# Bubble in ceiling from water



## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

May be the shadowing in the picture, but sure looks like a lot more then A "bubble" in that picture.
All the insulation in that area should have been removed and trash the day it happened or mold will set in.
There's no just patching that one.
PS Spackle is only used to fill small nail holes, drywall compound is what's used to make repairs or finish drywall.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Hope he fixes the roof first. Obviously a pretty good sized leak has occurred. Once the leak is fixed on the roof, wait til the next heavy rain to be sure the leak is fixed. Then you can begin to think about ceiling repairs. I would cut out the bad area far enough to reach the ceiling joists on each side. Then you can cut and fit in a piece of drywall to begin the patching process. It's time consuming and messy.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

To arm yourself with information, go into the attic and look at the sheathing and rafters in that area and surrounding area for discoloration of any lumber. Sometimes a garden hose works for artificial rain to check for leaks.


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## marcus118 (Dec 5, 2012)

I should note that there is a bed room above this room. There's also a lower roof in between the 2 floors which must be where the water is coming in.

The proposed solution from the roofer is to simply put a bunch of screws in the dryway to push it up and make it flat again.

Seems half ass to me. Thoughts?

Also because theres a bedroom above this room, should there be insulation between the ceiling?


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Once your sure the leak is fixed I would recommend replacing that section of drywall. The reason being if there was enough water to bubble and the bubble to show, being sheetrock will hold a lot of water before it goes clear thru. This means it was probably very wet beyond the visible bubble. If it was wet anywhere near the joists the drywall is screwed to these screws have lost their holding power, the reason he wants to re-screw it. But to put new screws in previous wet drywall would be iffy at best. And when you went to repaint you may find the paper on the drywall has come loose.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Insulation per se won't mold, because fiberglass is not an organic compount that mold can feed on. However it can hold moisture, whereby it can help mold grow on surrounding wood framing, drywall, or the paper on the insulation. But there should be no insulation there anyway, since there is a story above. (You have a 2 story house. Your roofer gave you one story, and we're giving you another! <rimshot> and apologies to Rodney Dangerfield)

Since someone else caused this problem, they should absolutely remove the drywall and replace. If this were an insurance claim, the insurance would definitely cover removing and replacing the drywall, taping and mudding (obviously), and then repainting the entire ceiling. You shouldn't expect anything less from a third party who causes this damage. Yes, there is nothing stopping you from screwing that drywall back up, and if you had done the damage yourself and wanted a cheap way out, that might be an option. But drywall isn't the same after it gets wet. It might already be holding mold. It gets weaker. It warps and there's no way to screw up the spaces between the joists.

By the way, I wouldn't have a roofer repair your drywall. But he is responsible, one way or another. You need to get a real estimate from a real drywaller, and then present the estimate to the roofer. Then the roofer should either pay you or submit the claim to his insurance company. You did make sure the roofer was insured before you hired him, right?


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## marcus118 (Dec 5, 2012)

Thanks Jeff. Yea he's insured. He's a roofer by trade but also does other projects like remodeling where he subs out the work. So the drywall fix would be done by them, not him. 

Thanks all for confirming by initial thought that the drywall needs to be cut out and replaced.


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## eharri3 (Jul 31, 2013)

Warning sings:

After he did your brand new roof 3 gallons of water leaked through. Indicates there may be poor workmanship or shortcuts that were taken on up there.

He proposed a cheap, ineffectual bandaid fix that would not appropriately address the drywall problem that his roof seems to have caused.

First, makes me ask questions like how exactly did he flash that lower roof to the exterior wall and what else could be screwed up up there. May be worth paying for a home inspector to look it over.

Second, I would not want this guy, or any of his employees, or any of his subcontractors to touch the drywall work. The fact that he proposed trying to fix that with a couple more screws indicates he wants to get away with this investing as little time and money as possible to make you whole again. So what will happen now is he will go to his sub and work out a fix that is as cheap as possible but looks good enough to get him off the hook.

I would have a dry-waller in there to write me up an itemized estimate and the roofer would be cutting _THAT GUY_ a check. If this still ends up going to one of his subs it should be treated just like any other transaction between you and a licensed drywaller. The only real difference is it would be the roofer who cuts him his check and not you. Don't just let them work the details out between them without a paper trail. You want to be given an itemized, detailed estimate written up by the drywall contractor that CLEARLY lays out the scope of work and everything that will be done on the ceiling, then you want to be there while he's working to see that he actually does it. You want to know the name of the company and their credentials so you can verify for yourself that this is indeed a professional drywall contractor he's sending in. Because my guess, if we continue with the theme that he wants to get himself off the hook as cheaply as he can, is it's very likely he will just get one of the guys off his roofing crew who does drywall on the side to come in and slap something together up there.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

I agree with eharri.


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## marcus118 (Dec 5, 2012)

thanks eharri. i made this little blueprint to detail my leaks (there are actually 2 that occurred after the new roof was put on)


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## eharri3 (Jul 31, 2013)

I remember the pics from your thread back in February. I assume from the roofer's agreement to the fix that he has accepted responsibility for the problem. Based on my recollections of his work from your previous pics (new shingles slapped on without inspecting or repairing flashing, debris left in yard, beat up rusted out gutters left in place), I repeat my opinion that he would not be the guy I want in charge of fixing the drywall. He doesn't appear to have done his own job right, so I see no reason to believe he'd do better with that one.

As someone else said though, the roof has to be in leak free condition first. Otherwise drywall repairs make about as much sense as burning 100 dollar bills in the back yard. If someone else cannot assess and repair his roofing job and do the drywall, a 3rd party at least needs to inspect everything. Otherwise,_ HYPOTHETICALLY_, what I could see happening if you are withholding final payment until all this is resolved, is that he caulks or tars the roof leaks and gives you a half-ass drywall job. He gets the rest of his money then just remembers to ignore his phone if he ever sees you in the caller ID again.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

I may be wrong here but in some states since the roofer caused the problem, and everyone it seems is agreed on this, you must give him a chance to make it right. This means he can do the work, or sub it out. Not sure if this applies to your area.


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