A landlord recently told me a story about how his condo in Natomas was flooded out by a prior tenant.
The tenant went to hang a small picture in the bathroom, and used a typical carpentry nail on the wall to hang the frame. Unfortunately, when the nail pierced the sheetrock, it also pierced the soft plumbing lines that ran through the walls, causing a spout of water inside the wall that went undetected until the unit was partially flooded.
If you have soft plumbing in your walls, it is imperative that you disclose this fact prominantly in your lease agreement, so that you can prohibit your tenant from piercing the affected walls (usually limited to kitchen and bathrooms) in any way.
Best wishes for a safe and leak-free holiday season.
That is just one of those things that you would not anticipate until it happens.
Ouch! Excellent post. Never occurred to me a nail can create plumbing problems. I'm going to re-blog this one into my property management blog. Thanks for sharing. :o)
As an option we allow the tenant to use the "no nail" hooks that secure to the wall using adhesive tape. They come off the wall clean, leaving no damage behind.
Hi Thomas,
Wow! That sounds just terrible! I bet the tenant must have felt just terrible...but not as terrible as the owner!
Don't forget me if you learn of anyone moving to "The OC!"
Michael
(949) 753-7900
Nail guards can keep this from happening. We have seen this. Sometimes it takes a year or so before the nail rusts out and the leak is detected.
Mt. Pleasant Plumber