6 year old HUD Home on a slab

Reggie Russell · 06-10-2009, 01:09 PM

Hey Guys,

I inspected a 6 year old HUD home today and found moisture damage on the baseboard of both bedrooms on the walls that face the front of the home. What causes this? Possible broken pipe? Or just moisture has just been getting trapped against the exterior, which is brick by the way. The home also has a septic tank, could that be backing up? Any advice would be much appreciated!

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**Scott Patterson** · 06-10-2009, 01:42 PM

A few questions:

Did you try a moisture meter on the wall?
Was the carpet wet?
Was the baseboard wet or just stained and soft?
How high is the slab/brick ledge above the grade?

It is so hard to tell what causes anything by just looking at a picture. If the septic was backing up, I would think that you would be able to tell it when you opened the door.

Honestly it looks like urine stains. Cat pee can look just like what you have in the picture.

A.D. Miller · 06-10-2009, 01:43 PM

Originally Posted by Reggie Russell

Hey Guys,

I inspected a 6 year old HUD home today and found moisture damage on the baseboard of both bedrooms on the walls that face the front of the home. What causes this? Possible broken pipe? Or just moisture has just been getting trapped against the exterior, which is brick by the way. The home also has a septic tank, could that be backing up? Any advice would be much appreciated!

RR: Too many unknowns to answer your questions. What is the baseboard material? MDF? Are there windows above these photos? Does the brick veneer have weep holes? Is ther plumbing in the walls where the damage is located?

A.D. Miller · 06-10-2009, 01:49 PM

Honestly it looks like urine stains. Cat pee can look just like what you have in the picture.

SP: He could tell that too by getting down there and giving it a good sniff . . .

**Rick Hurst** · 06-10-2009, 02:07 PM

My vote is cat urine. Damn nasty beasts!

rick

Reggie Russell · 06-10-2009, 02:12 PM

The carpet was not wet and the baseboard was just stained and soft. The brick extends all the way down to grade, the slab is not visible. Neither I or the client smelled anything from it. If it was cat pee, wouldn't it be strange to be limited to just the 2 baseboards on the walls that face the front of the house? Yes, they were both below windows but did not see any evidence of water stains on the walls. And yes, it has weep holes. There is a hose faucet located just a few feet from the window outside. If it was leaking, though, wouldn't the stains be all the way down the baseboard?

**Jerry Peck** · 06-10-2009, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by Reggie Russell

Or just moisture has just been getting trapped against the exterior, which is brick by the way.

As others have said - not enough information is known, however ...

Brick veneer poorly installed, with or without a through wall flashing at the bottom, with improperly cut off mortar on the inside of the brick, or not cut off, and allowed to drop to the bottom of the wall, where it piled up higher than the through wall flashing (or missing flashing) and leaks in ... just as one would expect it to.

Ted Menelly · 06-10-2009, 05:49 PM

Well, who knows. I agree with a cat problem or who knows, the brick in the dirt, termites in the wall keeping it wet with their mud. Maybe Jerry was over there checking those walls and spilled his bear when bending over.

Stephen Meyer · 06-10-2009, 06:35 PM

I vote for Jerry on this one. My cat is not that good of a shot.

Darrel Hood · 06-12-2009, 05:23 AM

The brick going all the way to the dirt may be a problem. In addition to all the other ideas, it may be from too much water during carpet cleaning and/or cheap baseboard material.

Darrel Hood
DILIGENT PROPERTY SERVICES

gary eagleton · 06-12-2009, 11:00 AM

Hello
I would check the windows closely.With HUD costruction I have seen windows that fail and the first point of entry is at the floor line.
Does the weather come to that side of the home?
One question if the brick went down to the slab was it vented properly?

Andrew Christel · 09-17-2009, 06:24 PM

Take a closer look at the brick wall did you see any cracks that would let in possibly rain water.

James Skinner · 09-18-2009, 02:51 AM

Jerry is probably on the right track, I saw something like this a few years ago on a new house. No weep holes in the brick. I also heard of an instance where the thru wall flashing was installed too high in the brick, causing similiar but much more extensive damage. Good luck on this one.

**Erby Crofutt** · 09-18-2009, 07:09 AM

I'd bet on the leaky wndows too! Cat's don't just pee under windows.

Remember that the water won't penetrate through the drywall if there's any easier course, i.e., down to the bottom where it will show up.

I wonder what damage has occurred inside the walls?

David DelVecchio · 09-18-2009, 07:09 AM

Brick veneer is a rain screen not a water-proof barrier. Improperly designed or constructed, it would allow water into the building. Weep holes below grade? No or inadequate air space? Cavity filled with mortar droppings? Improper flashing allowing water to tranlsate across the brick ties? No flashing above window heads or at sills? Could be lots of things.