Condensation on ceiling

[atgcpaul]

Two days before Christmas the property manager for our rental house told us the renters reported a roof leak in the kitchen.  The area just had a bunch of snow and my first thought was that there is a leak possibly from the solar panels that are directly over the kitchen.  A roofer couldn't inspect the roof because there was still snow on it and then isn't available until Monday.  Subsequent rain on Christmas cleared the roof of snow and it has been dry outside for a couple days, but today (Sunday) the renters reported condensation on the other side of the house that isn't covered by panels.  As far as I'm aware, there are no water lines in the attic space;  all that appears to come up through the crawl space.

The roofer was updated with this information and while a leak hasn't been ruled out, now thinks it could be condensation on the ceiling possibly from inadequate insulation.  The home inspector didn't crawl up into this area of the attic only over the garage which was easily accessible.  The insulation there was adequate and there's a ridge vent that runs the length of the house.

No previous issues were disclosed when we bought but I can't imagine conditions are so different now from when the house was first built in 1985 that it's simply a condensation issue.  This is affecting the middle section of the house.  It at least partially shares attic space with the garage which also has a gable end vent.  The bedrooms are on the other end of the house and also has gable end vents but I don't know if the attics are connected.

Can ridge vents or soffit vents get clogged?  If there is no roof leak and it's purely a condensation issue, what should the remidiation plan be to fix this?  Complete replacement of the drywall and insulation and more venting and insulation?

Thanks,
Paul

   

   

   

[Roly]

Two days before Christmas the property manager for our rental house told us the renters reported a roof leak in the kitchen.  The area just had a bunch of snow and my first thought was that there is a leak possibly from the solar panels that are directly over the kitchen.  A roofer couldn't inspect the roof because there was still snow on it and then isn't available until Monday.  Subsequent rain on Christmas cleared the roof of snow and it has been dry outside for a couple days, but today (Sunday) the renters reported condensation on the other side of the house that isn't covered by panels.  As far as I'm aware, there are no water lines in the attic space;  all that appears to come up through the crawl space.

The roofer was updated with this information and while a leak hasn't been ruled out, now thinks it could be condensation on the ceiling possibly from inadequate insulation.  The home inspector didn't crawl up into this area of the attic only over the garage which was easily accessible.  The insulation there was adequate and there's a ridge vent that runs the length of the house.

No previous issues were disclosed when we bought but I can't imagine conditions are so different now from when the house was first built in 1985 that it's simply a condensation issue.  This is affecting the middle section of the house.  It at least partially shares attic space with the garage which also has a gable end vent.  The bedrooms are on the other end of the house and also has gable end vents but I don't know if the attics are connected.

Can ridge vents or soffit vents get clogged?  If there is no roof leak and it's purely a condensation issue, what should the remidiation plan be to fix this?  Complete replacement of the drywall and insulation and more venting and insulation?

Thanks,
Paul

Could the snow have melted and ran into the ridge vent ?    Roly

[John Mihich]

We have that issue right now - first time in 20 years we lived here.  What changed - I installed a whole house humidifier last year, my wife shut off the heat to that area and closed the door.  So what we have is a cold room with more humidity going into it.  We opened the heat just before the daughter got home this weekend.  My guess is that the walls were too cold and with the addition to humid warm air we go condensation on the ceiling.  We are going to let the doors and heat on to the 2 room this did it to. 

My guess for you - humid air??   maybe adjust it lower?

[EatenByLimestone]

Might be animals moving insulation or urine. Could be previous renovations removed insulation. I've seen lots of things happen in attics.

[branchacctg]

Long ago, had gutters clogged up and then filled with rain water which turned to solid ice during snow storm.  Melting roof snow flowed down into filled gutters and backed up under roof shingles causing water to flow inside.  Made sure that gutters are kept clean ever since.  Noticed gutters on your place, so thought I would mention this as a possibility.  Hope you solve your problem.

[atgcpaul]

Could the snow have melted and ran into the ridge vent ?    Roly

I guess anything is possible.  I'm not ruling anything out. I've got to leave that determination to the roofer.  I just feel helpless being thousands of miles away and trusting complete strangers to make the assessment.  I am happy so far with the property management (PM) company so far considering all this happened around Christmas.

My guess for you - humid air??   maybe adjust it lower?

We only lived in the house this summer but I do know the heating system has a humidifier.  I asked the PM to have the tenants check if that's on and to turn it off for now if it is.

Long ago, had gutters clogged up and then filled with rain water which turned to solid ice during snow storm.  Melting roof snow flowed down into filled gutters and backed up under roof shingles causing water to flow inside.  Made sure that gutters are kept clean ever since.  Noticed gutters on your place, so thought I would mention this as a possibility.  Hope you solve your problem.

The upper gutters were completely clogged (there's a huge birch to the left) but only the lower gutters had any covers on them.  This summer I cleaned all the gutters and put covers on them before we moved.  I'm hoping those covers are doing their job.  That tree was supposed to be trimmed at the beginning of December but the weather hasn't been cooperating.

When a roof is stripped, do the gutters have to come down first or can they stay on throughout the whole process?

[Robert Adams]

I have seen that happen here in Texas a on a few houses. Here the humidity is generally very high all year long with the few days of dry exception when a front first blows through then the humidity goes right back up so it can be around freezing and 80%+ humidity. You really need a dehumidifier nearly all year long here and I'll take dry air over humid air any day.
      Now add that to moisture put out by humans and animals cooking showers plumbing in general etc and a cold ceiling you get condensation up there.  

       Yours looks exactly like houses here when it's way too humid in the house. As for the gutters they do not get removed when you replace the roof as they are connected to the soffits and gutters are stupid expensive to have done. I was quoted 5K for ours and it wouldn't even do the entire house and it's only a one story 1700sqft+2 car garage house

[rwe2156]

I'll bet its the humidifier.

That much water coming through a ceiling would amount to a massive leak!

Beware the roofer - get a second opinion after more due diligence.

[joe1086]

Hmmmm.....ask them to tape some aluminum foil on the ceiling in a few affected places. That should tell you if it is a leak from above or room humidity.

[Cooler]

I have a crawl space under my garage slab.  Every time it rains in the summer the entire slab gets covered with water--not a littlebit- but like a giant puddle about 1/8" deep.   

I try to leave the garage door open as much as possible to facilitate drying out.  I would worry about mold. 

And in this case my main concern would be mold.  Either insulation or a fan would be my guess for a solution.