Its raining in my house and my roof is new… What is going on?
HELP! I have water coming out of my can lights or wet spots on my drywall ceiling and my roofer says my roof is fine and not leaking! Or, my HVAC contractor says its condensation on my ducts and they said I need more insulation to stop this from happening…
Now, you call me and I say… that’s not the path I would recommend…. Here is what is happening and what needs to happen to fix it.
As much as I would love to sell you insulation, it is not the first step in figuring out what is going on and how to manage/ get rid of the problem.
The four things that need to be examined and fixed in your home to resolve the condensation issue you are seeing in the form of water pouring out of your ceiling lights/can lights.
First: What is the ambient humidity in your home? If the humidity level is super high meaning above 50, 60 or even above 70%, you need to get control of that before you do anything else.
Second: Are the bath fans working? Do you have bath fans? Do the fans connect to the roof and appropriately vent to the outside? Do the bath fans have humidity sensors that turn on automatically when they detect high humidity in your home? Bath fans are terrific ways to vent bulk moisture to the outside and will help manage this issue and in some cases solve the issue.
Third: if this condition is occurring during the winter, turn off the whole house humidifier until the condensation issue goes away and then slowly turn it back on but stop and reduce it again when you see humidity. It is amazing how many people call me after adding a whole house humidifier, never having seen humidity issues in their home and do not recognize that the humidity issue is self-inflicted.
In some cases this is caused due to new attic fans pulling moist and conditioned air into the attic where it condenses on nails in the attic and rains down on the attic floor. Are the nails in your roof rusty? Did this issue just start after another contractor added this attic fan? DON’T ADD ATTIC FANS TO YOUR HOME! See other blog all about attic fans.
The final step is adding more insulation…. do you need more insulation/ different insulation in your home? Insulation with an air seal will dramatically influence the loss of humidity meaning that you will need less humidity during the winter to feel comfortable and in the summer your HVAC will not need to work as hard to control indoor humidity because the house is air tight and will not allow the 80-90% humidity outside to influence the Comfort in your home.
Here are two links for you to understand and address these issues. Of course I am always happy to discuss these issues but it is critical that you address the above issues before considering insulation or even attic ventilation as part of the solution.
The first link is an explanation of condensation. People sometimes say, Tom it is impossible that this is a condensation issue, I fill a five gallon buck each day…. I have seen condensation fill a five gallon buck each day so… it is possible.
https://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/lessonplans/chapter2/lesson3
This is the best explanation of how to install a bath fan. The one thing not mentioned in this video is the humidistat. Its a pretty common feature of current good quality bath fans. The humidistat is also able to be added to an existing bath fan
If you have an existing and properly installed bath fan that lacks a humidity sensor, please see this link for an example of one option. https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electrical/switches-outlets-and-plugs/switches/3494168
Of course we are always happy to talk! Comfort is only a FOAM CALL AWAY! 847-987-3626Â
With ten years of experience selling spray foam insulation in Chicago, Tom Decker is THE person to call and the Chicago Green Insulation is the organization to hire when you are looking for top notch quality and performance as well as someone who can deal with the needs of code officials, home owners and general contractors. Call the others in Chicago, if you are interested in the cheapest price, call Chicago Green Insulation if you are interested in using your dollars to make Chicago a better city for all of us!
Chicago Green Insulation
Chicago Green Insulation
Chicago Green Insulation
Chicago Green Insulation
Chicago Green Insulation