The Historic District

Our roof was put on in '08 so I was surprised to wakeup and find water dripping out of the ceiling and running down the wall of one of our back rooms.

I was up in this part of the attic back in January and saw no signs of leaks or prior dampness. We got up on the roof between rain showers and found its seal broken around a vent pipe.

We've actually had a ton of rain this year, and it's been raining for 3 days straight now, so Im sure everything inside finally just gave way.
We are going to call a roofer to fix it once the rain stops,, but as far as beginning the drying out process for the walls....
I plan on going to buy a new dehumidifier today, the wall is probably going to have to be replaced, that part of the ceiling is just modern day beadboard paneling, so replacing it is not a big deal.
The rafters in the ceiling,
Idk on them, I cant get up close to see, but they look pretty wet with possible mildew/mold, and the floor/ceiling has puddled water on 2 sides of the joists.

This is in my son's room, which WAS my office until he decided he didn't want to bunk with his brother anymore, so this is also open to the kitchen and back hall.

I want to go ahead and cut a small section of the wall open once I have the dehumidifier to start drying it out, but my fear is if mold has set in already, I dont want to release spores all over the house, especially in the mattress and rug.

Should we move everything out of the room and tape off the doorways until this is all fixed?
Or am I just overly paranoid?

Sara, I would suspect it had been leaking for a long time. I think I would just let it dry out naturally after the leak has been fixed and call it good. Mold growth requires damp, once that’s eliminated it should not become a problem. I see some staining on the roof deck boards as well, that can be dealt with the next time you get new roofing.

Gothichome wrote: ↑Sat Oct 09, 2021 9:53 am Sara, I would suspect it had been leaking for a long time. I think I would just let it dry out naturally after the leak has been fixed and call it good. Mold growth requires damp, once that’s eliminated it should not become a problem. I see some staining on the roof deck boards as well, that can be dealt with the next time you get new roofing.

Thanks, you think the same for the wall?
You can start to see the studs bowing out behind the sheet rock from all the moisture.

Sara, if the drywall got so wet as to swell I think it’s done for. You can let it dry out bu I dought it will dry flat.