# Wood a little wet on attic side, is it normal?



## xusword (Feb 6, 2011)

Hi

I had my roof done this summer. There has been pretty huge rain and quite a bit of snow this year and I haven't noticed any leaked yet.

As of now, there's a lot of snow on top of my roof. Yesterday, I went into the attic to check on the insulation. I have notices parts of the deck are a little wet. Places where there are ventilation are fine and pretty dry. The only wet part is the inside of the top of the roof. Everywhere else are dry as far as I can tell.

I am not sure if I convey adequately. There are some pictures:

















There's also this interesting situation where the roofing nail is covered with ice.






My question is, is it normal? Should I call up my roofer?


----------



## oldognewtrick (Feb 6, 2011)

The links to the pics don't work, sounds like you have a moisture build up problem. Improper ventilation will trap warm moist air, condense on the cold attic decking. You should not see any moisture or ice in the attic, call your roofer back. What did they do about ventilation? Air intakes at the sofit (where the gutter is) and exits at the high point of the attic (ridge).

Oh, and welcome to House Repair Talk.

You can attach pics from youur computer, look for the *manage attachments* on the screen where you post a reply.


----------



## xusword (Feb 7, 2011)

thanks

Pictures are up.

This look more like leak than moister build up though


----------



## oldognewtrick (Feb 7, 2011)

Is this showing up on a low slope roof area?


----------



## xusword (Feb 7, 2011)

As far as I can tell - No, they are not showing up on the low slope area, only the top (or maybe i should say the tip)

There's definite some dripping going on as the insulation below where I took the picture appears to be moist as well.

I wonder how the water got in there.


----------



## joecaption (Feb 7, 2011)

I do not see a ridge vent.
Here's what may be happening. There's not insulation in the attic for one thing. Hot moist air gets into the attic, as the hot air rises it condenses on the plywood.
There needs to be soffit vent that are not covered over with insulation and a ridge vent the across the whole length of the peak of the roof. If not there's no way for the hot air to get out.
An attic should be about the same temperature as the outside air, if it's warm up there then there's not enough insulation.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_insulation_table


----------



## designer-fixit (Feb 7, 2011)

a very small amount of moisture is acceptable but that does look like just alittle too much moisture. What area do you live in? does your roof get covered in snow? that may be part of the problem or even if gather large amounts of ice on your roof. you'll end up with rot and mold. the layer of tarpaper should have stopped the water from seeping through


----------



## xusword (Feb 7, 2011)

Thanks for all the reply.

If I had to guess, I would say it is water seeping in and not condensation. Our attic is pretty well insulated.

I live in Toronto, Canada. There is a big amount of snow on the roof right now.

At this point I am worried about mold as a long term affect.

I have called up the roofer and he said that he wouldn't be able to tell what's going on by just looking at the attic and he will have to wait until the weather gets better to check on my roof instead.

I am thinking of getting a second opinion. Is it true that he can't tell what is going on by looking at the attic? After all, it is where the water comes in.


----------



## oldognewtrick (Feb 7, 2011)

He should be there tomorrow to see where it's wet. He may not be able to get on the roof, but to show good will he should make your concerns a priority. Part of installing a roof is installing confidence after the installation.


----------



## joecaption (Feb 16, 2011)

Wind powered turbines only vent in one round area, there never mounted at the peak of the roof where the hottest air is, hot air stays trapped in between the rafter bays, over time there going to rust up and start to make noise, and there just plan ugly.
A ridge vent sits at the very top on the peak of the roof and vents every single bay, never needs maintaince, is not unsightly, will not rust or make noise.


----------



## xusword (Feb 18, 2011)

oldog/newtrick said:


> He should be there tomorrow to see where it's wet. He may not be able to get on the roof, but to show good will he should make your concerns a priority. Part of installing a roof is installing confidence after the installation.



Thanks

I wasn't able to get him to come, and it might not be that necessary because I have just checked. The dripping seems to have stopped and all insulation was dry at this moment.

It seems that although the deck is still a bit wet on the inside, the water dripping was not that severe.

However, I would definitely have him fix it so all moisture is kept out.


----------



## oldognewtrick (Feb 18, 2011)

Are the rafters that you show in the pics in the middle of the roof or against a wall?


----------



## Roofmaster417 (Feb 22, 2011)

Is this still haunting you? I talked with you on the other forum,the last thing that was said is he was supposed to come by.


----------

