Miami Beach, Fl. Water Leak Causes Major Water Damage to Apartment Below (Part 1)
On this water leak detection in Miami, Fl. our leak detection company was called out to locate the source of water damage on a first floor unit of a two story condo complex. In this case the tenant was noticing water coming up through the tile floor. Upon initial leak detection with our Flir Thermal Imaging Camera, we quickly noticed that the water damage was originating in the unit above. Because of continuos storms coming through the Miami Beach area at this time and the location of the water damage, we suspected a door or window leak from the above unit.
Unfortunately, in this condo complex in Miami, we were not granted access to the unit above and were forced to speculate on the root cause of the water damage. Walking around the rear of the building, we could see that the unit above has a sliding door in this area and we suspected the eastern corner of the sliding glass door to be the culprit of the water damage on the unit below. Because of the age of the building, we had no choice but to test for asbestos prior to any remediation efforts. This issue was put off by the owner for a short while and the project was put on the back burner.
Miami Water Damage Remediation Finally Approved
After 3 to 4 weeks we received word that the Asbestos Reports show that the property was negative for Asbestos and our estimate was approved to start the water damage remediation. Now that we are on site, we were relieved to see that there was no visible mold growth and mold remediation was unnecessary. The next problem was that we were still not granted access to inspect the unit above to perform our leak detection services. The owner above did inform us that they had a contractor inspect the unit and sliding glass door above and guaranteed that our leak detection was incorrect but applied caulking to the sliding door anyways. We were forced to move forward under that assumption and go forward with water damage remediation and see what we find.
Unfortunately in Miami condo complex's, a lot of people do not want to accept liability and would prefer to move forward with their eyes closed. Dealing with issues like this prolongs the water damage remediation and just ends up becoming more of a costly project.
Now that we can finally get into the water damage remediation process, we move forward as normal. First step we always take is protecting resident belongings, covering things in plastic, protecting flooring as well as moving furniture out of the way. Now that the prep work is done, time to see whats in these walls!
As always, we begin by moisture mapping all the wet water damaged areas in the room. Luckily for the owner of this unit, the water damage was not horrible and only affected two walls....or so we thought! Once the moisture mapping was done, we were able to mark all of our cuts that we would be making. We proceeded to remove curtain bars, electrical plate covers as well as baseboards and the wood paneling that this unit had on the wall that divided between the two connected ground units. Once all of our cuts were made, problems were starting to become visible....
Once the walls were open, we could see that this issue has been ongoing for years and remediaiton attempts had been made in the past, but very poorly. One of the wood studs on the seperating wall was completely rotted and falling out of the wall. Another issue was that the connecting wall of the other unit on the lower floor was soaking wet. After informing the property manager, we found out that both lower units are owned by a single owner that did not live in Miami. Fortunately we were able to get quick access into the second unit and found that this unit was even worse than the unit we were working in.
One Miami Remediation Becomes Two
As per usual, we provided our leak detection services on the connecting unit as well and provided a water damage remediation estimate. It made sense to remediate these two unit at the same time. Once our estimate was approved, we began work on this unit as well.
Unlike the original tenant, this tenant decided to live in his unit, so we provided him with a simple dust containment that also allowed him to feel separate from the other open unit. Once all cuts were made and the area was cleaned and treated, we continued on inspecting from below exactly where the water was coming into the unit from above. Because of all the rot from above, we could visibly see the sliding glass door sliding track from below and it was completely rotted out. Our first suspicions were correct, and the sliding glass door was the culprit. Unfortunately, the owner above also did not live in Miami, so any repairs of this issue would prove to be slow, extremely slow....2 months slow. This would leave the area open to further water damage from storms, and at this point we had a Hurricane brewing in the Atlantic. Our next option would be to attempt to seal the frame from below and continue drying the unit.
After everything was sealed up and cleaned, we went on to replace the drywall nailer between the two units so that the reinstallation of drywall would be an easy task. One other step we took because of the problem above was to seal all wood framing with a anti fungal paint that would not allow mold growth in the future. Drying of the project was continued until everything was bone dry and the remediaiton equipment was removed. Unfortunately, that was not the end of this project in Miami....Look for Part 2 to this horror story coming soon!
Miami Leak Detection & Water Damage Remediation ExpertsWe would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our company. OC Leak Detection & Water Damage Remediaiton, serving Miami Beach, Fl. and the surrounding communities, is a family owned and operated company that was founded on the principal of providing the best customer service with a strong commitment to excellence. OC Leak Detection & Water Damage Remediaiton has been serving residents for leak detection, repair and water damage remediation for over two decades. OC Leak Detection & Water Damage Remediaiton was started with the commitment to exemplify knowledge, honesty and customer service to our clients. Even after over two decades in the leak detection & emergency remediation industry not much has changed in our commitment to excellence. Our expertise lies in leak detection of residential plumbing systems. We also specialize in water damage remediation working for homeowners and insurance companies alike. Our team of highly skilled technicians is available in South Florida serving Martin County, Palm Beach County, Broward County & Miami-Dade County. OC Leak Detection offers trucks completely stocked to get to you when you need us the most, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. |
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