What's That Stain On The Ceiling?

So I arrived home from performing a home inspection and I’m taking off my boots. I look up in the foyer and there’s a stain on the ceiling that wasn’t there before.

What the…?  I know the layout of my house, there’s a toilet right above that….

Oh oh, that can’t be good.

So I turn on my Infra-Red camera and yep there’s water damage.  What a wonderful tool, the Infra-Red camera can tell you so much about hidden water issues, that’s why I use it on all of my inspections. It can show air leaks, gaps in insulation, past water damage and oh yeah active water leaks.

I cut out the damaged area (4 square feet) and the drywall was soaked, but from what? The toilet waste pipe was dry. I look over and… ah yes, a failed PEX water supply connector.  This was from a reno about 7 years ago, that’s how long that’s been leaking for. Drywall can absorb a lot of moisture before showing signs of saturation, that’s what happened here.

Anyway plumbing repaired, stucco ceiling gone, new paint, new light, looks great now!

Did you have a renovation some time ago with plumbing work done and want to make sure there are no lingering issues? Reach out if you want to know for sure and I can use my InfraRed camera to scan for signs of leaks.