix the leak of course. I’ll really be surprised though if it’s not just a leaky faucet.
There’s no water on the bathroom floor? If there was a leak in the wall I’d expect to find water inside first.
Just spray any mold with a household mold killer/bleach solution. If you’re worried wear a particle mask. If it looks bad then be careful. Once the EPA gets into a mold investigation you might as well start packing your sh**.
Okay, I’m sure this will seem a perfectly stupid question, but…
I can totally understand why I’d want to cut it at the studs, and that’s actually one of the reasons I asked - I knew there would be something like that which would be total common sense that wouldn’t even occur to me.
But, assuming I’m using a reciprocating (or drywall) saw, how can I cut up to the stud? If I drill a hole in the middle and cut to the left up to the stud, then cut to the right to the next stud, I’ll just have a line cut from stud to stud. If I then cut downward on both sides, then connect the sides at the bottom I’ll have cut a square which has its edges right at the studs - which will make it impossible to screw/nail the drywall to the studs.
You don’t need to nail it together. You can cut a piece to fit, mud and tape it and sand 'er down. You’ll need to be precise with your measurement so it holds fairly firm in there.
I learned this when I had to replace a Kalhoun-shaped hole in a wall.
Sure, and once you locate the studs all you need to do is score down the middle of the stud with a utility knife and use a chisel to remove the strip of drywall so that you have half a stud exposed to use as a nailer. You can do it as Kalhoun says, if it’s a small hole, but for larger areas, it gets structurally weak and just bumping against it will ruin it.
A carpenters square a pencil and a utility knife will do it. Take it slow apply firm but not too heavy pressure and go over the line as many times as it takes (maybe 3 or 4) until you get through. Watch for preexisting nails or screws, pull them with a pair of pliers or unscrew if you’re that lucky.
If you’re worried about the strength of your top cut when you replace the panel just cut a board (a 1"x4" will do or a 2"x4"… either way, not a problem) fit in in at the top inside of the existing rock w/ some liquid nails and/or some screws. That’ll give you some support at the top if you need it when replacing the panel.
for that matter, a bead of drywall adhesive (or liquid nails) around the edge would probably suffice.
Another neat trick is to build in some support using the surrounding drywall.
Suppose you had to cut a square hole 12 inches on each side. Now you want to patch that hole and you don’t have the studs handy to fasten the patch to.
Get yourself some wood strips longer than the hole - say some hunks of 1x2, about sixteen inches (or longer). Put one inside the hole, held vertically, so that two inches of the excess is at the top and two inches are at the bottom, pressing against the BACKSIDE of the surrounding drywall. You’ll be pulling it gently towards you to hold it in place.
Now run a couple of drywall screws through the drywall and into the wood strip, thus pulling the strip against the drywall and locking it in place.
Repeat with the second strip of wood. You now have a square hole with two vertical “bars” that are flush against the back of the existing drywall. These wood strips will provide support for your patch.
Cut your square drywall patch a little smaller than the opening so that it will go in easily and leave room to mud and tape it nicely. Put the patch in place and fasten it to the wood strips with drywall screws. Finish as for any other patch.
Some good advice here - I’ll make sure to keep everyone updated on my super exciting adventures. I’ll probably end up doing the cut this Saturday so I have all day to get really annoyed over fixing the problem…
I never cut drywall to the middle of a stud for a patch. I tack a block next to the stud, so I don’t have to deal with screws/nails/tape joints, it’s a pita. Much easier and quicker to attach backing to the stud than clean out middle cuts, SOP for us carpenters/drywallers.
Valgard has the right idea, but we generally use 1x4 stock, as we always have scraps in the truck, and 1x2 is kinda thin to screw to on the width. Other than that, Valgard is right on.
Here’s a tip for you DIY drywall repair people. You can buy a “dimpling” bit for your cordless drill. It allows you to screw in drywall without pushing through the paper and thereby requiring another screw. Ask at your local HW.
Oh, and don’t buy the fine thread drywall screws, they are for metal studs, you want coarse thread, 1 1/4’ is fine for patches.
Not being clear as usual. I cut the drywall next to the stud, easy to follow the wood with the cut, and then install a backing piece into the stud.
Much easier than trying to cut drywall down the center of the stud around nails and screws, trying to maintain 3/4 as you go, and having to remove fasteners.
