So I've been at my new apt. 3 weeks now, and this week we have had a team of roofers replacing our shingling on the roof. Not sure if its coincidental or what, but tonight as I walk into my bathroom I notice the carpet right before it is soaked (Right infront of my air conditioner and water heater rooms), so I check inside, and I hear water dripping, mostly from the side of the AC, but possibly from the water heater side as well. The flooring inside each is soaked, along with a portion of my carpet near there now. I've called in for the last hour to my apt. rental emergency maintanance #, and the guy who answers only directs calls to the appropriate people. However, in the last hour, not a single management staff member, maintenance worker, etc has answered their phones while this guy has tried to call them. Meanwhile my floor is getting more and more wet. Im honestly concerned at this pace it will soak my carpet completely by morning. On top of that, I have a surge strip protector on my floor which im sure its not good for that thing to get wet. Im on the ground level at my complex, with only 1 level above me and there has been no one living upstairs from me since I moved in. Anyone familiar with NC rental laws about this type of situation? I've got work early in the AM as does my GF, and right now neither of us want to go to bed with this getting worse and worse. Freaking ridiculous

Is there anything I can do? If I call someone out here and pay them myself, do they have to reimburse me? etc.

Any help/advice would be great -- thanks

7/19/2006 12:29:06 AM

I don't think you can take your own action until you've waited a "reasonable" amount of time. Just get the valuables up off the floor and hope for the best. Then make them replace the carpet when they finally do get around to helping.

I'm not familiar with NC laws though, so I can't speak to that. However, be sure to check your closets. I had a water heater burst once and didn't realize it had entered an adjoining closet that I had used for storage until I moved out and it was all mold and ruined things.

[Edited on July 19, 2006 at 12:34 AM. Reason : which makes me wonder, are you sure it isn't your water heater?]

7/19/2006 12:34:15 AM

Im not sure -- the water heater is on the right side of the hallway, the air conditioner is on the left side directly across from it. Both floorings are soaked inside and the entire hallway between the two doors are soaked completely now as well. The dripping is definately coming from inside the AC room -- and I just now see on the wall where its coming from the ceiling in there -- Ill take a picture and post it in a minute -- also in the water heater room, I hear dripping as well, but I dont see any signs of where thats coming from -- back in a minute with pictures

7/19/2006 12:42:33 AM

technically, i think if you put really expensive stuff that could ruin under water, they have to like reimburse for what was ruined cause they did some shit to the shingles which caused a leak that fucked up your expensive shit that just happened to be under the water

7/19/2006 12:49:07 AM

From the minimum amount of information you've given, I'm guessing that the drain pan under your air handler is clogged up and not draining. Check! There should be a pan inside the airhandler under the A-coil. Is it full of water? Is there a secondary catch pan under the airhandler? If so (code says it should be there) is it draining or is it full of water? Check for cracked pipes. If either the pan drain pipes are leaking or the pans aren't draining, TURN OFF YOUR AC. If the pans are clogged, you can sometime clear the drains with a wet/dry vac if you have or can borrow one. If a pipe is cracked, it will need to be fixed. You can do it yourself for real cheap or just make your matainence people do it. Since you mentioned the water heater, you should check that too. Just look for signs that point to leaking water. Good luck!

I just saw your pics. It looks like you have some sort of water-to-air heatpump. I think either the input or output waterline is leaking. I'd turn off the AC. That may stop the heatpump from circulating water and stop the leaking. If those lines run up under your roof, a roofer might have hit one with a nail gun. Not much you can do yourself to fix it unless you're a plumber or an HVAC guy.

