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lisamaries_gw

Do all roof leaks cause mold?

lisamaries
18 years ago

Our house is over 1 yr old and we have a small roof leak. We discovered this leak on Saturday when we saw water dripping from behind the drywal (no visable damage to drywal on the walls) into our garage. This is the first time we noticed water in the garage that caused us to look up in the attic. We promptly went to the attic and found it. Since we can't get on our roof (snow covered and steep pitches) we used a temporary fix some type of caulk (recommended by our roofer neighbor) inside the attic that seemed to work until we can get on the roof (we do know the problem and how to fix it).

Here's my question- how concerned should I be about mold? My roofer neighbor is telling me that given the odd times a year that it snows/rains in that direction (we could count this on one hand) and the way that area that leaked is in a "cove" like which would probably be protected from rain in any other direction so it wouldn't have leaked often and since we're a cold weather climate, mold isn't going to grow especially given all the wind in our area-and if I was that concerened to just spray bleach in the attic where it happened. Its clear that it was a straight shot down one wall-except for the upstairs bathroom ceiling- which is right next to this leak- has about a size of your hand wet stain that is now dry and down the second floor to the garage floor on ground level. Again, there is no visable damage to the walls- no moist feeling/peeling paint, etc. I'd hate to tear down all our new drywal. Could we just remove the drywal in the garage and replace the installation? Or could we just drill holes in the drywall in the garage to air/dry it out? Or just spray bleach? Should I listen to my neighbor and not be that concerned about mold and just fix the leak?

P.S.- we were our own GC so we have no warranty to fall back on.

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