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Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Help me internet, and/or laugh at another poor sucker owned by home ownership. It's a good excuse to take my mind away from dealing with family holiday drama.

The problem is a defect in an addition (ca. 1990s). Something about the design and/or the execution of the addition has caused water to get into structural elements. The rafters have been replaced. Twice (1999 and 2015). There is currently a large quantity of water (maybe a liter or more) in a section of rafters/roof decking, and more is accumulating/passing through.

The evidence is subtle enough that it can be overlooked or shrugged off. In the summer everything is dry, and staining is hidden or small. Now that it is winter water is accumulating, but only flows when conditions are right. I'll show you.



This is the back of the house in April after moving in. The problem is above the :( on the side wall of the kitchen addition. On the interior side of that wall, there was a small stain on the ceiling drywall when we moved in. This spot dripped a few weeks ago after a warm (mid 30s F) period following a cold period. Here's a view of that area-



The dripping is just uphill of the skylight, next to the wall. The stain is too small to see from here. (The trim is pulled down a bit from me poking around) The roof above this is much warmer than the rest of the roof, as evidenced by snow melting there



On the exterior side of that wall, there is an eave with a removable soffit vent. A section of the soffit is clearly new boards, presumably from the 2015 job. The pattern of replaced boards matches the pattern of moisture visible today.



Looking behind the soffit vent in April, there was moldy decking (which is 5 years old). Looking in there now there is visible frost and liquid water. Also, a large icicle forms behind the fascia board, which is water flowing from the rafters/decking. Here are views of those areas.

Looking downhill

Looking uphill

The icicle on the right is the bad one

iciles on gutter aren't great. icicles on front of fascia are a bummer. icicle on back of fascia major bummer

The roof style and insulation is something like this


Album: https://imgur.com/a/MCHj4zI

So, I'm fairly confident there is still a serious issue. I'm also moderately confident that it is caused by interior air flowing into these spaces. I could continue trying to diagnose the issue, and/or start coming up with a plan to fix it. But I'm not sure what the next step is. Find a contractor to do the fix? What kind? Or do I pull off the interior trim to look for more clues? Is there a pro that will help diagnose this issue?

Epitope fucked around with this message at 02:49 on Dec 15, 2020

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Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Details about the house
Built in the 50s. On a slope, basement foundation, walk out on the front side (south side). Top floor is at ground level on the back (north side). Single gable roof, ridge in the center running east west. Vaulted ceilings, no attic. There is a ridge vent and soffit vents, but they are likely part of the problem/solution. The original roof is low angle, asphalt roll material.
There are three additions, two of which are part of the problem area. I don't know if they were all done together. I believe they were added in the 90s.

Addition 1 is the loft, so the original roof was removed. This addition is adjacent to the problem area, but may not be the source of the issues.
Addition 2 is a kitchen expansion. This is where there are serious design flaws, or at least risky choices. Issue 1, the addition is in the back, and extends beyond the original foundation. Cantilevered I think you call this? The outside corners are on sonotube. There's not enough space to crawl under, but you can reach under. Issue number 2, there are skylights and further they are at the corner of the roof. This means no eave around this section. If money and remodel time were not factors, I'd get rid of the skylights tomorrow.

Details about contractors. I enjoy DIY, but I have no qualms about paying for a pro to do this. Just want them to actually fix it, and I have yet to meet one who will pay attention and actually think about what is going on. The previous owner paid for a six figure roof job, so clearly throwing money at it is no guarantee. He also sued the owner before, alleging faulty work.The home inspector was a joke, but I've had two roofing companies look, another home inspector, many contractor friends, and now an energy auditor with an infrared camera. Nobody has a diagnosis.Who else can I call? An engineer?

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer

Motronic posted:

What exactly does this mean? Because it sounds like you need a new roof - a competently done job with appropriate sheaving replaced, ice shield installed, flashing fixed/replaced/augmented, etc.

And then some other things too maybe? I'm not quite sure from your post.

You're not wrong, the roof crew was clearly sloppy. The gutter that drains from the problem area is not sloped properly, so water pools at the non- downspout end. There's wrinkles in the roofing material. They didn't seal the roofing material to the drip edge completely. The drip edge is just thrown on, doesn't overlap the gutter right, lots of places where water runs down the fascia.
However, it's not just a problem with that stuff. Rain doesn't get up into the decking/rafters, at least not much. Ice dams can run uphill, so that could be part of it. There is membrane on the decking, though we can't assume it was applied correctly.The roof above the sky lights isn't vented, since there's no place to put an intake. However most of that roof is ok, it's just the one section next to the wall.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer

Motronic posted:

I don't see a single thing that was done properly there.

