I had a Florida room destroyed by Hurricane Wilma. I decided to enclose it and install impact-resistant windows. We took the Florida room down to the existing concrete slab (which is above ground).

The room is beautiful, with all the windows, sheet-rock interior, stucco exterior and carpeting. However, I have noticed that the white baseboard has started getting water stains and the carpeting is wet (specifically on the outside walls - not where the room is attached to the house) . It will not dry and is beginning to have a foul odor.

What is causing this and what should I do? I appreciate any advice anyone can give me.

Has it been raining or can we exclude posssible rain water infiltration?

I don't believe it has rained in about a week and the carpet is still wet. I've had a fan blowing directly on it in an attempt to dry it out.

Do you have a spinkler system that could be spraying water on your siding? The water source nust be found abd stopped before we can tackle the carpet.

We have a sprinkler system, but it hasn't been turned on in several months.

Any thoughts about the source of the water? Are there any plumbing pipes or window AC units near the wet spot?

There is no plumbing anywhere near that room. There is a window air conditioner on the end wall, but that is no where near the wet spot. The only time the AC is turned on is when we are actually in that room (usually only on the weekends - as we both work). The room is typically very hot (as we live in South Florida) and with all the windows it magnifies the sun. As hot as it is out there, I'm surprised that the wet spot doesn't dry out. I really appreciate you trying to figure this out.

Something is replenishing that wet spot, could be a very small drip. I asked about a AC unit because they discharge some water, especially in your climate. How is the ground just outside of the wet spot? Is the soil soggy at all? Are there any outside spigots near this area of the wall?

The ground all along that wall is not damp, and there is no water spigot at all in the back of the house where the room is. There is white baseboard all along the inside walls and it is water stained, again all along that long wall and some on the one shorter wall. The room is 10x20. The windows are PGT and very tight. Do you think some sort of moisture barrier should have been put down before the padding and carpet was installed?

I just don't picture this being any natural moisture coming up through the soil. Something is supplying water repeatedly. With it being wet for this long you don't really have many options other than to start taking of the baseboard and wall board, they will be rotting or starting to grow mildew by now.

I appreciate the advice. That's what I'm going to do over the weekend. I need to get it fixed. As you said, there's bound to be mold and God knows what else. Yuk... I'll let you know what I find. Thanks again.

Mold spores are everywhere and usually start to grow in 48 hours. Once you have thrown out all the old material it would be wise to spray the studs and floor plate with 1:3mix of water/bleach or a hardware store mildewcide. WM Barr Online Store

Thanks... I'll keep you posted as to what I find.

The moisture is, in fact, coming from the ground. Apparently, there has been so much rain this entire summer, that the water table is extremely high. My neighbor is constructing a room much like ours, but is starting from scratch, footings, pouring concrete slab, etc. He said he encountered an extremely high water level when he was putting the footings in. Since it appears that the only water damage is on all the perimeter walls, he suggested digging around the perimter and installing a moisutre barrier of some sort (either visqueen or some other type of barrier), as the moisture seems to be coming in on the side of the slab. That slab that the room is built on is probably 28 years old and is at least 3-4 inches lower than the elevation of the house itself. This would account for the fact that I have no problems in the house; and also perhaps when the house was built, there was some sort of moisture barrier put on the sides of the foundation itself. So, I guess that's where we are headed. Then we'll have to deal with the de-mildewing of the carpet, etc. Does any of this make sense to you?

In posts 8 and 9 I asked about the ground and you said it was dry. What new info has come to light to cahnge your thinking?

The ground (that I can see anyway - without digging) is dry. The ground down below what I can see is obviously holding water. Florida is all sand, so what is on top is not necessarily what is down below. Does the idea of installing a moisture barrier make sense to you?

The barrier isn't much of a solution in my mind. In post #1 you said your slab was above grade so ground water is not your issue from the details so far. You could possibly have a water pipe going through the slab and that could be leaking but its less likely than other problems. "is obviously holding water." what gives you this information?

I'm only saying "the ground is holding water" because of what my neighbor ran into when he dug down on his property. There is a very high water table in Florida anyway, and then with all the rain we had this summer, it kind of make sense to me. To my knowledge, there are no pipes under or in the slab. If that was the case, it seems odd that only the perimeter of the whole room is water-damaged. The white base-board is stained all around the room. (only on the outside walls).