I own a rental house and recently noticed some weird marks and cracks appearing on the ceiling, as reported by my real estate agent. It's a single-story home, and I'm trying to figure out who to call for help. My real estate agent suggested I contact a plumber, but I'm wondering if that's the right choice. Should I actually be calling a roofer instead? Also, once the leak is fixed, what should I consider doing about the damage to the ceiling? Here's a low-res photo the agent provided: [link](https://imgur.com/QLR4ak1). Thanks for your guidance!
3 Answers
If there aren’t any water pipes in your ceiling, you definitely need to call a roofer. Plumbers deal with leaks related to plumbing, not roofs. Once the leak is repaired by the roofer, you can hire a painter to apply a stain blocker and repaint the ceiling to make it look good again.
Just looking at the stain won’t tell you much about the leak. You might need to dig a little to see what’s truly causing it. Water can travel, so check the entire area around the stain. If it's not a pipe or AC issue, a roof leak is likely the culprit. It’s best to get a professional to take a look and fix the problem. After everything’s sorted, a painter can come in to patch up the ceiling.
You need to find out what’s causing the leak first since it could be due to a few different reasons: a roof leak (call a roofer), plumbing issue (plumber), or even HVAC problems. If you're not close enough to check yourself, I’d suggest getting a handyman to investigate. After fixing the leak, you might just need a painter; but if accessing the leak requires cutting through the ceiling, you’ll want a pro to handle the repairs.
Thanks for confirming! I thought I was on the right track, but since we had asked about a plumber a couple of times, I started second-guessing myself.