Mushrooms Growing in Children's Bedroom: The Shocking Reality of Undetected Leaks

It sounds like a story from a horror film, but for one family in Pimpama, Queensland, it was a terrifying reality: mushrooms sprouting from the wall of their child’s first-floor bedroom. At 1300 FINDLEAK, we’ve seen the devastating aftermath of water ingress, but finding large fungi growing from a wall cavity is the ultimate alarm bell, signaling a severe, long-term structural and health hazard.

We were called to the Residences Circuit property, a modern two-level duplex, to investigate chronic water ingress, which reportedly worsened during heavy, wind-driven rain. Our thermal imaging confirmed an active leak immediately, but the visual damage told the full story: severe destruction to plaster, skirting, and flooring, compounded by the undeniable growth of mushrooms pushing out from between the window frame and the wall cavity. This biological growth confirms the wall structure had been saturated for a considerable time.

The key to solving this was not just documenting the damage, but finding the hidden entry point. The window itself was compliant, so the source had to be higher. We deployed a drone inspection of the upper exterior facade, which is essential for safely checking high-risk areas like the boxed columns and roofline gables.

The drone located the critical, invisible defect: a large, open fracture between the decorative gable and the adjacent foam wall section, positioned directly above the affected bedroom. This crack was a clear and direct pathway for wind-driven rain to bypass the exterior and flood the wall cavity, tracking down to the first-floor window footing and creating the ideal environment for the mushrooms to thrive.

The Pimpama case is a dramatic lesson: a small, cosmetic fracture in a high-level facade can quickly turn into a massive health and structural issue. Our immediate recommendation was a precision repair to seal this fracture and a thorough verification of all high-level flashing and aprons.

Don’t wait until your home turns into a terrarium. If you see any signs of water ingress, especially during or after wind-driven rain, call 1300 FINDLEAK immediately. We use cutting-edge technology to find the hidden source before you find a mushroom growing out of your skirting board.