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jjgomillion · Jan 21, 2009, 08:07 AM

Hello, everyone. I am new to this forum, and very glad to have found it.
My husband and I are purchasing a forclosed home. We are scheduled to close at the end of the month. I went to meet with the carpet quoters last night and was just looking around the house. Well, the ceiling in the garage had 3 ft icicles streaming down. We assumed there was a drain pipe leak or something from the master bath prior to seeing this because of dry water spots along that wall in the garage, but with no one living there and the water on this past week (its really cold in MI) I'm afraid that we have more of a problem than a cracked PVC drain pipe. Does anyone have any ideas as to how much this would cost us to do? Is it something that we can just tear the drywall down find the leak and replace that portion of the pipe? What if it is the water supply going to that room?
Also the living room ceiling has a line of water damage where the laundry room is upstairs. Hmmm? Any advise would help. I am not a construction guru, which is why I am here. :o

ballengerb1 · Jan 21, 2009, 06:05 PM

Is the heat shut off and was the water main left on? Big important questions and I would not close on that house until you know more. Most foreclosure folks just walk away or get booted out. And then someone shuts off the utilities. This could leave water in all supply lines and drain traps. Freezing weather will almost always break those line and they won't leak much at all, that is until you turn the heat back on. A bust frozen pipe may not leak a drop in some causes because its clogged with ice. I'd ask that the heat be turned back on for 48 hours and then reinspect, you may be bidding on something that's not worth fixing.

mygirlsdad77 · Jan 21, 2009, 06:18 PM

Sounds like house has frozen up. Find out details, such as, was it winterized?

You have to take into account, how cheap you are getting the house for, how much it may cost to repair problems. If house was not properly winterized, you may be in for some serious problems.

You could probably get all broken pipes fixed by a plumber and it could take anywhere from one hour to two days.(depending on how bad it froze up) The main concern is fixing damage that will take place during repairs. If you have a bad case, you will be cutting out sheetrock, and possibly replacing faucets(sink, tub/shower) also toilets may have been damaged.

Do as ballengerb1 suggested, get heat on, and see what happens.