Are you fucking kidding me?!

[kenaz]

We have a leak in our ceiling.

Again.

Same place as the one we had this fall, which required *weeks* of mold remediation, moisture abatement, repair work, and repainting of 3 rooms. Both P. and I have work obligations that mean we really can't be home to babysit contractors-- to say nothing of upcoming vacations, a conference I have to attend, etc.  Our building's insurance doesn't cover "cosmetic" work, either-- last time, we coughed up $$$ for the repainting.  I imagine we'll have to do it again this time, barely 6 months later.

Last time, we had to cordon off part of the apartment with plastic and run industrial dehumidifiers and HEPA filters for a week before they could even begin repairs.  The machines kicked out so much heat we had to keep all the windows open in November.  I shudder to think what that's going to feel like on a 90 degree day with 90% humidity.

The bedroom door is now too warped to close, which means the only room with AC doesn't even stay cool.

Excuse me while I go bang my head against the wall for a while and then drink myself into a stupor.


ETA: Our upstairs neighbor just emailed us to say that he thinks it might be an issue stemming from his toilet.  On the one hand, I'm glad that there might be an obvious reason for the problem which will hopefully mean they can correct it quickly and without hugely invasive chunks-of-wall-cutting-out-exploratory surgery... but on the other hand.... EWWWW!!!!!!! MY WALL IS FILLED WITH TOILET WATER!!! :(((

Comments

[ysilme]

Oh, shit, what a piece of bad luck! You have my heartfelt sympathies.

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

It literally sounded like someone had turned on a hose inside our wall. You could hear it gushing! And then it started to leak out of the moldings of the doorways. The new plaster is already bubbled and cracking. I am so unhappy about this!!!

[ysilme]

Good gracious! What causes this, a pipe burst? We had this once, when water spouted out of the wall like from an open faucet. It was a minor thing compared with your tale of woe, but it was spectacular enough.

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

It has to be pipes-- the sound of the water was way too loud to be anything else. Sigh.

[ysilme]

Reading some of the other entries, I agree - it really sounds as if the last time the problem wasn't treated, just the blame put onto some inhabitant. In our situation it was the same - management accusing some of the tenants... and of course it was a pipe burst.
Best of luck for this time, for them actually lookig for the real problem and fixing it, and also for getting at least some of the cost for the repainting etc. back!

[independence1776]

I am so sorry. That's… horrible.

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

I am so annoyed. :(

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I totally feel for you - this simply sucks!

- Erulisse (one L)

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the long and short of it. :(

[lhun-dweller.livejournal.com]

Oh no! How awful! It sounds like someone in the chain of contractors did not do his/her job well, else you wouldn't be having a leak again. Any chance of holding them liable for making good on their work?

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

The building will have to. It's a co-op, and the management co. were the ones that hired the contractors. Last time they claimed someone overflowed their tub 2 floors above us and, to my knowledge, didn't do any actual plumbing repairs. Well, that's biting everyone on the ass now! >:(

[aglarien1.livejournal.com]

Oh no. I'm so sorry. That just sucks.

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It's going to be such a hassle. Ugh.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

I am so horribly sorry. It is probably a bad connection in someone else's plumbing?? Do you have a building association or something?

I've no idea what you did before to find the source but it sounds at lot like a problem we had at our place in Park Slope. The people down below me at our old place had the same thing happen to them two or three times and the landlord from hell just kept coming up stairs and accusing me of overrunning the the bathtub or the toilet because he did not want to do the sleuthing to find the real problem. They were at their wits end and I was furious because everyone was blaming me. My bathroom was dry as a bone and we weren't doing anything weird.

Finally, he was forced to locate the leak and it was in between my downstairs neighbor's apartment and mine. Every time we used our shower water was flowing into the walls down below us.

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

It absolutely has to be someone elses' plumbing. And I think our situation is *exactly* like yours. Last time, the mgmt co. said that the bathtub on the 6th floor overflowed, and to my knowledge, they didn't do any plumbing repairs. From the sound of the water rushing through the walls last night, this is definitely not just a tub overflowing-- this is a pipe issue. And if they had just properly investigated it the first time and made the necessary-- if invasive--repairs, we wouldn't have to be doing this again now...twice... and there are going to have to be invasive repairs. ugh.

[minuial_nuwing]

That really sucks. :( It sounds like someone did shoddy work before, or else the real issue went undetected. The aggravation and inconvenience is bad enough - I hope someone can be held responsible for the failure of the previous "repair."

