Sunday (July 26th) around 5pm I heard a rhythmic tap, tap tap coming from the downstairs hallway. I’m sure I’m not the only person who can’t relax until I know what a noise (car or house) is, so I went to investigate.
There was water dripping from the half finished recessed can light in the ceiling and the tapping sound was the drops hitting the RamBoard. I had the sense not to turn on the lights but my iPhone flashlight showed me the drops leaving the metal can.
I knew the water was coming from the wet room as this ceiling had been open much earlier in the project and you could see the recessed can from the toilet area (cans and cans – how appropriate!). I texted our project manager to let him know and ask what to do. The circuit for the hallway lights covers both upstairs hallway and down, so shutting it off is a major hassle for the morning, but I was told just don’t use the switches – hence the painter’s tape and colorful post-it!
Both kids had showers that afternoon – Kerri had just finished showering after riding – but that was a pretty typical Sunday. If nothing different happened from all the other Sundays since May 10th, why did we suddenly see water? Given the high traffic in the downstairs hallway (our temporary kitchen is at the other end of it) and me walking everywhere barefoot, I know this hasn’t happened before because I’d have felt the wet floor instantly.
I showered on Monday morning with no sign of a leak – what do the kids do in there?
The project manager asked lots of questions (about the rain over the weekend; whether anyone had used the tub versus the shower, etc.) and then went into the attic to check above the bathroom – nothing wet there. Checked under the bathroom sinks – dry. Flushed the toilet a few times – nothing. In discussing what next, I asked if we could learn anything by cutting into the ceiling drywall by the light – apparently so. I advocated looking now, while things were still wet or damp, as the evidence would disappear (dry up) if they waited. He called his manager to talk things over and cut the drywall. Joists and insulation were wet.
Lots of investigation on Monday, including someone from Westhill coming out with a moisture meter to check around for any hidden damp areas (fortunately nothing). The prime suspect was the toilet. Even though all the Wedi board was sealed and the toilet flange sealed to it, the thought was that the bolts anchoring the toilet to the floor go through the Wedi board and that if the toilet and bolts were not thoroughly caulked, that could cause the leak.
The plumbers were told to caulk around the toilet by more than one person at Westhill – look at the very end of this discussion of toilets to read why many plumbers don’t do this. Apparently they didn’t do what they were told.
Our project manager caulked the toilet on Monday and we found out on Tuesday that things still leaked.
More investigation turned up some missing grout (very small area, by the toilet). That was filled on Tuesday. Still leaked but not as much.
On Wednesday we did some soaking with the hand held shower spray zone by zone to be sure there wasn’t some other area involved. There wasn’t; some more caulking and grouting and the leak was no more.
Late Wednesday I was thinking about water leaks and our crawlspace water alarm. It then dawned on me we should have Westhill put an access panel in the ceiling by the light and have a water alarm there so if there is ever any leak in the future, we’ll know about it immediately. Imagine how long things could have gone on unbeknownst to us if the trim had been on that light?
The crawl space alarm is a simple battery operated one that beeps loudly and needs to be turned off until the water is gone. In looking online to see what else there might be, I think that one of the smart sensors – which will give us an alert on the phone if something’s wrong – is the way to go. The access panel will allow us to change batteries in the sensor and check on any problems without cutting holes in the drywall.
We already have all the infrastructure necessary to connect the hub for a sensor system to our network. I’ll have to look at details, but SmartThings and Insteon appear to be good candidates. I ruled out Lowe’s Iris because they have a $10 a month fee. I had read good things about Wally, but (a) it’s just water detection not a system and (b) they aren’t currently for sale (startup is working on V2 for some time later this year). Wink (water sensor got bad reviews) and WeMo (but the sensor isn’t available yet and needs to be plugged in, which would rule it out) might be worth a look.
Although the leak felt like a terrible event when it happened, having a system to monitor the underside of the wet room is something we should probably have planned for in the first place. I think much peace of mind will flow from knowing we have a “trust, but verify” setup for our wet room!