Thank you. No one else will say this. Everyone just talks about how great the house is. Very crazy making

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer

Motronic posted:

The original house very well may be. The layout of the addition might be nice as well. But based on the little I've seen I would guess it would take me under 45 minutes to inspect and determine that the cheapest way to make that place right would be to tear off the addition and start over.

So again, did you have this place inspected before buying it? If so what did the inspection report say?

The original inspector was a joke, he said the house is great. He put in the report that there's no hot spots where the snow is lower, and included a photo where you can see the hot spot where the snow is lower.

The second inspector said ya there's some issues, have someone come fix it. Both roofing companies that came just focused on patching little holes.

Recently had a remodel contractor out. He praised the trim work. I doubt I'm going to use him.

Who do I call next? How do I tell if they're going to be any better than the last several decades of scammers and schlebs?

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Thanks, that's good input.

The what's it worth what's your budget question is key. There's some funds available, but when would it be throwing good money after bad?

Some of that ties into the emotional side. I feel like an idiot for sitting at a higher limit table than I should have. Now I'm somewhat pot commited with pretty poo poo cards. Also, of the houses we viewed, this was the one that didn't need remodeled. That was a big draw for me.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Thanks, root cause is one of the things I'm very curious about. Now that you fill me in on what that looks like in building science, I have a better idea how viable it is

Tezer posted:

Which rafters were replaced? If they are visible in the pictures, please label them.

I don't know. I talked to the sub who did the rafters in 2015. He said he sistered in. He also remembered having to fix a lot of nail pops. I only know about the 1999 rather job from court filings. It was unpermitted

I poked some more holes in the soffit board between the frost hole and the wall. You can see in this photos. I just hit wood. Seems thick for one rafter, so maybe that's a sister pair

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer

ntan1 posted:

Wow, that's an amazing ice dam.

Unfortunately I have no experience with dealing with ice dams (except that it's caused by either non-ventilation of the unconditioned attic space OR by air leaking from the living space into the attic), because I don't live in a place that gets under freezing.

Oh right, thank you for reminding me. They added a ridge vent in 2015. However, they did not run it the whole length, there is still a section that is unvented. The section they didn't vent includes the very same rafter channel that is full of frost at the bottom. You can see the gap in the vent if you zoom in on the first photo (behind the bathroom fan chimney). The loft and its opposite side are fully vented.

I'm still tempted to pull down a bunch of trim, and see if I can't find where air is going through and stuff up the hole. The trim isn't sealed, so I don't think I'll be disturbing any air barrier. It is large and heavy, so it would not go back on easily. The missus would not enjoy having the kitchen feel like a construction zone, and of course there's the risk I gently caress things up worse. If it stems the bleeding though, could be worth it.

I'm also tempted to bring in another energy auditor. I understand they are not going to really get to the root cause, but they are $$$ instead of $$$$ or $$$$$. Could gain more information, and I don't see much risk beyond wasting a relatively small amount of money and time.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
There's no attic so I don't know really what it looks like in there. The "mouse hole" is as I understand it the vent between the soffit and the insulated run to the ridge. How much insulation and how much air space I can't guess. Are there other cross members? Did they get mouse holes? Dunno. I would bet there's not a ton of airflow between channels, but I highly doubt they're sealed from each other. Still, I have very little confidence the ventilation is correctly balanced anywhere, let alone in the problem spot. But point well taken, I won't start cutting more ridge vent as soon as it's above 40

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Vaulted cathedral ceilings, no attic anywhere. There are a couple closets with flat ceilings, so small dead spaces above those I guess

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
I mean, what about getting a pro to look behind the trim?

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Nice. This sounds like I'm getting warmer for sure
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fairwinds

quote:

Specialties: Energy and Building Analysis,
Project Development and Management,
Promotion and Sales of Green Products
Energy Technology Installation and Education

I hope you're making this thread a lot more boring. It would be better internet if I rip off the trim while mototronic shouts at me

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer

Tezer posted:

Maybe some of this moisture is from roof ice-dams, but if it's really just all condensation (and it mostly looks like that - the ice crystals are depositing as opposed to flowing) the short term goal should be to limit the amount of warm, moist air that can get into these assemblies. To start, you need to figure out where it's getting in. You could hire someone, but given you're pretty invested in this and have had poor experiences so far, you might just want to take the first step yourself.

(smoke pen stuff)

I recognize some of my poor experience comes from within. I am an unwilling remodeled, which makes me a pain in the rear end. Will y'all be my therapist so the contractors don't have to? Thanks.

