Dampness in wall

[Chris Bernhardt]

This is what I wrote for a leaky roof where there is evidence of moisture in the wall.

How would you write it if there was evidence or a good chance that water has been leaking into an area that you can't see.

Roof leaks

At the end of the dead valley over the front bedroom, the roof leaks. The framing in the wall under the leak is of course concealed and furniture was present concealing the floor. I found evidence that moisture is present in the wall.

Have a roofer repair the leak in the roof. Understand that the concealed portions of the wall and floor may have damage. To find out you’ll have to have these areas exposed and checked and then repaired if any damage is found.

Chris, Oregon

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by Chris Bernhardt

This is what I wrote for a leaky roof where there is evidence of moisture in the wall.

How would you write it if there was evidence or a good chance that water has been leaking into an area that you can't see.

Roof leaks

At the end of the dead valley over the front bedroom, the roof leaks. The framing in the wall under the leak is of course concealed and furniture was present concealing the floor. I found evidence that moisture is present in the wall.

What evidence?

Have a roofer repair the leak in the roof. Understand that the concealed portions of the wall and floor may have damage. To find out you’ll have to have these areas exposed and checked and then repaired if any damage is found.

How likely is the damage and would you advise going through the expense of tearing open the wall?

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Chad Fabry]

"Roof leaks

At the end of the dead valley over the front bedroom, the roof leaks.

The roof leaks over the front bedroom near @@@.

The framing in the wall under the leak is of course concealed and furniture was present concealing the floor. I found evidence that moisture is present in the wall.

I can't see through walls or floors but my moisture meter showed a high moisture content near @@@.

Have a roofer repair the leak in the roof. Understand that the concealed portions of the wall and floor may have damage. To find out you’ll have to have these areas exposed and checked and then repaired if any damage is found."

What Jim said. How wet was the wall when you tested it with your, uh , tool?

[Chris Bernhardt]

Well I felt it was messed up so that's why I posted it.

This was the one where I found a thermal anomaly first then hit it with the moisture meter which wasn't pegging on the drywall setting but was about halfway full scale. I have done experiments wetting the back of drywall and making measurements to get a semi-calibrated idea of whats the minimum the meter should be taken serious at. Those tests indicated about 25% of full scale on the drywall setting.

Also I ran into the owner whos lived there for ten years and reported that when he bought the house the floor at the base of the wall was soft and he had always thought there was a leak. I couldn't see the floor at the time of the inspection due to furniture and I talked to the owner a day after the inspection

Given the lenght of time it was leaking there is probably something going on in the wall. It made me nervous so thats the reason for the recommendation.

What if your spidey sense was indicating a problem somewhere where you can't see it, then what do you do?

Chris, Oregon

[jon_ran]

Using a XXXXX moisture meter, evidence of moisture was found in the wall below the valley over the front bedroom. During the inspection of the roof and soffits/eaves and/or attic in this area, I discovered XXXXXXX that could be the source of the leak. This should be repaired by a competant roofing contractor. There is a risk of hidden damage to the structure in this area.

OR

Using a XXXXX moisture meter, evidence of moisture was found in the wall below the valley over the front bedroom. Some of the possibilities of the cause of this moisture include: a roof leak, ice damming and improperly installed insulation and or vapor barrier. During the inspection of the roof and attic in this area, I did not notice anything that was indicative of a leak. but the presence of moisture is un-deniable. I recommend that this be evaluated further to determine the source of the moisture. Such evaluation may need to be destructive to the interior finishing, but the cause needs to be discovered and remedied. There is a risk of hidden damage to the structure in this area.

[Bonnie Trenga]

Annoying resident editor here to criticize--and therefore help you improve--this writing.

I would avoid the misplaced modifier in the first sentence (Using a XXXXX moisture meter, evidence). Using a x moisture meter, I found evidence of moisture in the wall below the valley over the front bedroom.

Then I would make the remaining sentences more active and then correct the spelling error (competant):

When I inspected the roof and soffits/eaves and/or attic in this area, I discovered XXXXXXX, which could be the source of the leak. A competent roofing contractor should repair this because there might be hidden damage to the structure in this area.

Did you all see how I made each sentence active, removing nominalizations and passive voice? If not, I would love to help you through my writing class.

May I ask why it's hard for inspectors to say, "I found this" instead of "X was found"? Did someone teach you to not use "I"? It seems clients would expect you to use "I" since they know you personally are inspecting the house.

[hausdok]

Hi Bonnie,

We call it "inspectorspeak" in the business but it didn't originate with us. Most of the folks in this business came to it from somewhere else where for decades they'd been exposed to regulations, user manuals, training manuals, installation manuals, etc. that all contained passive constructions. The folks that write those texts are usually not professional writers ,and the stuff isn't very well edited, so it comes out of the chute as a passive construction. Plus, if you do a little research on google into "report writing," you'll find that there are plenty of texts out there on how to write technical reports that specifically instruct readers to write passively. I think it's texts like those that perpetuate this stuff, because inspectors think that it's the professional way to write and are trying to emulate those texts . It's hard, after half a lifetime of reading and emulating that kind of writing, to change.

Sorry about that last sentence but the German linguist in me tends to use what would, in German, be modal verbs; in this case 'hard to change.'

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[jon_ran]

Alright, now your just picking on me and have hurt my feelings.[:-bigeyes[:-wiltel][:-weepn]

Keep it up and I just might take my ball and go home[:-paperba

[hausdok]

Your a tough guy, Jon, you can take it.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[Chris Bernhardt]

Jon, don't fret. Your sacrifice was worth it. I learned a lot from what Bonnie just said.

Chris, Oregon

[jon_ran]

Originally posted by Bonnie Trenga

A competent roofing contractor should repair this because there might be hidden damage to the structure in this area.

Not to be too critical, but I just read this again and something jumped out at me.[:-jump]

This was actually a recommendation and a disclaimer of something that limited my ability to inspect the area(s) affected by the moisture.

1. The deficiency should be repaired by a competent roofing contractor because the roof leaks, not because there may be hidden damage.

2. I was disclaiming the fact that due to the presence moisture in this area, there may be damage to other items not related to the roofing structure such as; wall studs, top plate, sole plate, insulation, sub floor, floor joists, rim joist, and sill plate.