Condensation on my Cathedral Ceiling !!

[scesnick]

I have a 24ft cathedral ceiling in the livingroom area of my house (log home). yesterday I happened to notice A BUNCH of condensation on the T&G paneling up to the peak of my ceiling. It was pretty humid in my area for the last few days but I built this house in 2001 and this is the first time I have noticed this. It could have happened before but I'm not sure.

My house does have a ridge vent but I thought condensation was from lack of ventilation?? I have no air conditioning at all in my house. It just doesn't get hot enough ( usually) up on top of the mountain where I built. The T&G paneling has R-32 batt insulation behind it in the rafters.
It is hard to explain the layout of my house but the attic runs long ways on only one half of the house. the other half is cathedral. Would an attic vent/fan be a remedy for this problem?

 

[ray66v]

If you have a sudden temperature change, i.e. warm very moist air enters, it can condense on cold surfaces.

This happens in garages a lot, because you can open the door and effect a very fast temperature swing.

Is it possible a scenario with your windows being all opened up at once, and some windy damp air blowing in could have taken place?

 

[dave1949]

That's a new one on me. The condensation is on the ceiling, inside as I understand you. Moving air around with an indoor fan would help I think. Condensation occurs on a cool surface, so venting the attic doesn't seem like it would help. Unless you think the condensation occurs in the attic and drips through to the interior ceiling? How would the cathedral ceiling get so much cooler than the air below it?
Dave.

 

[scesnick]

That's a new one on me. The condensation is on the ceiling, inside as I understand you. Moving air around with an indoor fan would help I think. Condensation occurs on a cool surface, so venting the attic doesn't seem like it would help. Unless you think the condensation occurs in the attic and drips through to the interior ceiling? How would the cathedral ceiling get so much cooler than the air below it?
Dave.

Yes, the condensation is on the inside. I did open a few windows and turn on my ceiling fans and it did evaporate over night.
The cathedral ceiling does not have an attic above it. The attic is beside the cathedral ceiling ( very hard to explain my layout)
I'm just a bit worried that if this continues mold might become an issue.

 

[jinman]

I think I'd consider installing a small 115V window unit somewhere as a dehumidifier to be used in humid weather. That would pull a tremendous amount of humidity out of your house and should stop the problem. Are you sure it's condensation and not a leak? A heavy dew can produce a lot of moisture on a roof. Of course, if it were a leak, you should see it a lot worse when it rains, so condensation is the most likely culprit. Do you have any way of monitoring relative humidity inside your house. That should tell you a bit more info.

 

[scesnick]

I think I'd consider installing a small 115V window unit somewhere as a dehumidifier to be used in humid weather. That would pull a tremendous amount of humidity out of your house and should stop the problem. Are you sure it's condensation and not a leak? A heavy dew can produce a lot of moisture on a roof. Of course, if it were a leak, you should see it a lot worse when it rains, so condensation is the most likely culprit. Do you have any way of monitoring relative humidity inside your house. That should tell you a bit more info.

No, not a leak at all. It was sunny and very nice all day yesterday ( although a bit humid)
I am guessing you are talking about a small window unit A/C. No way of monitoring the humidity right now but I am going to look into it.

So, from what you guys are telling saying I don't need to worry all that much. It is just a hunidity thing and don't need to totally redesign the ventilation in my attic...

 

[/pine]

If the moisture is on the living side of the ceiling I would suggest a ceiling fan or some other way of getting some circulation in the upper portion of the room...

just curious...is ther any air space/venting above the insulation ?

 

[scesnick]

If the moisture is on the living side of the ceiling I would suggest a ceiling fan or some other way of getting some circulation in the upper portion of the room...

just curious...is ther any air space/venting above the insulation ?

I do have ceiling fans and yes there is air space above the insultaion. I put the styrofoam blue rafter vents in when I built the house.
Yes, the moisture is on the living area side. My mom was arguing with me that the roof had a leak and she was continually cleaning up water from the living room this past evening. I guess the fact thatit was sunny and 80 degrees all day didn't mean much to her, she still thought it was leaking. And in a way, she was right !! lol...

 

[Transit]

Any way to get a look at the insulation to see if it is wet? Wet insulation is useless and can damage the rafters. If you do install AC, install it as high as possible, hot air rises.

 

[gotrocks]

I have a 24ft cathedral ceiling in the livingroom

My house does have a ridge vent but I thought condensation was from lack of ventilation?? .

The T&G paneling has R-32 batt insulation behind it in the rafters.

