25 gallons is a LOT of water!

[bthorne]

Woke up this morning sometime between 4:00 and 5:00 AM to a grinding noise from the other room. On investigation, I stepped onto the living room carpet and had water squish up between my toes at the same time as I noticed my aquarium had sprung a leak and emptied most of its water onto the floor. The sound was the filter pump choking on a lack of water.

Woke up LOML and spent the next few hours moving furniture, pulling back the carpet, and cutting out soaked padding. The subfloor under the carpet (which looks like particle board?) was pretty well soaked (see pictures), and I've set up two box fans to try to dry things out while I'm at work today.

A few questions and an observation:

1. If this is particle board, do you think it'll be ok after I get things dried out, or am I going to need to replace sections of the subfloor as well?

2. The vinyl floor for the kitchen is adjacent to the former position of the aquarium (see picture). I think the carpet padding wicked most of the water away from here, but is there anything I need to worry about or should check to insure there isn't damage here?

3. I assume that after everything dries out (and if the carpet itself is ok, which I think it will be), I can put down new padding and reinstall the carpet. Will 1/4 inch crown staples work to tack down the new padding, or do I need to find a larger stapler? If so, what kind of staples should I be using?

4. Any ideas on where to rent a knee kicker to reinstall the carpet? I really don't want to pay Lowes 90 bucks to buy a new one for a fairly small job.

Also, an observation: If you've been agitating for three years to rip up the carpet and replace with hardwood floors (darned allergies!), 5:30 AM when ripping up damaged carpet and padding is NOT the time to broach the subject again. The Look is kind of painful to receive at that hour.

I'm just glad this didn't happen while we were out of town for the weekend. Thanks for any advice / suggestions / thoughts you have. Hopefully I can get this repaired by the end of the weekend so we can use our family room again and get to the projects that were already on the schedule: building a shed and planning our kitchen renovation.

[wardprobst]

1. If it's particle board, chances are you will need to replace.
2. I'd string a line across it to see if it's still relatively flat.
3. Stapler out to be okay for this small job.
4. Home Depot to rent Harbor Freight to buy.
DP

[Ed62]

I agree if it's particle board it will likely need replaced because that stuff swells pretty badly when it gets wet. It is also prone to crumbling after getting soaked.

You should also be able to rent a kicker from most rental businesses. Give them a call to find out if they have them, unless there's a Borg nearby.

Ed

[crokett]

You can rent a kicker or carpet stretcher from HD.

Plan on replacing the particle board. As was said, if it gets really wet it swells and crumbles. If it is only surface wet and not soaked through, it might be ok.

[scmhogg]

HF has a kicker for $19.99.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=2692

Steve

[docrowan]

I would also check underneath the vinyl. The particle board tends to wick some, so the water will probably have migrated a few inches that way as well. I had to replace quite a bit of particle board for my parents in their mobile home after the hurricanes of '04. I can't remember for sure, but I think we went back with plywood so we wouldn't have as much of a problem with it in case it was flooded again. I hate particle board.

[Richard in Smithville]

Look into some sort of anti fungus spray. When my house leaked from an ice dam one winter, the insurance company had the wet areas sprayed as part of the repair.

[cabinetman]

That's quite a wake up call. First though, are the fish OK?

Once particle board gets wet, that's it...no saving it. I would replace with plywood. As for installing padding, it usually doesn't need to be stapled down. If the vinyl took on any water, it's possible that the glue bond may fail. Once dried out check to see if any of the edges are loose.

As cheap as it is to buy a HF kicker, renting one may cost more by the time you are done. Besides, you won't be rushed to be done to return it.
.

[master53yoda]

Just something to think about....................Your homeowners insurance should pay for all the problem

[bthorne]

Thanks for the quick replies. The closest HD is about an hour away, while HF is even farther. I did look up local rental centers on Ed's suggestion, and can get one for a day for 15 bucks, so that's not too bad.

I'll check the drying / swelling process on the particle board when I get home this afternoon. I'm hoping for only "surface wetness" but I'm pretty sure that qualified as a thorough soaking. I'll update on that later. If I have any issues with the vinyl in the kitchen, I'll post on that too. If the guy who replaced the floor there before we bought it was smart, maybe he used plywood under the vinyl...

If anyone else has any thoughts or suggestions of what I should watch for, keep 'em coming.

[bthorne]

That's quite a wake up call. First though, are the fish OK?

Unfortunately, the fish perished in their escape attempt. Thankfully, we didn't have anything too expensive in there - just a few red wag platy's and such.

As cheap as it is to buy a HF kicker, renting one may cost more by the time you are done. Besides, you won't be rushed to be done to return it.

True - I do have a friend coming up over the weekend to help me start on our shed, and he'll be passing right by an HF. I think those plans may be fast changing to reinstalling underlayment, padding, and carpeting.

Just something to think about....................Your homeowners insurance should pay for all the problem

It probably would. Right now, I'm still hoping this will come in under the $500? deductible. If the damage is limited to a few sheets of underlayment and 100 or so square feet of padding, then it should be ok. If the carpet itself or the kitchen floor has problems, then my insurance agent will definitely be hearing from me.

[thestinker]

I wouldn't file it on homeowners insurance unless you must. The wife worked for homeowners insurance. Water claims stay with you for a long time. If you have any questions about insurance PM me and i can ask her specifics if you want.

Riley

[bthorne]

Just an update to say thanks to everyone for all their assistance. I left the fans on everything for a couple extra days once things seemed dried out just to be on the safe side.

I installed new underlayment where needed, put down new padding and re-stretched the carpet yesterday morning, and then cleaned it all thoroughly with a steam extractor. Looks good as new now, and much less cluttered than before the aquarium leaked.

[rnelson0]

I wouldn't file it on homeowners insurance unless you must. The wife worked for homeowners insurance. Water claims stay with you for a long time. If you have any questions about insurance PM me and i can ask her specifics if you want.

It all depends on your insurer. I filed two water-related claims within 12 months (roof leak and...I forgot the second one) and my premium never budged. It paid off in both cases.