Rim Job Advice Sought

Over the last couple of days I noticed a floor joist squeaked quite a bit when it was walked on. This wasn’t one of the usual squeaks I am accustomed to so this morning after dropping off my nine year old at school I decided to venture under the crawl space to see if I could figure out what was going on.

That particular joist was on the low clearance side of the house where one has to literally scoot along the dirt to reach. It took me about 15 minutest to get there scooting on my back. I shined the light around didn’t see anything that looked unusual and was about to leave when I decided to feel the insulation between floor joists that cover the rim joist and it was soaking wet.

I pulled the insulation off to reveal the black wet and mushy rim joist. I also found a rotted hole in the floor going all the down from the kitchen (area under the dishwasher) to the crawl space. I decided to peel the insulation off for about 15 feet down the rim joist and it was black about 12 feet down from the spot you see although it got progressively less black is it moved away from the spot where the hole is. In addition the first inch or two of 3-4 of the floor joists that tie into this rim joist are soft and full of moisture when I knocked on them with a pry bar.

Anybody have any experience with this type of repair? I suspect if the damage is confined to the area I can see the following will need to be replaced or removed:
About 15 foot of rim joist.
The floor joists can probably be reinforced.
Unfortunately there is a ceramic tile floor over the top of this problem spot and I suspect this will have to be demoed and replaced.
The kitchen Cabinets/Countertops will need to be removed.
There is a wooden deck on the other side of that rim joist so that will probably have to go too.
Finally the siding will have to be removed from the backside of the house.


I don’t think Home Depot did such a good job installing that dishwasher a couple of years ago. I’ll let the homeowners insurance duke it out with them.

I strongly suspect once the back siding is removed they will find that the water wicked all the way up the wall insulation and will reveal several studs which may need replacing and then the drywall and insulation on the other side.

If it was me, I'd get home owner's insurance involved and hope they cover it and get some professionals in to fix it.

With all the real problems you have going on in your life, you surely don't need this crap, too. Hang in there!

Yes, I am calling homeowners Monday it should be covered because it is water damage because of a leak. I am going to try and have a contractor out this weekend to get an idea what we are looking at so I know what to tell the insurance company.

Ah, so malibber2 DOES believe in insurance!

Wood, water and black.... dude be on the lookout for mold. If you have mold, that can get expensive to remove/repair.

Yes, I do as I don’t have $12,500 out of pocket a year on homeowners. So yes reasonable insurance with reasonable premiums and a $500 out of pocket max is great. I also don't have to worry about finding contractors that will accept the insurance company's payment.

I'm not sure your homeowner's insurance will cover any of it. I believe homeowner's insurance is for sudden and accidental events (like a fire, a water pipe breaking, someone falling off a ladder, etc.)

A water pipe did break. I'm not sure HO will cover it but I certainly wouldn't start tearing things up until they make their determination.

If my theory is correct the drain pipe came detached or was never attached properly when they put that new dishwasher in 2 years ago. It went undetected because it was under the cabinets and drained down into the floor. Of course I won't know if it is covered until I fill the claim. Don't worry I won't rip anything up until I get ok from the insurance company.

Chilcoot that was a really cheap shot do you have to politicize everything? Do you enjoy others misfortune?

Now back On topic. My neighbors just had damaged repaired from a water line on the fridge , it also went undetected for a lengthy period and they had mold. It was very,very pricy but other than the deductible insurance covered everything. Good luck it is a lengthy process.

I have to edit and add loved the title of the post, water damage was not exactly what I thought the topic was going to be. My smile for the day.