There is a long list of ways that leaky pipes damage your home. In today’s blog article, we will explain some of the more common ways and why repiping is so important.
Furniture and Cabinetry
The most obvious way is damage will occur to whatever furniture or cabinetry is right below or under water that is coming from the ceiling or down a wall. Anything made of wood will be severely damaged as the wood absorbs the water. However, furniture or cabinetry made of plywood or pressed board will be destroyed.
The same holds true for furniture or cabinetry that is on top of a wet floor. While water will flow downhill, anything touching the water, will be absorbed upwards.
Flooring
Depending on how much water you have leaking and for how long the leak has been occurring, wood flooring can be severely damaged or completely destroyed. Wood or engineered wood floors will buckle as they expand. This type of damage does not dry out and improve—the flooring will have to be replaced. This is not to mention the potential mold problem you could have underneath flooring.
Building Integrity
The risk when long-term and slow leaks are involved is damage to the integrity of the structure, itself. When water leaks behind walls for a long time, both water and mold can disintegrate wood studs and the drywall. This will result not only in the need for a large and expensive clean up, but the potential need for a structural engineer.
Air
One of the most serious and insidious problem is that of the internal building air quality. With slow leaks that you are not aware of, if you have a mold problem, then you may also have an air problem, and some types of mold are deadly.
If you are concerned about leaks, we are experts at leak detection. Please call us on the Lower Mainland at (604) 349-5325 if you are wondering if your home has a leak or already know that you do.
Repiping Vancouver is a division of 604FixLeak offering leak detection, plumbing repairs and restoration services in the Greater Vancouver area. Repiping Vancouver concentrates on whole home or office repiping.
If you have any questions about this article or need some help with repiping in your home or office, call us today at (604) 349-5325.
