Frozen loft? PICS

[mmxmags]

i started getting a problem in my loft in November, everytime it rained it would drip from every nail hole in the loft.

This now happens every time it rains.

Now there is snow and my loft is frozen.

The house has instalation and the loft is vented

A lot of the timber is also very wet and looks to have white mold?

Any ideas, please

Untitled

• mmxmags
• 28 Dec 2009
• 2

Untitled

• mmxmags
• 28 Dec 2009
• 2

Untitled

• mmxmags
• 28 Dec 2009
• 1

Untitled

• mmxmags
• 28 Dec 2009
• 1

 

[JohnD]

it looks like it has close boarding under the tiles.

tell us how the loft is ventilated

is the insulation pushed into the eaves?

your house may be rather damp. tell us how you ventilate the bathroom and kitchen; if you hang wet washing about the house; if you have water tanks in the loft are they cold and covered with lids? Do you have holes in the ceiling into the loft, for example for downlighters, pipes or a loose hatch?

//www.diynot.com/wiki/building:condensation_in_houses

 

[mmxmags]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

There are vent around the edges of the loft (sorry dont know the correct name)

I dont have any damp in the house, the house is around 40 years old.

Bathroom is vented with a fan and the kitchen is also vented with a fan. I have a tumble dryer thats vented outside and dont dry washing on the radiators.

I have no holes in the loft.

I have the cold water tank in the loft but in not sure if it has a lid as ot is too high up

The loft was fine before november and i havnt had a problem before in the loft.

the house is end terrace with a three pitch roof

 

[JohnD]

can you look at the size of the vents please? they should be on the opposite sides to encourage a throughflow of air.

see if you can pull the insulation away from the pitched sides to encourage airflow.

is there a brick gable wall at one end of the loft?

is you loft separated from next door's, and is there any sign that theirs is overly humid?

there might be a small water tank for the central heating boiler as well, see if that is cold and lidded. If you feel over the sides of the large cod water tank you will be able to tell if it has a lid

photos of any tanks and pipes will help.

As you can tell, I suspect excessive humidity is the cause.

do you get steam or water on your windows in winter?

 

[mmxmags]

i cant get to the tank at all, its too high. I will pull back the instulation from the edges and get the size of the vents.

The loft is seperate from next door and the wall looks dry.

I do get wet windows in the morning but i do ventelate by opening the windows until they are dry.

I had a roofer come out and he said it would be missing titles causing the problem.

I had no problems in the loft last winter.

I will get some pictures of the tank today.

 

[JohnD]

your roofer may be right, though he could be biased to look at roof problems. Close boarded lofts are rare down south, but where I have seen them, a leaking tile usually shows as a very localised dark or mouldy patch on the timber.

If a loft is well-ventilated it will usually keep itself dry. Consider a wet blanket hung up out of the rain, with a bit of a breeze it will dry out in a day even if it holds a great deal of water. Usually a wet loft is due to one or both of excessive humidity (usually rising from a damp house, especially bathrooms or wet washing; otherwise by steaming water tanks in the loft due to a fault) and/or poor ventilation, often caused by thick insulation blocking the eaves.

Occasionally a house is damp due to high ground water or plumbing leak under the ground floor. In a terrace of houses this leak may be in one of the other houses. If you sniff at the floorboards or lift one where they are loose and uncarpeted (perhaps under the stairs) you may be able to tell if it is damp under there. Water vapour is lighter than air so rises through the house until something stops it. It is worth asking your neighbours if they are getting wet lofts as well.

 

[datarebal]

To me it looks like it might be a slated roof ,slates being nailed directly to the boarding. As it's only 40 years old it was probably felted with a bitumen based felt laid directly onto the boards.. Not a good idea.
If tiled same applies..

It will not be a mising tile problem

If this is the case then you will get sweating and condensation. It could be tricky to sort this but the first step is increase ventilation.

Any chance of an external picture?

 

[alittlerespect]

Simple answer - you have a condensation problem!

Cause - The insulation is making the roof space a hell of a lot colder than it was prior to the insulation being installed.

Effect - warm air (which holds more moisture than cold air) comes into contact with the cold air and cold surfaces of the loft space and the temperature of the air drops and eventually the air reaches its dew point (saturation level) and moisture/condensation is deposited on the surfaces. Its likely that you are also getting some interstitial condensation in the timber feather edge boarding (sign of a quality build).

Solution - Take up insulation material and lay a vapour proof membrane over rafters and across ceiling and reinstate insulation. The vapour proof membrane needs to be on the warm side of the insulation and will keep most of the vapour in the warm air on the warm side of the insulation and will not cause any problems (at least thats the theory - if nothing else it should reduce your problem). Also consider insulating and draught proofing the loft hatch (if not already done!) as this can be an easy route for warm air to enter the loft space.

One additional option would be to introduce more ventilation into the loft space, but I would leave this for another day, however, I have just had a thought that it may be that the insulation material has closed of the existing eaves vents - perhaps someone thought they were getting rid on an unwanted draft! And it would be a good idea to check this out!

Regards

 

[libby lou lou]

Not a roofer nor insulation expert, i grow plants, but, believe me, ventilation is VERY VERY important.