Ceiling leak repair update

[Chicago Sandy]

Bob & I had a long talk the other night and realized that if the reconstruction phase of the kitchen ceiling leak repair process takes as long to dry and generates as much dust as the remediation (demolition & drying), we would probably need to stay off-premises for awhile; and either board out the cats or find pet-friendly lodging if we can’t safely keep them confined upstairs at the front of the house. Not to mention having had to discard over $500 in contaminated foods, supplies & condiments and having to either have many of our small electrics serviced or replaced.

The remediation & repair alone isn’t that major a cost: we paid $1900 ($2300 less a $400 discount for extra deep cleaning by my housekeeper) for the remediation; materials & labor for the restoration is estimated at $1200-1600. They will be able to use lath & plaster rather than drywall, and won’t have to take down the whole ceiling. They’ll use tension posts, zipwalls and HEPA filters to confine the dust better than they did for the demolition.

Nonetheless, I’m still concerned about the toxicity of the remediation dust we breathed, cleaned up and possibly inadvertently ingested or absorbed through the skin.

[dagobert]

Remediation? Are you talking about mold, asbestos etc?

[Chicago Sandy]

Fortunately, because the ceiling was plaster and not drywall (and the water was fresh—from the toilet tank—and not contaminated—like from a toilet bowl, sewage pipe or roof leak) it did not support mold growth. Per the restoration company’s terminology, “remediation” is the initial phase of both mitigating damage—by removing the water-damaged portions (i.e., demolishing the leaking part of the ceiling), removing the water and then drying the area out so that mold cannot grow in any organic materials that got wet (i.e., the wood studs and bathroom subflooring). Asbestos & mold removal is a separate service entirely, called “abatement.” The house was built too long ago (1908-12) for there to have been asbestos in the plaster (used in the 1950s) and too recently for there have been organic stuff like horsehair or straw to strengthen the plaster itself (used up until the 1850s). Sometimes, DIY plastering jobs are bolstered by stuffing old newspaper into gaps in the “keys” (the blobs of the base coat of plaster that protrude between the wood laths and provide the grip surface for the next coats to adhere), and in that case, they treat the area with biocides to stop any mold in its tracks.

[MikeBmusic]

Wow, I never heard of anyone still using lathe-and-plaster (for repairs)!
My house is about the same age as yours. As I remodeled rooms one by one, the old l&p got torn out and replaced with sheetrock.
The only concern I would have over the dust would be if you have any chronic respiratory problems.

[Chicago Sandy]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

Wow, I never heard of anyone still using lathe-and-plaster (for repairs)!
My house is about the same age as yours. As I remodeled rooms one by one, the old l&p got torn out and replaced with sheetrock.
The only concern I would have over the dust would be if you have any chronic respiratory problems.

And I do—my son & I are asthmatics. Bob is still recovering from the walking pneumonia he got from a patient. Fresh plaster dust is less injurious than joint-compound/sheetrock dust (and certainly less than that awful old plaster-plus-lead-paint dust from the demolition). It’s a small enough part of the ceiling that lath & plaster is feasible—if they had to pull the whole thing down they’d have gone with sheetrock. But plaster should be repaired with plaster. My other concern is how long the paint fumes would last (I’m sensitive to that, even latex paint—and the cats have even more sensitive airways). State Farm told me today they will not pay for temporary digs unless the entire house is uninhabitable—and a note from my primary care doc might not cut any ice. I didn’t inventory all the foodstuffs we had to discard, and didn’t photograph the layer of dust on everything because we hadn’t planned to file a claim until I’d lived with the dust for several days, even after the drying & HEPA equipment had been removed. Depending on what the State Farm inspector tells me they’ll cover after tomorrow’s walk-through, we might withdraw the claim. Our deductible is $1K, and the whole remediate-and-restore bill is $1900 for the first phase (we already paid) and $1400 for the restoration. Is it worth filing a claim to get only $2300 back, guaranteeing an annual premium increase of at least $300-500? And if we get some major weather or fire damage, that second claim in two years could cause them to drop us.

[jpd]

" And if we get some major weather or fire damage, that second claim in two years could cause them to drop us."



Slippery slope, Sandy. Only do it if you're in dire straights.

[mr. beaumont]

Sandy, how many estimates did you get?

I'm in Chicago (southside) and recently had a plaster repair in my kitchen (had the trap from my tub upstairs modernized as it was constantly clogging)

No water damage, but pretty big hole (2' by 2', about). Only cost a $300 bucks. How much are they charging for this "remediation?"

[Chicago Sandy]

Well, the hole was pretty massive—about 6’X8’, with another one 2’X3’ below a drywall soffit. The major expense was the remediation, not just a plaster repair. So much water that the section in question needed to be completely removed. Then it required fans and dehumidifiers on both levels (in the bathroom where the leak arose) plus a giant HEPA air scrubber for three days. The company is fully licensed & bonded, specializes ONLY in fire & water remediation and restoration, is rated A+ on Angie’s List; and as for the reconstruction phase—new lath & plaster over the larger hole and new drywall over the soffit bottom, complete repaint of the ceiling, dust containment and cleanup—State Farm’s own estimate came in $600 above the company’s.

We’re on the far north lakefront. (But my husband’s hospitals—Christ, Holy Cross, Little Company of Mary--are in Oak Lawn, Marquette Park, Evergreen Park; his medical offices are in the Midway/Summit area and Hickory Hills).

[harpspitfire]

i dont know what to tell you, i never seen your 1st post on the problem, sounds like your just replacing a ceiling from water damage, actually no big deal and shouldnt cost a fortune, state farts estimates are usually high, but fall in with these angie list rated contractors and 'restoration companies' IMO most these local restoration people are morons anyway that couldnt fix anything if they had to, the old lathe type isnt done anymore with browning scratch and finish coat, plaster these days is REASONABLE. call a local that only does that, i dont like it myself for too many reasons to take up space here, i like drywall better, after tear out, you just have to make sure the wood is dry and no structural damage before you put it back together

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

Well, the hole was pretty massive—about 6’X8’, with another one 2’X3’ below a drywall soffit. The major expense was the remediation, not just a plaster repair. So much water that the section in question needed to be completely removed. Then it required fans and dehumidifiers on both levels (in the bathroom where the leak arose) plus a giant HEPA air scrubber for three days. The company is fully licensed & bonded, specializes ONLY in fire & water remediation and restoration, is rated A+ on Angie’s List; and as for the reconstruction phase—new lath & plaster over the larger hole and new drywall over the soffit bottom, complete repaint of the ceiling, dust containment and cleanup—State Farm’s own estimate came in $600 above the company’s.

We’re on the far north lakefront. (But my husband’s hospitals—Christ, Holy Cross, Little Company of Mary--are in Oak Lawn, Marquette Park, Evergreen Park; his medical offices are in the Midway/Summit area and Hickory Hills).

No kidding, i was born at holy cross, grew up around midway, now live just on the Chicago side of the border with evergreen park, right by little company.

Best of luck with this ordeal.

[Jim Owen]

Good luck, Sandy. Old houses can be cans of worms. But they were built to last.