05/31/2024
I was initially called to this property for an attic gable vent that was allowing water into the 3rd floor. Upon further inspection it was determined that rain water was entering through the rough opening of the attic vent, running down the interior of the gable wall, passing through the top plate and depositing water into and through out the second floor master bedroom.
Most of the water from the attic was trapped on the inside of the second floor wall at the bottom plate, though some water continued to the first floor garage below, the majority of the water damage was limited to the carpeted second floor master bedroom and interior wall framing.
After resolving the initial water intrusion issue at the gable vent, I worked my way through the attic removing and replacing water damaged/moldy insulation. The gable vent had been installed incorrectly about 10 years ago.
The plaster board on the wall and ceiling directly beneath the attic leak had to be removed along with the insulation.
Once the wet insulation was removed, rotted framing at the bottom plate was visible. After removing the bottom plate and carpet in the water damaged area I was able to see that the structural subfloor was also visibly rotten and comprimsed. With the carpet out of the way, I cut out about 20 sqaure feet of water logged subfloor. After the new subfloor was installed and surrounding areas were treated for mold, I installed a new bottom plate and then cut off the bottom of several rotted studs and sistered each one.
After the framing was completed, I was able to insulate and install the plaster base. There was about 125 sq ft of water damaged plaster board associated with this leak in the adjacent walk-in closet and garage below that had to be replaced. (Not pictured)
Instead of replacing the carpet, this customer opted to upgrade to an engineered hardwood floor to match the existing hallway flooring. About 800 sq ft of carpet was removed including 2 walk-in closets.
The lack of carpet accentuated a large bump in the subfloor that the customer had noticed since the house was built. About 5/8s of an inch over 3 linear feet. The hump in the floor seemed to be caused by a high joist under the subfloor, it was in a location of the house where the direction of the joists changed and they ran perpendicular to each other.
To remdey this issue, I removed about 3 sheets of subfloor to gain access to the framing underneath. Once the structural floor was open, it was clear the beam that carried the perpendicular joists over the garage was higher than the surrounding I joists. I was able to level out the top of the framing by cutting, chiseling and planing sections of the oversized beam. Because this home is relatively new, the existing subfloor was nailed and glued down so I was unable to reuse any material. Replaced with new tongue and groove.
After the plasterer came in and made our walls and ceiling perfect 401 Drywall & Plaster 👍🏼 I was able to scrape, fasten, belt sand and completely prep the subfloor for the pre finished flooring. 5 inch wide rough 1/4 sawn and rifted engineered
The customer asked for reinstallation of the existing baseboard and opted to not scribe it into the new floor
This new house had several original build issues not mentioned here or pertaining to this project that we were able to address and correct. One in particular being a leaking interior downspout that was well on its way to causing similar damage to what is illustrated here. Many of these problems were surprises that we found in the course of work, we were able to address each one and put the customer at ease in what was an inconvenient situation.
Keep in mind that we were not the first company this customer called. They originally reached out to insurance adjusters and multiple other contractors who gave answers from steam cleaning the carpet to slapping another coat of paint on the existing wall. One of the gentlemen who inspected this project was unable to lift himself into the attic to properly examine the gable vent, he surmised there was no major issue. Be careful who you hire 👍🏼
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