Did you ever have a problem where you thought perhaps you were the only one to have that problem and then come to find out once you mentioned it to someone, you found out that they had the same problem, and then you found someone else, and then someone else?

This could be related to a lot of things.

Maybe the most glaring of which is similarities with raising children – especially when they get to be teenagers – where you may believe that your kid is the only one who could possibly _______________ , but upon happening to mention the scenario to whomever the listening party may be, you are relieved to know you are not alone in this particular boat.

While this certainly can be related to a number of different areas, in home improvement there are endless examples.

One which we have come across more and more frequently as of late are folks with a hole in their ceilings.

On the surface, this may not seem very commonplace, but just as the teenager testing the boundaries of common sense, upon further investigation, this is a challenge that more people are working through than you may initially imagine.

Though often ignored as people pretend not to see it and maybe even feeling a bit ashamed (believe it or not) that they have this random hole in their ceiling, as they gradually begin to start to mention it in conversation, they may surprisingly begin to find out that they are not alone.

So, where the heck does this hole come from?

Although there are a number of possibilities, the one we usually run into is that there is a slow leak stemming from a bathroom above the ceiling.

Often (though not always) related to the plumbing, over time the water gradually does its damage, as it finds its lowest resting point on the backside of the ceiling and starts to eat away at the ceiling itself over a period of time – until a hole is formed.

When the hole is formed, it may or may not be noticeable at first.

There may not even be any “dripping water” per se that accompanies the hole, though it is not uncommon for ‘yellowish’ water staining to take place around the hole and its nearby vicinity.

A delay in addressing the hole may be nothing more than pure procrastination or it may be related to the fear of what correcting the problem that created the hole, as well as fixing the hole itself, may ultimately end up costing.

The challenge in kicking the can down the road is that mold could obviously begin to form and even in circumstances where the hole is tinier, airborne mold spores can begin to make their way into the living space below (clearly leading to potential health challenges which can be avoided with a bit more pep in one’s step!).

Getting to the root of the problem as quick as possible is beneficial and as difficult as it may be to believe in the moment, a hole in one’s ceiling is quite common and the situation can often be helped to be worked through as one’s homeowner’s insurance may be able to aid in covering the cost of the repairs.

Whether you are the type of person to jump on a discovered home improvement issue right away or the type that would pretty much let the hole expand until when glancing at the ceiling you are staring at the bottom of your bathtub, the sooner the hole is addressed, the better off you will be.