How long is a contractor warranty?

[Toni]

Someone asked if I made sure the exhaust fans were vented correctly to the roof. My son took a peek and he couldn't see the one bathroom vent tubing. This might be the cause but the roof still got covered.

[Marc Martyn]

A couple of questions-

When did you first notice the leaking? Was it after the first heavy rain?

Did the leaking start after the humidity raised in the fall, i.e. foggy days and nights

Did you insulate the attic the same time you put a new roof on?

Did they install new plywood when they did the roof? If so, is it CDX (exterior grade plywood)?

Was it inspected?

From the looks of the attic picture, it appears that the insulation goes over the soffit. There is baffling installed, but doesn't give much space for air movement. If you can, check to see if the soffit vents aren't covered up with insulation. If there is not sufficient ventilation in an attic, in some severe cases, moisture can build up in the attic space and it can literally rain from build up condensation.

It is difficult to diagnose something without seeing it first hand. I would highly suggest getting a couple of opinions from well respected roofing contractors in your area. Have two or three look at the entire roof and the attic. Find out what the problem is then contact the county housing office with a accumulated professional evaluation.

Here is a site that explains condensation in attics.

http://www.ehlawrence.com/Condensation.php

[Toni]

A couple of questions-

When did you first notice the leaking? Was it after the first heavy rain?

Did the leaking start after the humidity raised in the fall, i.e. foggy days and nights

Did you insulate the attic the same time you put a new roof on?

Did they install new plywood when they did the roof? If so, is it CDX (exterior grade plywood)?

Was it inspected?

From the looks of the attic picture, it appears that the insulation goes over the soffit. There is baffling installed, but doesn't give much space for air movement. If you can, check to see if the soffit vents aren't covered up with insulation. If there is not sufficient ventilation in an attic, in some severe cases, moisture can build up in the attic space and it can literally rain from build up condensation.

It is difficult to diagnose something without seeing it first hand. I would highly suggest getting a couple of opinions from well respected roofing contractors in your area. Have two or three look at the entire roof and the attic. Find out what the problem is then contact the county housing office with a accumulated professional evaluation.

1) Saturday
2) Don't know when it started
3) No new insulation
4) No new plywood
5) Inspected by the Pierce County Housing (not inside)

Are soffit those round holes that has screening over it?

[Marc Martyn]

Most likely. They are openings on the underside of the eave. If they are covered up, air movement will be restricted or stopped. The air enters through the eaves and exists through the roof vents.

Make sure these are not covered up and that the bathroom fans are vented to the outside of the house.

I may be wrong, but looking at the pictures the roof doesn't look all that bad. Since the problem just started, I am suspecting condensation build up. It got real cold recently. If there was moisture in the attic it might have frozen, causing frost. When the weather warmed up, the frost melted and it formed a lot of water.

This is just a suggestion for you to use in investigating the cause of the problem. Keep us posted......

[Marc Martyn]

Here is a little video explaining venting an attic. It is pretty basic and also shows how to add more vents if needed.

http://www.easy2diy.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_ ... d=35720174

[Toni]

Thank you Marc, those were informative. I will have to get up there and try to look. If there is indeed no ducting this might have been the problem.

[Marc Martyn]

Toni, I looked up Graham on the Weather Underground and pulled up the history for the year. Your coldest days started on the 7th and it started warming up on Saturday. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you can see the temperatures.

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstat ... hspan=year

If like I said before, you had frost building up in the attic, it would have started melting on Saturday.

Now, if the bathroom fan is not vented, you need to get that done immediately. There are two ways that you can do this.

Attach galvanized vent pipe (same size as the fan outlet, either 3" or 4" to the fan and extend it up to the closest roof vent.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053

Be sure to wear a good pair of gloves when working with this pipe. It has very sharp edges and can cut you quickly and deeply. (Been there, done that!)#-o

You can suspend the pipe with metal strapping (plumbers tape) from one of the rafters. Make sure the end of the pipe ends directly under the roof vent. The fan will blow the moist air out the roof vent.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053

The other way is to cut a hole in the roof and install a fan vent cover. This is more costly if you have someone install it for you. I have my fans vented up to the existing roof vents and have had no problems.

Do not use flexible drier hose. It can collect condensation inside and begin to sag, forming pools of water in the hose.

