Ripped out a vanity and found a swimming pool underneath

I was swapping out a beat up bathroom vanity in my rental duplex last Saturday and the moment I pulled the old one away from the wall, water just poured out from the baseboard. Turns out the previous tenant had a slow drip from the supply line for months and it soaked through the particle board floor. I had to rip up six square feet of subflooring that was completely rotted and moldy. Ended up spending $120 on new plywood and a moisture barrier to patch it all back together. The worst part was finding out the shutoff valve under the sink was seized solid too so I had to run down to the basement and kill water to the whole unit for three hours. My tenant was not thrilled about losing water all afternoon but at least I caught it before the joists got wrecked. Has anyone else found hidden water damage behind a vanity that looked fine from the front?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarb7714d ago

Man, I used to think water damage was always obvious until something like this happened to me. Now I check behind every vanity like I'm looking for buried treasure.

vera_campbell14d ago

What got me too was the water damage that doesn't look like water damage? I always thought it would be obvious like a big wet spot or mold growing everywhere. But the first time I found it was behind a cabinet that looked perfectly fine from the front. The wood was soft and crumbly but you couldn't tell until you actually touched it. Now I'm paranoid about every wall and floor near any sink or toilet. It's crazy how much damage can hide behind a pretty surface.