Incompetent plumber - persistent leak (follow-up)

[Noidios]

Thanks to all those that chimed in on the initial post. I have made contact with all 3 parties that may be responsible and will leave it to them to sort out the payment. I was also able to get into the two upstairs units although I did not remove any drywall, there does not appear to be anything unusal going on up there.

My followup question is this. Is it possible for building material that has gotten wet to have (or at least show higher) moisture than surrounding materials even after it is dry?

OSB in the affected area reads 14%. With equipment running and focused on this area, I can get it down to 10%. OSB that never got wet reads at 8%. As soon as the dehu is turned off, the affected OSB goes back to 14%. Studs in this area read normal. We are only talking about 3 sq feet of OSB that got wet. No insulation between units. I'm just wondering if the to loss could have allowed a foreign material (maybe silica from tile/grout floor above) to soak into the OSB and forever change the moisture reading of this material. IR camera does not show a significant temperature difference between affect and unaffected areas.
Thanks!

 

[kmdineen]

I am assuming the OSB is the sub floor the tile is on. If not can you just remove and replace the wet 3 ft2 of OSB? Do the water lines run over under or through the OSB?





Are you using a hammer probe to take readings of the OSB? If so what are the readings of the bottom, center and top of the OSB? Bacteria and fungus can’t amplify at 16% mc or below. If the three readings average below 16% mc you may be OK to pull your equipment.





Dry rot can occur at 23% mc or greater. If your readings, top, middle and bottom of the OSB are 17% or greater you may have to remove a tile and see how wet the tile cement is. You may have to remove the 3 ft2 of tile.





Or turn off your equipment for 24 hours, then take readings. If there is a significant spike in mc there is a leak that must be located and stopped. Part or all of the floor may have to be removed.

 

[Noidios]

I got tired of waiting for the plumber and got all of the keys that I needed and did my own investigation. Roof leak - 32 feet above the area that I was having trouble drying. No sign whatsoever of moisture/damage in the upstairs apartments. Thanks all.

 

[Hack Attack]

Thanks to all those that chimed in on the initial post. I have made contact with all 3 parties that may be responsible and will leave it to them to sort out the payment. I was also able to get into the two upstairs units although I did not remove any drywall, there does not appear to be anything unusal going on up there.

My followup question is this. Is it possible for building material that has gotten wet to have (or at least show higher) moisture than surrounding materials even after it is dry?

OSB in the affected area reads 14%. With equipment running and focused on this area, I can get it down to 10%. OSB that never got wet reads at 8%. As soon as the dehu is turned off, the affected OSB goes back to 14%. Studs in this area read normal. We are only talking about 3 sq feet of OSB that got wet. No insulation between units. I'm just wondering if the to loss could have allowed a foreign material (maybe silica from tile/grout floor above) to soak into the OSB and forever change the moisture reading of this material. IR camera does not show a significant temperature difference between affect and unaffected areas.
Thanks!

trust your gear, if IR shows temp difference and meter shows elevated moisture then it is.

glad it got sorted for ya