Help regarding a leaking roof

last year

last modified: last year

Hi all, does anyone have some advice regarding a leak.

I went up on the roof and looked around. Its a flat roof and i cant tell what kind of material is up there but i did not see any kind of holes.

I also put a ladder against the the side of the building and i cannot figure out how the water is getting inside.

The water comes from behind the sheetrock and puddles up on the ground.

This has been going on for a couple years on a property that is vacant downstairs.

Ive included a couple pictures.

Any advice would be appreciated.

5.18.24

I ripped off some of the drywall and exposed the interior. The wall is double sheet rocked.

I took a garden hose from outside and i believe the exterior stucco may be cracked and leaking. the gutter shows a rust trail directly to the crack. The unit used to be a laundromat a while ago. Im not sure why there are vents in the wall. The water appears to be falling directly to the bottom and coming out from where the decorative baseboard molding used to be. I took some pictures from the outside as well. Anyone have any ideas on how to repair this exterior stucco crack?

Thank you!!

Featured Answer

PRO

HALLETT & Co.

last year

Maybe it’s not the roof? Could be bad drainage around the perimeter of the property, a leaking pipe in the wall or the slab, leaking AC drain line. Regardless rip off the drywall now as it will have to come off regardless. If this is the first floor unit is there no damage presenting on the second floor?

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Comments (10)

Mun Ham
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Hi Hallett, thank you for the comment. The leak only happens when it rains. there is no damage on the second floor because the area was a side attachment
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cat_ky
last year
Could be coming up out of the ground, through the concrete. I agree, remove the sheetrock. Could be full of mold inside the walls too, so wouldnt be safe to occupy.
Mun Ham thanked cat_ky
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
last year
Correlation is not causation. Just because it only leaks when it rains does not mean the roof is leaking. How can there be no upper wall leak evidence?
Mun Ham thanked Joseph Corlett, LLC
Sigrid
last year
I've found on of the most useful ways to identify a problem of that sort is to get out during a downpour. Wear a very waterproof raincoat and inspect closely. Sometimes, the problem is obvious.
Mun Ham thanked Sigrid
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
last year
The best diagnosis in this case would be a dry day and a garden hose. Now you know exactly from where the water is coming. Start at the bottom and work your way up. If it leaks when you drench the lower exterior wall, it's not a roof leak.
Mun Ham thanked Joseph Corlett, LLC
ci_lantro
last year
What Joe said. Start at the door. Looks like a good bit of water is coming in under the threshold. Can you post a picture of the door exterior including any porch floor. How far above exterior grade are the walls?
Mun Ham thanked ci_lantro
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
last year
What an opportunity for you to properly remodel this space. Remove both layers of Sheetrock, remove the vents, fix the stucco, and add insulation.
Mun Ham thanked HALLETT & Co.
Mun Ham
Original Author
last year
what are these vents for?
ci_lantro
last year
last modified: last year
Since you said the building was once used as a laundromat, gas appliances need combustion air. Tumble dryers consume & exhaust massive amounts of air. So makeup air is needed for both combustion and to replace the air that the dryers exhaust.

Also the vents would function as a passive type ventilation system. Lots of humidity & heat generated in a laundromat. A passive ventilation system would have vents low on the wall to allow cooler air to enter the building and some way for the heated air to exhaust with vents high on the wall or out thru the attic or roof. Like how you would passively cool a two story house by raising bottom sashes on the first floor and lowering top sashes on the upper floor. (Reasoning behind having double hung windows.)
Mun Ham thanked ci_lantro