Sheetrock/drywall water damage question??

Hello,

So, I have a question about this, and a video included. And, here is the story behind it:

We had our roof done last fall, in November I believe. This spring, and actually, towards the end of Winter(since it was such a warm winter), we noticed in our master bathroom, that on the ceiling, it appeared to be between two of the 2X4's, the sheetrock/ceiling was bowed/concave. Not flat like a normal ceiling.

I went up into our attic, and around the skylight, which is connected to both our bathrooms, I found that some of the insallation surounding the skylight, and in the area that the bathroom ceiling was wet. There appeared to be some mold/mildew and discoloring on some of the 2X4's in the area in the attic, and the frame of the skylight.

We contacted the roofing Co. and also one of the members of the home builder's association the roofing company is a member of. One of the roofers came and said that the caulk around the skylight must be leaking, so he re-caulked it, and we figured it would be taken care of. They said they would be back at some point to fix the ceiling.

Then, about a week later, we got some more rain, and I noticed more discoloring in the bathroom ceiling, paint chipping and peeling in a different area on the ceiling than the bowed area, big flaking paint and peeling, and this is hard to explain, on the edge of our ceiling, where it meets the outside wall, in about a 3 foot span, give or take, I was able to push the ceiling up about an inch or two. ?????? We suspected more water damgage, and I went up to the attic again, and things did look worse, found more wet insulation, and evidence of where the water traveled down the 2X4's and pooled in the bowed area.

Another guy form the home builders association came and looked in our attic, and our bathroom, and found that the skylight did not have any flashing around it. Which from what I understand is essential for keeping the rain out, and even then, it can be tricky to do a roof around skylights.

So, the roofers did not put flashing around the skylight, we have lived in the home for around 7 years, have never had this issue until we had our roof redone. We h ave had mildew on the ceilings, our fan system needs replacing. But nothing to this extent.

The guy that came and inspected it said he would start cutting away where the bowing is, and keep cutting until he ran into something solid. He said he would replace the area that was chipping and peeling, and iin our other bathroom, some of the little surface cracks we had, are bigger and more pronounced, and he said that those areas need to be cut out and redone, not just a mudding and resurfacing like the roofers said they would do, and have started to do.

I'm not sure what he suggested about the edge of the ceiling that meets the wall, where I was able to push up...I think he said he would replace that as well.

So, there is evidence of mold already where the water damage is, and he said where the flaking is that there is most likely mold there as well. THe roofers started yesterday fixing things and he hired a drywaller that has been doing it for 25 years, (and who happens to be a good friend as well ). He said all that needed to be done is cut away the bowing part, and scrape where the flaking is. He put a 2X4 where the ceiling could be pushed up. TO hold down the sheet rock. NOw, is that an ok fix? I would assume the sheetrock is damaged where it was lifting up? But I don't know anything about this kind of stuff. And I know that there is more than one way to do things of this nature.

We told them today about the other advice we recieved on fixing the ceiling, and that we are not comfortable or happy with what is being done, (they are going to put "kills" up in the attic on the 2X4's and sheetrock to kill any mold or mildew.) My wife is highly alergic to mold, and that being said, it's really not good for anyone. But she gets really sick if she is around it. SO, basically the roof company owner said that he didn't really believe that the water damge and the bowing was "all" caused by the skylight leaking, and lack of flashing around it. He's not denying that there might have been some water damage, but not that amount of water damage or leaking. He said they are jsut trying to do something to help out. ANd blah blah blah..... We have lived there for 7 years, and never had one issue. Of course there is a lot more to this, but I haved typed way more than anyone will likely read anyway.

Anyone know anything about sheetrock, damage to it, repairing it? COnstruction???? ANyone have any thoughts, ideas, insight, direction, advice, expertise??

Let me know, thanks!

Jason

Well, here is the video of the repair, but, it really is crappy quality, so won't be much help, I have some pictures of the attic and bathroom before repair that I will try to upload later.
Never mind on the video. It isn't very good like I said. Its posted at the CMR though.

Hey coram,

I'm a tradesman drywaller. Water Damage is a b**ch. The roofing company is trying to do the ABSOLUTE minimum to make you happy. If it was my bathroom, I'd be pulling all the drywall off the ceiling that was even remotely affected (bowed, discolored, flaked, etc) by this water leak. Draw a mental line across your bathroom ceiling along one of the trusses (so the edge of the new drywall has something to screw to) cut it right to the wood and pull the garbagey stuff down. Put up a new sheet and mud paint that part from scratch.