[Toni]

Marc, Thank you for all this research. Go to page one of this thread and look at the roof vents, the low ones are the kitchen (closest to us in the picture) and the next one is for the bathroom. Now that I think of it, they were all (vents) replaced when the roof was put on. So the contractor did not hook it up again if it is not there. If it has fallen it should still be there. I will have to do this after work tomorrow. Check it all out.
Thank you.
Now if this is it, how do I dry it out?

In the one picture of the plywood there is cardboard at the bottom. This is what was put by the soffit to keep the insulation away from it.

[Toni]

It is where they put the nails it is very important here is a little help...

My daughters boyfriend said the nails were ok. He explained what "course" was. I thought it was the course the water follows as it goes down the roof. The picture can be deceptive. The shingles look closer together where you marked the course. They are the same as the others.

[Marc Martyn]

Marc, Thank you for all this research. Go to page one of this thread and look at the roof vents, the low ones are the kitchen (closest to us in the picture) and the next one is for the bathroom. Now that I think of it, they were all (vents) replaced when the roof was put on. So the contractor did not hook it up again if it is not there. If it has fallen it should still be there. I will have to do this after work tomorrow. Check it all out.
Thank you.
Now if this is it, how do I dry it out?

In the one picture of the plywood there is cardboard at the bottom. This is what was put by the soffit to keep the insulation away from it.

First, when up in the attic, do not walk on the insulation above the sheet rock ceiling. Walk only on the ceiling joists. The sheet rock will likely break or pop the nails holding it to the joists.

The most important thing now is to reattach the vent pipe to the vent. This will reduce the amount of moisture going into the attic area, especially from the bathroom.

If the soffit vents are unobstructed, then normal air flow from the soffit to the roof vents will eventually reduce the trapped moisture in the attic. A warm sun on the roof will help a great deal.

You can also leave the attic access panel open for a while. This will be another avenue for air to circulate from. If the attic area is real wet, then maybe put a box fan up there set on low to move air around.

Once the bathroom and kitchen fans are vented, keep an eye on it by checking it each day. If it doesn't start drying out a few days after the fans are vented, you may want to try the box fan. If the wood and insulation remain wet for too long, then you will end up with mildew problems. Let us know how your progress goes.

And Toni, most of all, don't lay in bed at night staring at the ceiling. All that will accomplish is making you real tired the next day. If you correct the ventilation issues, most likely the moisture problems will go away.

[Toni]

UPDATE: On further inspection it doesn't appear that the bathroom exhaust is the problem. The contractor is coming out tomorrow to take a look. I have also called my insurance agent to see how that process goes.
It doesn't seem to be as damp but there is a huge tarp over it now.

[Marc Martyn]

Keep us informed. Is this the same contractor that did the installation?

[Toni]

Yes, the ones that did it. They also thought it was the exhaust fan when I explained.

[G-Man]

Great advice on this thread so far. In the early 90's my girlfriend had moved into some newly remodeled town homes. In the middle of fall that first year I was putting somethings in the attic for her and noticed lots of moisture and mold starting to grow. A little investigation showed that the dryer vent went up into the attic but did not vent to the outside! A quick check with the rest of the owners showed the same thing. How that ever managed to get past multiple inspectors is beyond me. Hopefully your issue turns out to be an easy fix.

[saltyseadog]

i remember my dad telling me this story about a guy out here on Camano that built a brand new house and vented the dryer in the garage lol:-$ what a moron

[Toni]

The contractors came out and said that it looked like it may have been the soffits were clogged with insulation on the east side of the house. So have my son go up and get the insulation away from them. So he did and said that the cardboard that is there won't let the insulation near them. So this isn't the reason unless cobwebs over the soffit holes are blocking it.
They thought it was condensation, also.
Some of the shingles are curling up and they said that the wind may catch them and blow them off at a later date.

[Toni]

Does anyone know a reputable roofing contractor in the Puyallup area? That is bonded and insured.

[Marc Martyn]

Once you get a couple of names, check to see if they are current on their license, insurance and bond. Enter in the information on them and the site will tell you if they are currently licensed. It also shows any suits that were filed against them.

http://www.lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/C ... ?WT.svl=QL

[Marc Martyn]

If the soffit vents are round, check them and make sure that birds haven't built nests up in them. Swallows are notorious for building nests in soffits. Nests will block the vents.

[Anonymous]

If the soffit vents are round, check them and make sure that birds haven't built nests up in them. Swallows are notorious for building nests in soffits. Nests will block the vents.

No, just cobwebs. Thank you for the web site on checking out contractor licenses.