Found a hidden water stain behind a vanity I built 3 years ago

I got a call from a client yesterday in Portland saying their cabinet base was starting to warp. Drove over and found a slow leak from their dishwasher that had been seeping behind the face frame for probably a year. The melamine I used on the interior was peeling bad. Has anyone else dealt with hidden water damage showing up way after the install?

3 comments

3 Comments

rose_clark819d ago

OH MAN that is the WORST! I had a similar thing happen with a built-in desk I did for a family friend. Took two years before they noticed the base pulling away from the wall and the plywood underneath was all swollen and gross. It was a tiny leak from a pipe in the wall, totally invisible until it was WAY too late. I felt SO bad because I thought I built it solid but water just finds a way no matter what. Now I ALWAYS put a thin plastic moisture barrier behind any cabinets near water lines, even if it feels like overkill.

mason_murray89d ago

Plastic barrier behind cabinets feels like overkill unless you've got exposed pipes running through the wall. Normal drywall already acts as a pretty good moisture shield for most small leaks. Seems like you're doing a lot of extra work protecting against something that rarely happens.

caleb_bell59d ago

Three years ago I helped a buddy pull out his entire kitchen because of a pinhole leak behind his dishwasher that took maybe six months to show any sign on the drywall. The drywall was soaked through and basically disintegrating, but it still kept most of the moisture trapped behind the cabinets where we couldn't see it until it was too late. So I actually think a thin plastic barrier costs like ten bucks and takes ten minutes, which feels like cheap insurance compared to ripping out cabinets and fixing rotted studs later. Drywall might slow down a slow leak but it's basically a sponge once it gets wet, not a shield.