[Edited on July 19, 2006 at 1:00 AM. Reason : new info]

[Edited on July 19, 2006 at 1:01 AM. Reason : crazy code]

7/19/2006 12:56:18 AM

So its definately coming from a pipe that goes into the ceiling -- these are pics from inside the AC room. I can also hear dripping and see water from behind the water heater (cant see the drip, but hear it and see the water standing back there)

I think they fucked something up with the roofing earlier, and its probably flooding the room above mine in which no one lives -- just called the maintenance # again -- the guy is frustrated as hell that he cant get a single person to answer an emergence phone call -- this is bullshit





The last picture is where you can see the drip coming from, thats a tube/pipe that runs into the ceiling in the AC room

7/19/2006 12:57:32 AM

Will your AC run?

7/19/2006 1:02:42 AM

I read the new post. If there is an apartment above you, it could be anything. Goodluck getting maintenace!

[Edited on July 19, 2006 at 1:06 AM. Reason : clarity]

7/19/2006 1:03:22 AM

you have a clogged AC condesor drainage pipe or whatever.


I had the same shit in my apartment the other day. We heard water dripping from inside the vents and we thought it was the hot water heater.

Just tell your apartment people, they'll come and fix it, and call someone to dry your carpet.

7/19/2006 1:03:40 AM

Right, but if that were the case the AC would shut off right Novicaine? (Or maybe that's just a feature with newer units). If that's it, it just needs to be vaccumed out.

7/19/2006 1:04:38 AM

Its definately still working, and turning it off with this heat isnt a very practical option, however neither is soaking my electronics, so I guess ill see how bad it gets in the next hour or so and decide on the lesser of the two evils. Thanks for all the posts so far

7/19/2006 1:07:05 AM

^^ The auto shutoff doesn't always work. Besides, the pics show it's not coming from his AC.

[Edited on July 19, 2006 at 1:07 AM. Reason : not enough ^s]

7/19/2006 1:07:06 AM

little bit of clarity, the largest pipe/tube coming from the hole where the water is dripping in, that tube/pipe does go into my AC unit at the bottom of the unit.

btw, 1337 posts now -- didnt even realize at first

[Edited on July 19, 2006 at 1:10 AM. Reason : Heh]

7/19/2006 1:09:47 AM

I'm trying to figure out what the pipe is. Is it labled? Nevertheless, water isn't leaking up, so the leak is above you. The question is, is it your stuff leaking or someone elses. Did you try turning off your AC? If so, did it have a noticeable effect on the flow of the leaking water?

[Edited on July 19, 2006 at 1:18 AM. Reason : can't type]

7/19/2006 1:17:27 AM

have not turned off the AC yet -- however, its set to 74 and only cuts on maybe once every 15-30 minutes, but the dripping is definately constant whether its running or not. I haven't noticed any sort of "heavier leak" when its running though.

Also, its not labeled as far as I can tell

It also seems that the pipe/tube is noticably wetter now, and as of about 10pm, we hadnt noticed a thing -- by 11pm it was noticable -- Im just worried that this is going to progressivly pick up momentum and turn into a MUCH bigger problem.

Ive also gone ahead and put down a couple old towels in the AC room, as well as the hallway between to try and keep any water to a minimum in the room.

[Edited on July 19, 2006 at 1:19 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on July 19, 2006 at 1:23 AM. Reason : ..]

7/19/2006 1:19:24 AM

Woohoo , unexpectedly I get maintenance knocking on my door

nice

Final verdict -- the apt. upstairs has been empty since we moved in, apparantly their toilet line had a tiny leak/crack, and has been dripping the entire time up there -- just recently did it get bad enough that it started dripping through the floor, also looks like I may have a little ceiling damage from it in the bathroom as well that I hadnt noticed before (dont usually look up in the corners in there)

They've shut off the toilet and dried it up as best they can upstairs, and will be back in the AM to take care of my room.

time to sleep, cant believe I wasted my 1337 post on this thread lol

[Edited on July 19, 2006 at 1:53 AM. Reason : ..]

7/19/2006 1:35:21 AM

clean water sewage.

mmmmmmmm

hospital-grade disinfectant please.

7/19/2006 8:02:55 PM