Do you have eave vents between all rafters?
If not then the ridge vent cannot evacuate much hot air.

 

[Mousefield]

Make sure your dryer vent is venting outside properly, not damaged or plugged. Had a case were the tenants were complaining about high humidity and mold. Turned out they had moved the dryer a bit, that opened up the seam and it was sending lots of moisture into the home.

 

[inveresk]

Are you sure you can rule out a leak? Batt insulation can retain a lot of water and it could readily be released some time after a rainstorm. If there's no leak, do you have any water pipes in the roof void that might have a slow leak? If neither of these, the cavity might be bridged inhibiting ventilation. This can sometimes be checked with a flashlight and mirror or by removing a section of eaves soffit and inserting a cavity scope which you might be able to rent. Last resort is to open the area up. Depending on the roof finish, this can often be less disruptive to decor if opened up from the outside.

 

[beenthere]

Moisture in and on wood is something you sure should be worried about.

The next stage is decay (that follows with the mold). Often the large black carpenter ants will move into wood that is wet, and they are something to watch for in the near future.

As mentioned, check the vents in the eaves to be sure they are clear of debris and dust, and that air is flowing above the insulation and up to the ridge vent. If this ventilation is comprimised, the wet conditions can happen as described.

 

[dmccarty]

You might want to see if you can rent a moisture meter. Maybe one with a long probe to access the cathedral ceiling from the attic. It does not sound like you would be able to reach the peak of the ceiling from the attic space but if you had a leak you would think the water would run downhill towards that attic space.

Course this depend on how the ceiling was constructed. In our old house there was enough attic space over the cathedral ceiling that you could carefully get into. Not fun though.

If you can't get to the insulation side of the ceiling from the attic then use a probe moisture meter to poke through the drywall and see if there is water on the roof side of the ceiling. Sounds like you are going to need a very big step ladder from the same place that rents the moisture meter.

Later,
Dan

 

[Dennisfly]

Is something generating a lot of moisture in the house? Hot showers, cooking, a hot tub or spa? Are there vent fans in the bathrooms and kitchen, and do you use them? Is the house tightly sealed?

 

[scesnick]

Thanks for all the ideas guys. I did turn on the ceiling fans and the condensation quickly disappeared and hasn't returned.
I am 99.9% sure it wasn't a leak. It was very nice for a few days beforehand and the condensation was over a large area and not just one spot. You could clearly tell it was condensation.
My Mother was baby sitting the whole day for us and once I thought about it she was in fact cooking something and had the windows closed and ceiling fans off not to mention it was very himid and hot out that day. ( although my house stay pretty cool even without the fans or A/C.)
Hopefully this was a one time thing...

 

[futuresweets10]

Thanks for all the ideas guys. I did turn on the ceiling fans and the condensation quickly disappeared and hasn't returned.
I am 99.9% sure it wasn't a leak. It was very nice for a few days beforehand and the condensation was over a large area and not just one spot. You could clearly tell it was condensation.
My Mother was baby sitting the whole day for us and once I thought about it she was in fact cooking something and had the windows closed and ceiling fans off not to mention it was very himid and hot out that day. ( although my house stay pretty cool even without the fans or A/C.)
Hopefully this was a one time thing...

Any pics of the house? Was it a package, and if so, what company??

 

[beenthere]

Might have been a one time thing, but a good idea for you to find out if you are getting proper ventilation of that roof. Figuring out if there are working/open vents at the eaves that allow air to move over the insulation to the ridge vents would be what I would do in your case. If no ventilation, you will have expensive decay problems down the road.
(and if big black carpenter ants show up, they are an early predictor of rot/decay/wet wood as they don't move into dry wood).

 

[scesnick]

Any pics of the house? Was it a package, and if so, what company??

No pics right now. I did check the insulation behind the T&G and it was fine.

I don't really think there is a moisture problem with my logs. they are kiln dried and look to be in very good shape. I re stained my house just last summer and didn't notice anything to be concerned with as far as moisture.

 

[ray66v]

My Mother was baby sitting the whole day for us and once I thought about it she was in fact cooking something and had the windows closed and ceiling fans off not to mention it was very himid and hot out that day. ( although my house stay pretty cool even without the fans or A/C.)

Had you not insulated the roof so well, it would warm up, and not be able condense the warm damp air from infiltrating form outside, as well as the moisture created inside.

It's actually raining inside your house.

I would get a good humidity gauge, and monitor the humidity level inside.

You may need an air conditioner, or at lest a dehumidifier, at times, to keep the humidity controlled.