It was when I first developed my rain leak detection technology back in the San Fransisco bay area that I ran into the most excruciating leak finding project I have ever done. Even to this day!
A man in his mid 60's called me to find "a" leak that had been leaking for 42 years!
As a young whipper snapper that I was (about 29 years ago), I enthusiastically obliged in finding his "leak".
I knew my technology on how to find leak sources was solid- isolate and then terminate so I had no fear.
Well, it took about 20 minutes to find "it". I showed him then proceeded to terminate it.
After I terminated that specific source, I decided to retest the area and boom, water came in. I retested my repair and no water entered. Then I went to another spot and found another one. I terminated that one.
I retested the are and boom, water came in.
Mind you, this was a 3 story house and the water only appeared out of 1 knot hole in a beam right in front of the chair he would sit in to watch TV for 42 years! Quite a nuisance.
Well anyway, I proceeded to terminate this other source and then retested and boom, water came in!
I tested all my work and no water came in but this was another spot and again, they ALL showed up out of that notorious knot hole in the beam.
By this time I was getting a bit worried he might think I was poking holes in his house so I started dragging him up to the areas where water was coming in from so he would not think I was pulling a fast one on him.
I doggedly persisted in my technique of finding and terminating leak sources. This isolate and terminate procedure went on 12 more times!!! God almighty.
Well. when I was done, we had an el nino and much to his surprise, it was the first time in 42 years the water did not come out of that famous knot hole during the rain!
The moral of this story is persistence and using a standard leak finding technology till all sources are found and eliminated and only using FACTS, not opinions.
It was interesting that when I had him participate in my procedure, he was very understanding and very supportive of what I was doing as I could PROVE to him that what I was fixing actually needed to be fixed. I could prove it through visible evidence, not opinions.
I have had real odd leaks but this was the most arduous and excruciating leak finding project I have done and what do you know, it was the 3rd leak finding job I had ever done with my technique!
What a way to break in a young ambitious rain leak finder who developed a workable infallible technique!
A man in his mid 60's called me to find "a" leak that had been leaking for 42 years!
As a young whipper snapper that I was (about 29 years ago), I enthusiastically obliged in finding his "leak".
I knew my technology on how to find leak sources was solid- isolate and then terminate so I had no fear.
Well, it took about 20 minutes to find "it". I showed him then proceeded to terminate it.
After I terminated that specific source, I decided to retest the area and boom, water came in. I retested my repair and no water entered. Then I went to another spot and found another one. I terminated that one.
I retested the are and boom, water came in.
Mind you, this was a 3 story house and the water only appeared out of 1 knot hole in a beam right in front of the chair he would sit in to watch TV for 42 years! Quite a nuisance.
Well anyway, I proceeded to terminate this other source and then retested and boom, water came in!
I tested all my work and no water came in but this was another spot and again, they ALL showed up out of that notorious knot hole in the beam.
By this time I was getting a bit worried he might think I was poking holes in his house so I started dragging him up to the areas where water was coming in from so he would not think I was pulling a fast one on him.
I doggedly persisted in my technique of finding and terminating leak sources. This isolate and terminate procedure went on 12 more times!!! God almighty.
Well. when I was done, we had an el nino and much to his surprise, it was the first time in 42 years the water did not come out of that famous knot hole during the rain!
The moral of this story is persistence and using a standard leak finding technology till all sources are found and eliminated and only using FACTS, not opinions.
It was interesting that when I had him participate in my procedure, he was very understanding and very supportive of what I was doing as I could PROVE to him that what I was fixing actually needed to be fixed. I could prove it through visible evidence, not opinions.
I have had real odd leaks but this was the most arduous and excruciating leak finding project I have done and what do you know, it was the 3rd leak finding job I had ever done with my technique!
What a way to break in a young ambitious rain leak finder who developed a workable infallible technique!