Wet drywall
 

Now that there's a tarp over my roof, I'm wondering what to do about the wet drywall in the upstairs bedroom. It got quite wet and the wallpaper is pulling away from the wall. The air conditioner is on to try to dry it out and that seems to be helping.

I'm wondering if I should remove the wallpaper to let the wall dry, or if I do that, will that make it easier to spread mold into the air? (I'm not sleeping upstairs due to the possibility of mold.) I won't be able to replace the drywall for some time if that's needed as I have to take care of the roof replacement first.

Also, should I open the door to the space under the eaves to help dry out that space? Or would that allow unhealthy air into the house? There is minimal ventilation in the attic (will be partially solved with roof vents when the roof is replaced).

Please note: (1) Insurance does not apply here because the roof was too old. (2) I'm a senior citizen with limited funds. I can't do what most would consider ideal in this situation.

call in a service master type company or rent air dryers/circulators from a rental company

Cause?
 

What caused the water leaks? Is there no insurance? In any event Sevpro or Servicemaster do water damage cleanup routinely and have the right equipment to prevent further damage.

In most cases wet drywall need to be removed or you risk nasty hidden mold that too often can be dangerous to you your health.

Do not attempt to dry this out yourself, you risk much greater problems later.

Call in a professional to assess the situation and advise you.

The longer you wait the greater the risk of increasing your costs and impact.

Best of luck, this is a terrible situation to suffer, but one you cannot simply hope for the best, you need to be strongly proactive ASAP.

Cause: roof leak caused by shingles lost in windstorms this year. Roof was too old for insurance. I don't think the problem is big enough to call in a company. I'm guessing there will be two drywall panels to replace. I just need to dry things out pending repairs.

Dont try to do this yourself, you will not get enough airflow and not to the right places.

The drywall will likely need to be ripped out and you need to dry the space behind it or you risk even worse problems.

This is serious stuff and even worse if there is insulation behind the drywall, you need to make sure its not wet back there and if it is you need high-flow fans and dehumidifiers to dry it out.

Call you insurance company and get them on it, thats what you pay for. Forget about the roof being covered, you have water inside and you dont want that turning to mold.

Time is critical in this high humidity weather.

Agree. You have to rip that drywall out of there and get everything behind it dried out completely.

Hence my question about whether I should open the doors to the kneewall space to dry that out.

I do have a dehumidifier. It creates a fair amount of heat. Should I put it upstairs anyway? And maybe exhaust the air out the windows with fans? Fresh air in one end and bad air out the other end.

Exactly. That's why I'm hesitating to open the upstairs windows. Someone has already inspected the attic (no leaks) and the attic kneewall space (5 leaks, damage to two drywall panels). I could remove the insulation and 2 drywall panels, but that would open up the kneewall space to the living space, which worries me, e.g., particles of fiberglass insulation released into the air. Is that a concern?

I need to consider what's ideal and what's possible. Here's the reality: I can't do everything at once. I have to take care of the roof. After I replace the entire roof my funds will be limited. I'm trying to figure out the best short-term solution to protect my health and the walls.

Solution 1: Run two air conditioners upstairs to remove humidity.

Solution 2: Run dehumidifier.

Unresolved questions:
(1) Windows and kneewall doors open or closed?
(2) Remove drywall and insulation now or not, given that I can't do the whole drywall repair immediately?

I totally sympithize, this is a terrible situation to be in.

I am no expert only someone who has seen several friends suffer this situation and worse to then be hit with extensive mold remediation and in one case gutting a lot of the impacted rooms and having to rebuild because the mold got so bad.

If nothing else ask a couple of the serve-pro like outfits to come in and give you estimates and tell you what they will do and what they recommend and then you can decide what you can do yourself. At least then you have some guidance about your exact situation. I think most will come in and assess and write up an estimate for free. Its at least a starting point.

Just dont wait, acting fast can make a difference.

Wishing all the best, wish I could help more than to tell you to seek professional guidance, but for your own sake at least seek that professional guidance and estimate and then make an educated decision about what you can do and must do.

ATB

Since you seem to worried about paying for it, I really don't see how it could hurt to call your insurance company to just ask if they will cover it. I know how you feel, I am one of those who does not want to ever file a claim but that is why you have it. I may be wrong but just because your roof is old isn't a reason for them to deny your claim. In Fl. there were people with 30 year old roofs that were terrible and they were covered. Maybe that was FEMA but I think insurance would cover you.

We do have some insurance agents or former agents on this forum so maybe one of those could chime in. In any event, what harm would it do to just call. I hope you get help. I feel sorry the happened to you.

The companies that do this, have huge blowers that dry things out. There is one in Belmont, I think, it's family owned, very nice people.

Both posts from Tis are good advise!

1-833-683-4550
 

I was in the insurance business for 25 years, as a sales rep. including a lot of homeowner and fire policies. I can't think of a reason the windstorm isn't covered, and resulting water damage. Often, the insurance company will get professionals on the job quickly because they don't want to have any further damage. They like to work with insurance companies because they know they will get paid, so they will likely ask who your insurance is with.

Please, please Call a professional without delay.
Servpro 1-833-683-4550 NOW. They're open 24/7 and will find somebody close to you.
Here's another one in Hooksett:
Email: info@soilaway.com
Phone: (603) 967-4667 open 24/7
Their rep, on site, can answer all your questions that we can't give good advice on without seeing the site. If you haven't done the tarp yet, they will probably do that as part of the service.

After they see the site, please let us know how things work out.
Best to you.

And more really good advice.

Hope you can get some help to ease your burden.

ATB

Alright, I finally took you guys seriously and hired someone to remove the offending (now moldy) drywall. He's doing that right now. I was lucky to find someone in the area who had experience with mold and was available immediately. The insulation behind the wall was fairly dry and there was no mold on the wood framing etc. Lucky! The wet area was limited to 5' x 10'.

Go ahead and say "I told you so": I was astonished at how quickly the mold grew from one day to the next, and the air conditioner helped only minimally. Glad you convinced me not to do this job myself. Thanks very much to everyone!

P.S. No insurance necessary as this job will cost less than my deductible.