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

I think we're going to try and fight for the mgmt co to pay for any repainting since either they didn't actually figure out what the problem was in the first place, or did a half-assed job fixing it. It's just coming at the worst possible time for both P. and I in terms of our schedule-- and, of course, trying to make wet plaster and paint dry in summer heat and humidity is going to be an exercise in failure.

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh, how awful! for you!! I hope that you can get things sorted out and fixed soon.

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

Thanks, me too!

[jaiden-s.livejournal.com]

Damn. You don't have any sort of recourse with the building owner? One would think the cost would fall to him.

that sucks...

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

It's a co-op, so technically we *are* the blg owners... at least in small part. Why'd we buy an apartment in this city again? Hell if I know.

[idleleaves.livejournal.com]

Oh, hell. That's TERRIBLE. Leaks are the worst to deal with, ugh. Having just gone through that myself, I really sympathise. Hope someone else is liable for the repairs so you don't have to take up the cost again. Urgh.

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

You feel my pain!!! :(

[chaotic-binky.livejournal.com]

I hope this leak proves easier to deal with than the last one.

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

Ugh, me too!!

[nelyo-russandol.livejournal.com]

Have you tried checking what the guarantee for the previous work looks like? Because you may still be entitled to a free repair if the guys who fixed it the first time round guaranteed their work for a year, for example.

But even if that's the case, I agree that it's just a complete nightmare. You don't want all that domestic disruption when you have all other things to worry about.

All the best to sort it quickly and with as little disruption as possible!

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

Our building is a co-op, so it will be the building's responsibility to fix everything and reimburse us fully-- I know it'll all get resolved... eventually. It's just a massive hassle in the mean time. We've just taken pictures of all the damaged area, and borrowed a dehumidifier from our downstairs neighbor which he bought after the last disaster-- he said his wall is a little damp, but we seem to have born the brunt of the damage.

[pandemonium-213.livejournal.com]

Oh, god...plumbing issues and water damage are THE WORST! But if a decent plumber can find the source of the leak, that will at least provide the foundation for an actual repair.

but on the other hand.... EWWWW!!!!!!! MY WALL IS FILLED WITH TOILET WATER!!! :(((

If it's water from the tank or the pipes leading into the tank (which, based on the sounds you're hearing, is possible), it's no different than tap water, but if it's from the sewer line? Oh, yes...EWWWWWWWW!

If it's any consolation, I'll be forking over $3800 this autumn for a big preventative job on our ancient Graeco-Roman era sewer line - new clean-out, which means cutting into a pipe, cutting out roots, and hoping beyond hope that the trap, which appears to be buried beneath the relatively new concrete toward the street side of the basement, does not have a half-dozen twists and turns. With regard to the latter, please sacrifice a chicken or a goat to the God of Plumbing so that the trap turns out to be something normal rather than a bizzaro pipe that will need to be excavated.

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

Ugh! That's awful about your sewer line-- i'm so sorry! I will sacrifice a candle and burn a chicken that all goes well!

We still have no real info, other than they came in and cut out an entire chunk of our ceiling (so now I can hear even more of my upstairs neighbors! Yay!) but still haven't diagnosed the issue. Our door seems to have shrunk back down a little after a couple days with the dehumidifier, which our downstairs neighbor is now borrowing. It still smells really dank. I'm praying it's not from the sewer line-- I feel like it would smell worse if it was, but I'm not touching anything that got wet without gloves!! I need Hep A like I need a hole in the head. :P

P. is staying home tomorrow and Thursday depending on what needs to be done, and I'm taking Friday off, even though it's really an inopportune time!

[erviniae.livejournal.com]

On the one hand it's good news and on the other hand ewwww!! But think clean toilet water only !!!! :p

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to think very dry thoughts! :(

[kymahalei.livejournal.com]

Sending hugs your way, Kenaz. We had similar problems, only mold got into the mess and, well, it wasn't pretty. You will get to the other side of this, although I won't be so stupid as to suggest that you will laugh about it someday. Sincerest sympathy.

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

I'm really worried about mold. :(

I can't believe we just did this same song and dance 6 months ago.

[caras-galadhon.livejournal.com]

Argh! That's so frustrating. *hugs* I sincerely hope it's fixed quickly and with as few problems for you as possible. Just... argh. *more hugs*

[kenazfiction.livejournal.com]

Now our upstairs neighbor-- the cause of all this--says it's "inconvenient" for him to be home to let the plumbers come in and check his lines. Oh, I'm sorry... this is "inconvenient" for you? BITE ME.