Ceiling Water Damage Repair in Smyrna, GA

The ring on the living room ceiling was the size of a saucer last month. Now it is the size of a platter, the paint in the middle has bubbled, and last night the drywall started to sag where the kids' bathroom sits directly above it. This site puts you through to an independent local provider who dries and repairs water-damaged ceilings in Smyrna and across south Cobb.

What the stain is telling you

A ceiling stain is a symptom, and the leak that made it is still up there somewhere. In a Smyrna townhome the usual suspects are the tub drain or the toilet supply in the bath above, the water heater on the attic platform, or the condensate line from the air handler in the attic. In a ranch it is the roof, or a bath that backs onto the hall. A ring that keeps growing means the leak is still active. Bubbled paint means the drywall face has separated. A sag means the ceiling has taken enough water to lose its strength, and it can come down on its own.

What the crew does at the ceiling first

The crew finds and stops the source before they touch the ceiling: the plumber fixes the supply or the drain, the roofer tarps the roof, or the condensate line is cleared. Then they open the ceiling at the low spot to let the trapped water out, pull the wet insulation above it, and meter the joists, the subfloor of the room above, and the top of the walls the water ran into. Air movers and a dehumidifier go in the cavity and the room until the readings match a dry ceiling elsewhere in the house. The patch comes last.

What to do under a wet ceiling tonight

Stay out from under a sag. Put a bucket under a drip and, if the sag is bulging and about to go, poke one small hole at the lowest point with a screwdriver to let the water out in a stream instead of a sheet. Turn off the breaker for any light fixture or fan in the wet area. Photograph the stain, the sag, and the room above before anything is opened. Say on the call what is above the stain, because a bath, an attic tank, and a roof are three different first hours.

What stays and what comes down

Drywall that was wet once and dried quickly can sometimes stay if it reads dry and has not sagged. Drywall that sagged or that stayed wet for weeks comes down, along with the insulation above it, because wet blown-in insulation never dries in a Georgia attic. Joists almost always dry in place. The subfloor of the bathroom above is metered from below and usually stays. Once the cavity reads dry, a drywall contractor hangs, tapes, and paints the patch. If the water came from the roof, roof leak water damage is the fuller picture, and if it came from a tank in the attic, water heater leak cleanup is.

Two-story townhomes, attic tanks, and a ceiling with a lot above it

Since the Market Village redevelopment began in 1991, Smyrna's infill along Atlanta Road, Spring Road, and Cumberland Parkway has been three-story townhomes and stacked condos, and every one of them puts two full baths, a laundry, and often the water heater above the living room ceiling. A bath supply line that drips inside the wall, a tub drain that was never quite tight, or a washer hose on the second floor all end up as a stain on the ceiling below, and the water has usually traveled along a joist before it shows. The 1950s ranches in Williams Park and Forest Hills have less above the ceiling, but a roof leak or a bath that backs onto the hall does the same thing over a longer time.

A sudden leak from a pipe or a tank is often covered under a homeowner policy; a drip that stained the ceiling over months often is not. Nobody here has read your policy, and this site promises nothing about what it pays. The crew's photos of the stain before it was opened, and the readings from above, are what the adjuster works from. If the leak is still running, water extraction on the floor below may be the first job.

Calling about a ceiling stain

Say what is above the stain, whether it is still growing, and whether the ceiling is sagging. Mention an attic water heater, a bath, or a roof. Keep the property address and a number we can call back within reach. Call (770) 830-3578.