I was sitting behind a mountain of paperwork and sipping my morning coffee when an e-mail came in. One of my regulars needed me to confirm an HVAC leak. Easy enough gig, go out check the supply line. It’s usually clogged and causes water to overflow onto the ground and unit below. I told her I was on my way.
I loaded FLIR and some additional moisture reading and dry out equipment and set off over the bridge to the unit in question.
I like making this drive, it lets me look at the bay and enjoy what shade of blue-green it chooses to wear that day. A spectacular sight with the sunlight shimmering on the surface of the water. It makes me wonder how something so beautiful can be so destructive; I guess that’s why I made water my life. I like to see what it can do.
I arrived about an hour later and met Gertrude in the lobby. She is all business with her dark hair tied back and perfectly pressed pantsuit, gray with little pinstripes. We ascend the stairs to a unit on the second floor this is where the damage is occurring.
I take FLIR, my handy sidekick, and go to work. Sure enough Gertrude was correct, the HVAC condensing line was clogged. After I confirmed the source I checked to see how wet the building materials were and how far the water had spread, Gertrude caught this one early – good job I thought. She just needed an AC Tech to unclog the line. There wasn’t much water.
I packed up my equipment and started to leave when Gertrude gave a look she sometimes gives, a ‘since you were here’ look. I asked her if she needed me to look at anything else. She said there was a mystery in the bathroom. Mystery, she knew how to peak my interest. She had a roofer confirm no roof leak, a plumber confirm no pipe leak but there was water damages on the bathroom ceiling. She had the area repaired twice but the cause was unknown and the area was being damaged yet again.
I used FLIR to determine where and how far the water had spread. This helps me pinpoint the location of the water intrusion. I was perplexed, there was no one area with more water, it was spread evenly across the impacted area – this was a mystery.
I went into the attic above the bathroom just to rule out a plumbing stack leak, there was evidence that the stack had leaked in the past but not with the last rainstorm. When I arrived back into the unit the tenant was there; a fit man is his mid thirties with thin brown hair and scar just over his left eye. I asked a series of questions that usually help solve these types of mysteries. The man showers twice a day once in the morning before work then again in the evening after a jog on the beach. I asked if he used the exhaust fan when he showered he said he did but he hedged his answer leading me to believe he didn’t always use it. I flipped on the fan to see if it worked, an older model it seemed to be pulling the air from the bathroom but it sounded like a train, no wonder he didn’t always turn it on. How can you relax in the shower if it sounds like a tornado in there.
Gertrude and I excused ourselves and returned to the lobby. I told her my suspicions and what I had found in the attic. I recommend a newer exhaust fan that would make significantly less noise and told her that we could put the fan on the same switch as the light so it would always be on if the light was, I doubted he was showering in the dark.
Gertrude was pleased with the inspection results as she always was, she liked things buttoned up this mystery must have drove her crazy.
I returned to the office to find a voicemail from a frantic man needing my services immediately, guess that paperwork will just have to wait.
Adventures of Inspector Dan
I was just about to take a sip of my morning coffee when the wife came out to the veranda. “It’s Charlie, sounds agitated again” she said as she handed me the phone. I rolled my eyes and asked “when is he not?” I got chuckle as she walked back into the house “Hello Charlie, what can I do for you?” Charlie’s baritone voice resonated through the phone, he was agitated. He explained there was a fishy smell out at the old Mills house and wanted me to check it out.
As were all my phone calls with Charlie this one was short and didn’t give me much to go on. Fishy I thought, some vacationer probably picked up some shells and didn’t clean them.
I finished my coffee, kissed the wife goodbye and headed out to the old Mills place. A four story beach house with lots of places for the source of the odor to hide. I pulled up to the place at 8:15am what a way to start my day, I thought, sniffin rooms.
I went in the side door, Charlie had left a key for me there. I stepped in took in a long drag of air … nothing, it wasn’t like Charlie to embellish. He said it would hit me before I even stepped in. I ventured further into the first level, breathing slow careful not to miss it. Creeping toward the back door I caught the smell, alarms started ringing, not fishy, musky – a mold problem. I knew I had to find and stop the water source so I went back to the truck and got out my trusted companion FLIR and started looking for temperature variance a sign of water where none should be.
I started with all the known culprits; drains, faucets, showers – not this time. DanG, looks like its that steep roof. I get my ladder. I ascend slowly tracking the evidence the water has left behind with FLIR, up, up, up. I finally find the culprit it’s an unsealed pluming boot and some improper drainage from the roof that allowed water to get behind the siding. I call Charlie with my findings and my fee. Another mystery solved.
The Adventures of Inspector Dan
It was a Friday morning, I had just had my first sip of coffee when I got the call.
A ceiling was leaking at one of the local destin businesses. I strapped on my boots, put a lid on the coffee and grabbed my trustie side kick, FLIR.
I arrived on site and was greeted by the property manager a woman of average height and long lushes locks of auburn and steel gray eyes a striking woman of 40. She briefed me on the situation. Together we walked over to the business and I was lead to the area of the leak. Sure enough, water was dripping from the ceiling tiles. The poor business owner and her workers were busy mopping up the water to no end, the ceiling was still leaking. As I started my investigation I was nearly caught in a bucket intended for the water as I set up my ladder to obtain a closer look at the leak. I removed a ceiling panel cautiously and I could tell immediately this leak was coming from the unit above.
The property manager and I set off to stop the leak save the business owner and workers from sure doom this water leak was causing
At the unit above we met the receptionist a mousy girl in her mid twenties. She informed us that she did not see or hear any water running but did mention that her mini fridge was frozen and water had spilled out. I pulled out FLIR and confirmed that there was moisture present on the carpet, but this was not where the water was coming from. No, the drip in the unit below and the water in the buckets was too much for a frozen mini fridge that was thawing. I asked where the air handler was located she pointed to the closet. No obivious signs of a leak, hmm, I pulled out FLIR again and found it!! The air handler stand was extremely wet, I opened the return air grille, pulled the filter and used FLIR to confirm that there was water in the condensate line. Yes water was overflowing inside the return air chamber and flowing down to the unit below.
Another case solved by Inspector Dan and his trustie side kick FLIR.