Finding water dripping from your ceiling is not a pleasant experience. If you don't attend to it quickly, you can end up with mold growth and major structural damage to your roof trusses. You need to fix it fast and prevent it from happening again. This could be caused by different failures and it's not always easy to find the source.
How can you tell what has caused this?
-Roof Leak
There is an obvious sign of roofing failure when you see water dripping every time it rains, or when you see it is always dripping from the same spot. Ask yourself how old your roof is. Based on the manufacturer's specification, has your roof lived through its age? If so you need to ask a professional roofer to completely redo your roof.
Also, have your roofer inspect your skylights. Skylights have a certain lifetime as well and can be a major source of leaks.
Another way to inspect your roof is to walk around your home to see if you see any shingles that decayed and fell down.
-Attic Condensation
But finding the source is not always this easy. What if you see water stains all through your top floor ceiling. Or you see water dripping when there is no snow on your roof and it is not raining.
That is when we suspect Condensation in the Attic has caused the failure. By going inside the attic we can check for the signs like wet insulation, wet roof sheathing, and ice build-ups.
Condensation happens when it is extremely cold outside and the heat and humidity from your home escape into your attic. If your attic is not well ventilated or insulated, that moisture condenses into water and later builds up into ice underneath the roof sheathing. As soon as it gets warmer, the ice melts and drops back down as water droplets.
If you see signs of condensation, by improving attic insulation and ventilation, you can eliminate this issue. Also, make sure your exhaust fans are properly vented outside. Higher than normal humidity level can cause condensation as well. If you have a humidity of 50% or more during winter, adjust the settings on your humidifier to reduce it.
-Window Caulking
Window Caulking can also be a source of leaks. If you experience water leaks around your windows, it would be a good idea to check the caulking around the windows.
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