MY HOUSE IS FALLING APART

[Jessica A]

So after all this rain we have had under our window sill in the kitchen started to bulge a little(under our window is our taps) I thought it was because of the rain because this house moves all the time with the weather... I thought maybe it would be ok. Now the wall has bulged heaps and when I turn the tap on water comes out of the wall!!! f@*#!!!
This is such a night mare we want to move and get this place ready to sell or rent out It feels like this place is such a burden :-( Now I'm guessing we need to find thousands $ oh my god I could cry.

Any advice or anything about anything or even a funny joke will be appreciated.

 

[Mark]

Sorry to hear about that Jessica.

Our front outdoor stairs are so dangerous I placed a "condemned" sign on them the last time we had family over for a BBQ just so no one would climb them and possibly get hurt! How embarrassing... But, that's going to cost us a LOT of money to fix due to several main posts rotting out.

Unfortunately, all houses need maintenance but we don't always get to choose when or what gets done due to a number of factors - mostly money (or lack of it)

In your case, the leak in the wall could be a relatively easy fix (hopefully) if it's just a buggered pipe a plumber should be able to mend it easy enough and you could save costs by doing the plastering and a coat of paint yourself?

 

[stevo]

If the water is coming out of the wall, I'd open the wall up and have a look.

Can you post a photo? How old is the house? What's the wall materials? Fibro? Plasterboard?

Depending on all that, I'd just remove a sheet/panel from the wall and fix the pipe. You may have to replace some pipes if they're really old and rusted.

I wouldn't stress about it too much though. We get upset when we don't know what the problem is, and usually once people start getting in to a job the stress goes away and they enjoy it.

If you want to rent it out you'll want to make sure it's all working anyway. Do all the construction work yourself (depending what it is) ... and find a old man local plumber that drives a beat up ute, they're the cheapest.

 

[Jessica A]

Thanks so much Both of you for putting things into perspective :-D I think it was just one of those days/nights hahaha sorry lol.
So we ripped up the fibro or mdf haha I have no idea what it is ..It does have a lot of hairy fibers. This house was built in the 80s I think Stevo. It turns out it is the hot water tap leaking and even when I turn on the cold water tap the hot water still leaks anyway all will be ok I think in my head I was thinking everything was rotted and that the house was going to fall down. You are so right Stevo about the getting upset when you don't know what it is. Don't be embarrassed over your stairs Mark! You shouldn't feel embarrassed. Your family care about you not your stairs :-D thanks again guys. Your reply helped me sleep last night thanks Mark :-D

 

[stevo]

The tap was leaking and water is going in to the wall cavity? Is it all fixed now?

Is the wall panel dark brown fibre, maybe 5mm thick? It could be Masonite? Fibro is a very light colour and hard.

 

[Jessica A]

I have no Idea hahaha I think it looks like that Masonite? It's the same material they used on the benchtops. The water leaks behind the tap base I'm not sure if it is a washer or something we tried to have a look but the base is stuck and wont move at all I think we will get a plumber and we will get them to fit some new taps.

 

[Ash]

Looks like that is going to be a relatively minor fix and hopefully not cost you a great deal. All the best with that Jessica.

 

[Tim C]

Jess those are copper pipes? Probably the water just came out the tap seals, if the pipes were silver-soldered properly and it only leaks when you turn it on. Turn the water off at the mains. Take the handle off. Unscrew the chrome cover. Use a tube spanner to remove the tap assembly from its' body. It may be tight or even ceased. If so spray the thread with crc and leave overnight. If you force the spanner with a lever, you may bend the copper pipes, so tap the lever of the spanner with a hammer to jar and loosen it instead. Once you have the assembly out of the body, remove the tap washer. Give the insides and shaft a good drowning with crc. Replace the handle and get the internal screw thread working again(if its' tight or partly ceased) by screwing the tap thread in and out. Once it's nice and free remove the handle again. You should now be able to screw the shaft in by hand. When you have enough sticking out the bottom-where the tap washer was- grab it there and keep screwing, The inner should come right out, allowing you to access the o-ring seal for replacement.
Failing that just buy new screw-in assemblies.
Replace the board with something waterproof, like concrete board, with tiles, or some waterproof stuff with a nifty pattern from the hardware store.
That stuff you pulled off was totally unsuitable for wet areas anyways, by the looks.
I would use screws and cup washers instead of nails or glue, to save grief if it happens again in the future.
If you get the old fella down the road, just make sure he uses waterproof sheeting.
Personally I would drown all the woodwork with fish oil (stinky though) while its'apart, to stop any moisture rot.

All the best.

 

[stevo]

any updates for this?

As Tim suggested, I'd take it as a good opportunity to replace a few things. I'd probably put a new tap set in, and get a nice splash back to suit, and then you'll be happy that it happened every time you look at them.