Houston, We have a problem!

Houston, We have a problem!

While at work I get a text from my wife... That night I took a closer look and this is what I saw.  There was a small puddle on the floor directly below the stain.  Where could the water be coming from?  I'm sure you could probably guess. The sheet rock was still wet and I was able to use my fingers to enlarge the hole.

Once drywall gets wet it changes shape so to fix this we need to probe to see where the moisture has done the damage.  To do this I used a keyhole saw but first there was the issue of the light fixture right next door.  For safety's sake, make sure the light is on and flip the breakers -

Remove the Light fixture

.  one at a time until the light goes off.  This way you can be assured that the power is off before removing the light fixture. This type of light has an electrical junction box centered above the fixture.  Loosen both screws and twist the fixture to move the heads of the screws to the end of the slots that will allow the heads to pass through the fixture and remove the fixture from the ceiling.  For this repair the water had crept under the light fixture so it needed to be removed.  Using the saw I started in the center of the wet spot and moved out until the saw moved into the dry spot.  Be careful of where the wires might be routed keep the saw shallow near the light fixture to avoid accidentally damaging the insulation on the wires.  Drywall is usually less than 1/2" thick so it is not necessary to plunge the saw all the way into the ceiling.
      Water tends to pool in the lowest point of a flat surface so the leak may not be directly above the wet spot.  The drywall will have to be replaced what is removed can not really be salvaged.  This image shows the cause of the low spot in the ceiling; the junction of two ceiling joists.  The joist hanger is protruding a significant amount below the wood and when the drywall was installed, nothing was done to accommodate the uneven installation surface.  Later in this posting I will address a couple of ways to allow for such irregularities in the framing when installing drywall.  Once all of the damaged drywall is removed, the source of the leak may be apparent from underneath.  In my case there was no obvious source for the leak.  Roughly above the location of the leak is the kid's bathroom.  Tell me your kids always keep every drop of water in the tub...want to trade?

     
     First thing I did was remove the chrome cap inside the tub that caps off the overflow drain.  The screw that holds the cap onto the pipe was rusted out and broke off inside the PVC.  In order to replace this part I cut into the drywall on the opposite side of the wall from the bathroom to get to the pipes without disturbing the tile surround for the shower.  The pink stuff is insulation for fire-blocking to prevent airflow through the floor.  I noticed a bit of moisture directly under this pipe on the drywall directly below the  p-trap under the sub-floor.  I don't think it is the primary source of the water causing the damage below but it was enough that I am not sorry I opened up the wall.

Tools Required for this repair:

• Keyhole drywall saw
• Hacksaw blade
• PVC primer and ABS cement
• Phillips Screw Driver
• Utility Knife

Materials Required: 

• 1 1/2" ABS pipe (approximately 6" long)
• 1 1/2" ABS coupling union
• 1 1/2" Twist 'N Close Plumber's Pak (chrome trim)
• Contains the top elbow part replacement the seal and the chrome overflow cap plate

Steps in making the repair: 

1. Using the hacksaw blade cut off the pipe a few inches above the floor level making the cut as close to level as possible.  A perfect cut will be perpendicular to the pipe.  The remaining surface of the pipe needs to fit into the union piece completely with no gaps. 
2. Cut the length of 1 1/2" PVC pipe to length so that when fitted together the top joint sits in the center of the hole in as viewed from the inside of the bathtub.  
3. Dry fit the pipes together for a height check 
4. Apply the purple primer to all surfaces of the pipe and let the primer dry for about 30 seconds.  
5. Apply the ABS cement and fit the pieces paying special attention so that the top union fits as before.  

Overflow Pipe Centered

 

Once the parts have been cemented together place the seal on the pipe between the bathtub and the face of the pipe and fasten the face plate on the inside of the tub using a screw driver.  Do not use a drill or power screw driver to tighten this screw.  If the chrome finish on the head of the screw is damaged it will rust over time.  

Now that the pipe is repaired, the main problem can be fixed.  While I had the wall open I was able to see mass amounts of wet sub flooring along the edge of the tub.  The house is about 12 years old and the bead of caulk where the tub meets the linoleum is probably original; so in the end this extensive repair could have been prevented had I simply reapplied a new bead of caulk when we first moved into the house.  Oh well hind sight is 20/20.