I wish more of these "repair" people would just buck up and do this from the get go instead of farting around and trimming around all the damaged stuff and intermingling old existing drywall with new stuff. When taping and mudding it's actually less time and effort to start from scratch than blend new and old. The long sides of drywall are bevelled and designed to be hollowed when placed next to each other. That way when the tape and mud is applied the joint is then flush with the wall. When cuts are made in the drywall and a chunk is tailored to fit a smaller whole, these bevelled edges dont exist and the tape then applied creates a hump over the joint that needs a ton of mud feathered out around the joint to make it appear flat. It takes more time, more mud and the finished result is inherently flawed. Also when drywall mud is applied over painted surfaces it wont bond with the drywall the same way it would over the factory paper. As well there is a chemical reaction that makes little bubbles and holes show through the mud as the paint literally tries to breath through the moist mud.

by the time all the dust is settled and costs are added up it's pretty much just as cheap doing it right from the get go. It my seem like a bigger project but it goes faster and is better than dicking around trying to do the minimum.

LOL! I wasn't going to read that whole post but I ended up reading all of it. I'm sure the guy you have working on it now knows what he's doing. It sounds like though someone who did the first job though might have cut some corners with something?

My house is very old. My grandfather lived here previously. He decided one day to make his own Skylight because when you go down into the basement there was no light at the top of the stairs. From him not doing it the right way has caused water damage. He had to replace a section of the roof at one point. but inside the house none of the sheet rock has been replaced. I have bowed out sheetrock leading into the basement. In my living room on the ceiling I have a bubble. My bathroom had a bubble on the ceiling as well, but we fixed that no big deal. Right now were working on the kitchen theres not too much damage in there but its not a huge kitchen and most of the walls are covered with cabinets so there could be something behind those but we aren't replacing them at the moment. After the kitchen we are going to work on taking the sheet rock down in the basement, basically gutting everything then we can see how bad the damage really has been. We know there is black mold already because some of the old walpaper is ripped off so I'm planning on there to be big nightmare about time all is said and done but who knows.

Eventually we have to get the whole roof redone but someone looked at it and said we should be ok for a few more years. We don't have a typical triangular roof either its flat and going on an angle so when our roof gets fixed we have to get it done the right way.

I had a similar problem with a skylight in my old house. I went round and round with various repairs and opinions. Nothing really served as a permanent fix until when I went to sell the house I had done what DevZor suggested. Wished I'd done that right from the beginning. May seem like a more expensive and bigger project than would be necessary - but in the end it would've saved me a lot (not to mention all the aggravation every spring when the rainy season would hit).

Good advice above from Devzor. Drywall once saturated is not salvagable and as already stated needs to go 100%.

Water and "mold" are VERY invasive and I can't stress this highly enough that 100% abatement of damaged/affected materials is paramount. The roof trusses can be "bleeched" and you will certainly need a pro grade de-humidifier pulling the water out of the area. The insulation should be tossed and replaced as well.

And sorry to say, but the roofer pooched this. No flashing is no flashing, which means the work wasadone wrong and he is liable/responsible for the repairs and the repairs need to be done right, not just a bandage.

Do a quick google search on water damage and abatement repairs so you feel more confident having a "discussion" with the roofing contractor.

A quick run down on what should happen:

FIX ROOF! Skylights are notorious for leaking if not flashed properly.
Remove and dispose of ALL water damage/soaked insulation and drywall. Incorperate the de-humidifier after the dust settles.
Inspect trusses for mold, treat and let dry thoroughly. Also check the roof plywood for water damage around the skylight and the "curbing" on the skylight as well. These peices are just plain ole' wood and not rated for water contact so you need to make sure they are not saturated and suseptable to rotting in the future.
Need to leave affected area open for a bit to ensure the area is dry (this could be a week or so)(don't worry about the ceiling being open and if a heating thing is an issue the repair contractor can install plastic in the attic space sealing (mostly) off the area). Keeping the humidifier running. Rent a moisture meter from a home store so you can test the wood to make sure the moisture content is low (nothing greater than 10%, preferably around 6%).
Once everything is good and dry start rehanging sheetrock and you get the idea of the rest.

Hope this helps.

Hey guys!

Thank you for the responses, feedback, ideas...and so on......

Much appreciated, being a Mr. Fix it idiot, the information provided is a big help.

My wife and I feel better about voicing our concern over what has been done so far, ie.....just cutting out the bowing part, and scraping the flakes and putting some plaster over it. And the corner next to the outside wall, where the ceiling and wall meet, a 2X4 nailed down.

The roofer submitted it to his insurance, so I get the dis-pleasure of talking to an insurance agent in regards to the abdication of the flashing, water and drywall damage, and the botched/sub par repair.

Sorry to put you through reading all that shiat Phoenix Reign Drummer. lol.....Hope your eyes didn't glaze over.