Condensation “Raining on my parade”
Hey gang….
The house we are flipping recently came up with an interesting problem. Two story, open-beam ceiling with tile roof in the Sierra Foothills. We’ve put up walls, skim-coated, re-textured,etc., and lots of it during wet weather. About 2/3 days after it stops, at the PEAK of the ceiling it starts to collect condensation and drip down. It’s only when the sun comes out after the rain, not if it’s cold. I was up on the ladder, and the heat right at the peak of ceiling was definite. Starting to put flooring in, best recourse? If we turned ceiling fans on? Have to replace upstairs heat/ac unit during escrow, so can’t use that. It’s VERY annoying, (like being in a spring rain) not to mention a bit detrimental to flooring/selling/ etc. Thanks for any info, Beck
Replies
First guess: When the sun comes out it shines in the windows and heats up some surfaces that haven't dried out fully. This produces moisture which then condenses in some cool spot.
Second guess: Heating the roof somehow causes the tile expel moisture into the ceiling, where it condenses.
If the problem is something resembling the first guess the using fans to circulate the air should prevent the problem. Fans aren't likely to help a whole lot in the second case.
SOUNDS LIKE THE SAME PRINCIPALS OF ICE DAMING
measure the relative humidty in the house buy a cheap meter for radio shack
what type of roof is on the home
is there a vapor barrier under it
there are lots of questions as to the construction of the home
are there soffit vents
is there a ridge vent
does the existing roof rafters have the styrofoam baffles in them above the insulation to let the roof system breath
No soffit or ridge vents.....tile roof directly on top sheating/ceiling wood, meaning I do not think there is any insulation, could be wrong. Today wasn't as bad, as the evenings are warmer/dryer, so perhaps the moisture in the house is decreasing and the temps are evening out? Opening windows and running the ceiling fans are something we are trying. Thanks for info and thoughts. Will get meter to see what types of things it will tell us. Beck