under belly

[madsamrd]

the belly of my home was filled with water. Cause of the water unknown. My question is they have started making the repairs and decided to replace the insulation and then take scrape pieces of paneling and screw them to the boards instead of taping. So the insulation under the paneling is exposed. Is this a good idea or am I in for trouble?

[Yanita]

Hi,

Cause of water "unknown". That should be found and fixed before ANYTHING else is done in the way of repairs.

All wet insulation has to be replaced. Has the underneath of the home had time to dry before the repairs are made?

The underbelly material should not be wood, it needs to be, or should be a proper underbelly material! The bottom of your home needs to be protected with the proper materials. This means it needs to be breathable, wood promotes retaining moisture and then rot, encouraging wood eating insects.

Yanita

[madsamrd]

We are leasing to own and have a problem with smell when we moved in. They have checked for leaks and found none. In my opinion something must have happened prior to us moving in because there were two other slits in the underbelly that they did not make when they were draining water. The underneath was not completly dry before they started repairs because we had a storm the night before and the siding was off. They only reason we knew that there was water in the belly is because on 9-11-07 I fell thru the floor

[Yanita]

Hi,

The smell is probably mold growing underneath. I do not know who "they" are that is doing the repairs, BUT, you need to make sure that all wet areas or wet and now dried areas have been removed and replaced.

Water does not just appear in the underbelly, there has to be a leak somewhere, and this needs to be fixed. As I said before all wet areas need to be removed and then the underbelly needs to completely air dry. If mold is present then all of those areas should be sprayed with a water bleach solution.

Do you have the repair manual, if not now would be a real good time to get it! Proper repairs are imperative to the life of your home and your health in this instance. The manual can be found and ordered in the Books/parts link above.

Yanita

[Greg]

Since you fell through the floor you know know first hand why water is your home's worst enemy. Yanita is right, the source needs to be found before repairs are made, then it should be dried out before the insulation & belly wrap is reinstalled. Greg

[Maureen]

Hello, sounds like you have major problems with the home! I hate to be negative, but you're looking at more than just repairing the underbelly!

First, I would try to re-negotiate tech lease opt agreement, to include all repairs! Like Yanita mentioned, the leak needs to be fixed, or you need to make sure the repair has been done properly! Next comes replacing the insulation, while you're at it, inspect for any mold issues. Now, since you fell through the floors, it sounds like all flooring needs to be replaced, sub floor on up!

Invest in the repair manual, if nothing, it will show you what your up against in the repair department.

Maureen