Water damage around shower/bath stalls

[Michael Mckenzie]

My wife and I are looking at buying a fixer that is a pretty sweet deal, bank owned. The existing fixtures, however, were not caulked at all (and in one case, carpet runs up against a shower).

The end result is some fairly significant water damage to the baseboards, including damage to a ceiling below (a 2" diameter whole in the ceiling). We're going back to inspect tonight, before conditionally placing an offer (which would of course be conditional on what a home inspector says as well).

Being relatively inexperienced regarding water damage, could anyone tell me what to look for? We're going to be replacing all floor coverings if we indeed buy this home, and replacing base boards is not a problem. Drywall is not a problem either. The floors seem solid as well, when prodded - just water damage.

This home is located in Washington State, in a moist area as well. Is dry-rot something to be very concerned about? We would, of course, have an inspection beforehand.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Mike

[MLD]

[Trent©]

A company that specializes in using bleach?

Have a nice week...

Trent

Certified breast self-exam subcontractor.

[Trent©]

I guess I don't understand your post, Mike. You said its a fixer-upper. What exactly did you expect from that kind of property?

Look at it this way...

There isn't ANYTHING that can't be repaired in a house. How much time do you have?...how much do you know?...how much do you want to learn?

I think your best source of condition information will be from the house inspector. Just don't let him scare you off...especially if you plan to be a full-fledged DIYer.

It sounds like the house may have extensive damage. Just weigh that against the purchase price...and yer ultimate goals.

Good luck.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Certified breast self-exam subcontractor.

[Art Begun]

Watch out for mold. The wrong type can be a major problem. Local universitites are spending $100's of millions to fix mold damage in dorms from leaky steam pipes.

[Michael Mckenzie]

Well after a lot of consideration (and three visits to the house) we decided to pass. It looked like the upstairs needed a complete gut-job (including down to the door frames), on the order of $20k or so. Not worth the year it would take to bring up to saleable status.

It's sad that someone would neglect a home like this for 25 years - the floorplan would have been fantastic.

Thanks for the responses (and emails)!

[Art Begun]

In my experience if it looks like a $20k job it will cost $40k.

status.

caulked at

conditional

anyone

solid as

course,