Rental Issue : Burst Pipe

[deadlyapp]

Mold growth. 40+ year old complex? Ya, there is mold and it has nothing to do with the leak.

And guess what. The new water won't add much mold. All you can do is surface dry the wood and cover it while damp. Over time, the air pocket will regulate to match the air around the walls.

Are you one of those freaks that washes their hands i nthe bathroom and holds a piece of paper while opening the bathroom door?

nope, but i do have a roommate who is and i'm interested in exploring options. thanks though.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

nope, but i do have a roommate who is and i'm interested in exploring options. thanks though.

Don't know what to say. I saw a guy today (bunch of engineers) lather up his hands and forearms after using the bathroom like he was ready for surgery. I was tempted to skip the sink and leave just so he had to open the door behind me. But something about social norms stopped me from doing that.

 

[NetWareHead]

Update for anyone interested. Looks like an iron pipe burst, remnants of the original plumbing in the apartment (Thinking mid 60's construction) that wasn't replaced when they redid all the plumbing with copper a few years ago. Found it very interesting that it wasn't a fitting and that the pipe actually developed a pinhole leak. Had to strip off the stucco from the outside of the apartment to replace the pipe. Plumber said he dried off the area where the leak was, but you can't dry off wood that fast and I'm sure that the backside of the wallboard is trashed and all the molding is soaked through. They already have re-stucco'ed over the area so there's going to be no real way to get any air circulation back there to dry. The landlord did drop off a couple of giant carpet blowers though to dry out inside the kitchen.

Guess we'll see in a month or so if mold starts developing on the wall or anywhere else. Something tells me we're going to start keeping our eyes open for something new.

IMO I think you should be fine. Wood needs continuous moisture to mold up. Some water from a leak as you described (especially since it is now fixed) should not pose any future issues.

Ideally, the wall should have been left open to dry even more (maybe a few days with the assistance of some fans and the exposed portion of the house protected by a tarp), that would have been better than instantly sealing it up. If the house is typical 60s construction, then the air circulation is not that "tight" and any residual moisture trapped in the walls should eventually diminish (along with the threat of mold).

 

[feralkid]

Are you one of those freaks that washes their hands i nthe bathroom and holds a piece of paper while opening the bathroom door?

You're supposed to wash the germs off your hands, then immediately re-infect them on the doorknob!

Everyone knows this.

Rubbing your eyes right after that also helps you to not be a "freak".

 

[Genx87]

Well, I know there are a number of landlords here and I'd be interested in hearing if anyone (both renters and landlords) has had a similar issue and how they've resolved it.

We had a pipe burst in our rental unit on Friday night, sometime after midnight. We noticed it around 4:00am but unfortunately the only way to shut off the leak was to turn off water to the entire complex (4 units total). Our landlord came out Saturday but told us he couldn't get a plumber out until Monday to do any work and asked us to shut off the water between 10:00PM and 6:00AM through the weekend. During the time that the water was on we had a steady leakage of water into our kitchen. Fortunately the leak wasn't massive and we were able to contain all of the water in the kitchen. Unfortunately, it looked like water was able to leech along the bottom of the wall joist into the adjoining garage and the separating interior wall.

Now, the plumber is out, he found the leak (a burst pipe in an exterior wall) and it's being repaired. The problem is that the joist is very clearly soaked through and the insulation is very wet. There's no way to tell how much additional damage has been done to other parts of the wall like the drywall, the cabinetry, etc. I haven't spoken with the landlord yet today to determine what he plans on doing, but mold growth is obviously a concern of mine. So I'm not sure yet what I should ask to be done and any recourse I may have. Nothing of ours was damaged, its just the building that is affected.

Cliffs:
Pipe blew up in rental
Water damage to wall
Concerned about mold
What do?

Voice your concerns. He should provide fans at the very least.

As a landlord I would consider pro-rating out the time you were not able to use water from your rent. IMO not having running water means it is not liveable.