Jump to content

Inadequate ventilation?


NJinspector

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

Todays' inspection, 17 year old home, bank owned , so I dont know how long it has been vacant.

Image Insert:

20071117223330_roof1.jpg

267.3 KB

Image Insert:

20071117223519_roof2.jpg

251.63 KB

Image Insert:

20071117223648_attic1.jpg

235.57 KB

Image Insert:

2007111722384_attic2.jpg

236.74 KB

Now, even though the shingles are worn, cracked and installed incorrectly, I dont think water is getting through to the attic. The only ventilation to the attic is the vinyl soffit vents. No gable vent installed or ridge . A power fan is installed but, disconnected.

Here is my question. If this is condensation surrounding the nail heads and turning the plywood black, why is it on only one side of the roof?

thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's hard to be conclusive even when you see things like recessed lights and fart fans venting into attics. I had posted a while back concerning L shaped duplexes where one attic was clear and the other darkened by mold. The only difference was the orientation to the prevailing winds. I've seen the same thing inspecting houses right next to each other that were oriented 90 degrees apart.

Usually when it's a fart fan issue or can lights I will see the mold or condensation artifacts clustered around them.

Also very often attic mold problems are from a wet crawlspace.

If the mold and condensation is pretty uniform then it's pretty likely in addition to any moist air leaking thru the ceiling assembly that the attic ventilation system is not performing for that house with that orientation to prevailing winds.

Chris, Oregon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jason,

I've seen similar damage on shingles that look very much like "yours" a couple of times. Your shingles are very similar to PABCO HO-25 or PABCO HZ-25 that had problems leading to a lawsuit (although probably not that particular manufacturer back east). The added dark shadow line is also indicative of these.

http://www.ho25settlement.com/product.php3

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stori ... 082&EDATE=

These Pabco shingles basically had overlay patches adhered to regular three tab shingles to give the appearance of architectural laminated shingles. You will notice the cracking is restricted to the overlays while the underlying 3-tabs look OK. I'm not sure what causes that but I suspect it has something to do with the way they are glued.

So...you may still have a ventilation issue, but the shingle cracking might be mostly due to a crappy product. If you know a good, experienced local roofer, show him the photos and ask him if there was a "history" with these in your area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Neal Lewis

No wonder I've never heard of Pabco. Seems they're only available West of the Rockies.

Yep...which is why I doubt that they are the same manufacturer...but there is this from one of the web sites:

As previously stated, similar products are known to have been sold by other companies prior to, during and after the same time period as PABCO HO-25 and PABCO HZ-25 shingles were sold.

IMO, they make for one butt ugly roof and Jason's sure like one of those "similar products". I probably haven't seen more of them just because they are so damn ugly.

I know that on one of the occasions my client got a new roof, but I don't know if the seller or Pabco paid for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those cracks look like one of the (several) issues I have found with the C'teed Horizon Shangles.

Here is my question. If this is condensation surrounding the nail heads and turning the plywood black, why is it on only one side of the roof?

Jason,

In our area it's very, very common to find that moisture only condenses under the north-facing roof slope. It's most common in homes that have perpetual moisture problems in the basement/crawlspace.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...