"Turns out a tiny hairline crack in one of the pipes was expanding slightly when hot water ran through it, then contracting again when cold."
Man, reading this gave me flashbacks. Had something similar happen in a rental property a couple years back. Tenant kept reporting random water spots on the ceiling downstairs, but every time I went to check it out—nothing. Inspection cam showed zilch, and I was starting to think they were imagining things or spilling water themselves.
Finally, after weeks of chasing ghosts, I decided to just open up the ceiling. Sure enough, there was this tiny pinhole leak that only dripped when the upstairs shower ran hot for more than 10 minutes. Talk about sneaky... Inspection cams are handy tools, but sometimes you just gotta trust your gut and get hands-on.
Congrats on the earthquake-proofing success though—that's impressive stuff. Always feels good when your prep work actually pays off in real life.
Your pipe story made me chuckle because it reminded me of a job I had last summer. Client kept hearing this mysterious "dripping sound" at night but never found any water damage. I spent hours checking pipes, fittings, faucets—nada. Turned out it was condensation dripping inside the AC ductwork when the humidity spiked at night. Sneaky indeed... Glad your earthquake-proofing held up though, must be a huge relief to see your hard work pay off.
Haha, sneaky condensation strikes again... Reminds me of when I spent two days chasing a phantom creak in my reno project—turned out to be a loose floorboard I overlooked. Props on the earthquake-proofing, must feel awesome seeing your work actually survive real-world tests.
"Reminds me of when I spent two days chasing a phantom creak in my reno project—turned out to be a loose floorboard I overlooked."
Been there myself, and it's always those tiny oversights that eat up the most time. Good job on the earthquake-proofing though—it's one thing to follow code, but another entirely to see your work hold up under actual stress. For anyone else tackling similar projects, I'd recommend double-checking your bracing and anchor bolts thoroughly during framing. Easy to overlook, but critical when things start shaking...
Haha, loose floorboards are sneaky little devils, aren't they? Curious though—did you find any particular bracing method worked better for you? I've seen some people swear by shear walls, while others prefer moment frames. Personally, I've found shear walls easier to integrate into residential projects, but maybe that's just me. Always interesting to hear what actually holds up when things get shaky...
