Small Water Leaks Can Become Frustrating
This might not be the problem, if you have a small water
leak in one of your sprinklers that's 500 yards from your house, but if
you have a small water leak inside your house, this is going to be a
completely different story.
Small water leaks can cost you lots of money if they're not taken care
of immediately. In the late 1980s, I built a room addition and made a
mistake when I was flashing around it. Somehow, I had managed to leave a
small hole that was no larger than 1/4" in diameter.
This large hole ruined an entire ceiling and insulation. Luckily it
didn't ruin the carpeting, because the homeowner acted fast and placed
buckets to capture any water before it actually fell on the carpeting.
She called me while it was raining and I told her to protect the
carpeting at all cost and I would be there in the morning, rain or
shine.
This repair costs me about $1400 and obviously frustrated the homeowner.
I fixed the roof flashing, removed and replaced the damaged drywall and
insulation and then re-sprayed the acoustic ceiling. This isn't the
first time that something like this happened and it surely wasn't the
first time that it had happened to me.
I'm glad that the homeowners didn't get as upset as I thought they
would, but they were extremely compassionate and understanding
individuals from the first day that I worked for them. I can only
imagine how some of the other homeowners who I have worked for in the
past would have handled the situation.
I would like to give a little bit of advice to homeowners and
contractors alike. There's a good chance that most contractors aren't
trying to build inferior products so that they can come back and fix
them in the future. A little bit of compassion and understanding can go
a long way in a situation like this were water is leaking from your new
ceiling onto your brand-new carpeting and it's the middle of the night.