We checked out a home where the home owner noticed water pooling on the floor by the kitchen. It was not evident where it was coming from. The home owner called a plumber to take a look. The plumber did some exploratory cuts downstairs checking for leaks from a sink or dish washer. Nothing definitive was found and so the search was continued in the bathroom above. Nothing conclusive was found here but it was stated that the bathroom may need to be torn out.
The customer gave us a call to start drying and to see if we had any ideas on where the source was coming from. We used our thermal camera and meters to determine the leak was isolated to the downstairs. Further analysis showed that it was coming from behind what looked like a patch on the wall. We asked the owner if that patch was recent and he indicated yes, from about a month ago. After cutting the wall it was discovered that a stray bullet had shattered a pipe which causes water to leak every time the owners' showered.
Needless to say, the owners were elated as they did not have to spend the time and money to unnecessarily tear out their upstairs bathroom.
At SERVPRO of Dallas Central, we have pretty good Sherlock Holmes skills.
