I just noticed that there were two large damp patches on my inside garage wall (separating a small bath room and the garage). They are damp to the touch but not discolored The patches run from the floor upward and tapered to an approximate triangle shape (base about 2-3 feet, height 2 feet).

At first I thought it was a plumbing problem, but when I googled, it seemed that there might be other reasons for this. I'm wondering if I should contact a plumber or a general house contractor for this?

Any advise would be appreciated.

Do you have any pictures of this?

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Well, we have pics!
OK, just by your description I will take a stab, but hard to tell.
If the bathroom is on the other side of the wall, then it may be a leak of course, but how long has it been since you've used that bathroom?

Has it rained lately? It may be the boot that goes around your roof vent. That is a rubber gasket that goes around your pvc vent (white thing sticking out of the roof). Sometimes they leak and water can follow the pipe all the way down even if you didn't ask it to.

Either a plumber (for the leak) or even a roofer or handy man should make this a half hour job.

We seldom use the bathroom. And yes, it rained a couple of times last week.

We have a standard bi-level house. We have pluming going into the garage from bathroom upstairs. So a plumber might still be my best bet.

Thanks so much!

UPDATE! I just realized the wall is an OUTSIDE wall, not to the bathroom. Guess this changed the game. But I cannot see any roof vent close to the spot. And more advise? Thanks!

Water could be entering in from the ground outside and wicking up.

Rip open the drywall, you have to do this anyway because by now you have mold inside this wall. Just take it out and you will see the issue, the fix and then patch in a slab of drywall.

We've got a roofer and he could not find anything wrong with the gutter and roof. I don't know if there is an underground pipe leak or sth. Wrong with the foundation. We have concrete slab so the garage is on the ground floor.

The floor adjacent to the wall is pretty wet so I'm worried that the water came through the foundation.

Our key issue is to identify the source or reason of this.

What type of contractor should we call? This is so confusing. Thanks!

Make sure all the water is turned off inside the house and also outside faucets. Check the water meter to see if it's turning to see if a pipe is leaking. Do you have a sprinkler system? Did you check the ground outside that wall? I would do what Bob said and cut out that piece of drywall to see what's behind it.

Yes, just open the wall. You can't just hope the drywall will dry out. Its too wet for too long, mold is growing already and removal will let you see what's going on in the wall.

More Updates: A contractor found a pipe leak in the small bathroom on the ground floor. It's very close to the damp spot in the garage, so we thought we found what happened.

They fixed the bathroom leak and the wall in the garage. However, the inside of the garage wall was DRY. They put some stuff to prevent water and then patched the wall.

Last night it rained a little bit, and this morning there was still moisture at the spot where the floor meets the wall. Could this be a separate issue? It's so confusing! I hope it's not sth. Wrong with the foundation.

Also, there is a patch of dirt at the back of the wet wall. However, our roof extended over the area a little bit. Two contractors came in and said it was not rain water. Might they be wrong?

What was inside the wall? I hope they replaced the drywall and didn't just cover the stain with Kilz-it. Dig out the wet dirt and wait to see if it gets wet again.

There was insulation inside the wall, and it was dry. Also the part between the wet patches and the bathroom was dry as well. So we suspect it's a separate issue. They did replace the dry wall.

Thanks for responding!

Dig out that wet dirt. Something is causing water to come in. The way the pictures look it is coming in from the bottom up.

OK. Things are getting more complicated. A foundation and waterproof contractor came in today. He said we had a SPRING under our house and recommended to dig a french drain. The cost is $2400. However, when I asked him to drill a hole to prove it, he refused.

I'm just not comfortable with such a big project without seeing prove. We have more contractors coming in and will see what they say about this.

I'd get several opinions and estimates also. Bob and Mark where are you? This guy needs some help.
Have you dug up that area outside yourself to see how deep the wetness goes?
http://www.askthebuilder.com/619_French_Drain.shtml

Dear Experts, I need more help!

I've had 4 waterproofing/foundation contractors to investigate the problem.

3 out of 4 said it was underground water and we need French drain. One of them was 100% sure we have a live spring under our house and the job needs to be done ASAP.

Only one guy (the oldest inspector) said it was caused by surface water entering the house. He said French Drain would be an overkill and sugguested better drainage and grading outside the house.

My boss, whoes family was in the house building/inspecting trade, said he agreed with the drainage solution.

I know these companies are trying to sell more expensive product. But the one guy was scaring the hell out of me by saying if I don't get the French Drain soon, we will have to spend over $10 k for the whole floor job.

Opinions, adivses?

Thank you!