I am biased and uneducated/inexperienced in this field, but you are reinforcing my theory. It's interior air. The roof is not great, but generally fine. It was recently redone and has had several roofers check it. The addition foundation is not great either, but whether it's involved or not the water is not coming from the foundation. Also, the water in the rafters has been going on for a long time, possibly since the addition was added. So I doubt foundation movement created the issue. Not only has it been going on a long time, it appears to be somewhat consistent. The soffit boards that were replaced 5 years match the current moisture pattern. I still allow myself to hope there's a big air path that, if plugged, will slow the issue down significantly. This picture tantalizes me



It looks like the warm wet air path is visible in the frost pattern, and that it's a strong enough stream to traverse the rafter space. Whether that's the case doesn't really change the next steps. What are the next steps? I'm continuing to look for contractors, but I'm running into what you and Motro talked about. It's hard to find the right one, and they're all busy. And, if this is a small job (which of course I wish it to be) it's not worth their time. So, while I wait, I may as well keep going with relatively cheap non-invasive diagnostics. I think I will book another thermal camera blower door person. When the guy that came had his blower door running, i swear I could feel air coming in from behind the trim there. Maybe I'll play with a smoke pen, or find someone who does that. I wonder about bringing the trim down first. Also, if there is an obvious path to plug, who will plug it?

I did just go ahead and take off one piece of trim that's small enough I can put it back up easily. Used stir stick shim ftw



Epitope fucked around with this message at 15:45 on Dec 16, 2020

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer


All the blond boards around the windows and skylights. Well not all of them. The ones by the wall with the knife board

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
FLIR has happened, I had a guy out. I learned two things. Those things are not easy to use or interpret (he let me play with it). And unfortunately there's no obvious clue there. The guy I had out is a pro, but he was incredibly sloppy, so I'm planning on getting someone else out

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Also, couldn't "poorly insulated windows" be part of the problem, and something that could be addressed with less invasive methods? Like, I get it, you and maybe any professional worth a drat is not going to see any point in dinking around with this stuff. But I have to. I can't commit to what sounds like a six figure rehab job without trying every other option first. And again, the previous owner did a six figure rehab job, and it didn't fix the problem.

Here's some more pictures of that window, with what looks like more interior air working it's way through.


Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
I don't understand why the house's value is all that relevant. I mean sure one exit is to move, but we don't want to move. We just don't want the house to rot while we live in it. I'm here to organize my thoughts, and put them in a sharable form. Maybe get some feedback, maybe provide some entertainment. You're giving me feedback, so thank you.

Here's my idea of a potential air path I would like to investigate. As you note, these guys didn't do a good job. Maybe one of the lazy shortcuts they took resulted in a hole that me or someone more skilled than me can plug. Maybe that will cost thousands instead of hundreds of thousands. Maybe this is all just me satisfying myself that the only fix is tearing it all out.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Ya I'm familiar with the willfully ignorant maneuver since I just got skewered by it. Not my style though. And I'd kinda like to at least pretend we don't live in a giant casino of a civilization. I do recognize that pretending has cost me chips. I suppose it's worth mentioning legal action. I'm not sure we have many options, since everyone who works here is pretty good at covering their asses.

Look, I find the biz fin min maxing stuff tedious and distasteful. We don't need to determine which limb to amputate today, so we're gonna let it ride. If all you can think about is necrotizing flesh, and that's not your thing, thank you for your time. I'm gonna focus on the science and engineering until I'm out of rabbit holes to explore.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
I really don't mind acerbic. Tezer's replies are just as brutal to me (which is a good thing).

And ya the "gently caress it, just fix it" plan we've discussed is pretty much that. Take out the skylights basically. If that's the plan though, I don't see why I shouldn't try corking it up some first. Is that a job somebody in Anchorage will try for me? Finding the people is a project in itself.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Setting aside whether i can execute that type of fix myself (~0% chance), or find someone to do it (hard but possible?), I'm still wondering about the viability of such a plan. I can see the existing vapor barrier or whatever the plastic sheet behind the drywall is called. Would it be anywhere in the realm of possible to bridge from that to the windows and skylights? Of course the moisture may not even be traveling that path, but if it is

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
I mean without disturbing the windows or existing vapor barrier.

I recognize this is may be impossible, but I'd like to know that. It sounds like once we start any significant tear out, we may as well consider things like adding more square footage. Do we have the chip stack for a move like that, and is there any potential payoff, i dunno, still hoping not to go there

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer

Motronic posted:

. Based on your responses it's pretty clear that it isn't.

It may be clear to you but it is not clear to me. Are you applying to be my project manager and or financial advisor? Because I'm not sharing my financial details publicly

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
I had a pretty enjoyable daydream about giving a goon my phone number, and answering "hello this is epitope"

I also booked one of the bpi guys for next week. Don't blow up the thread before then

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
I wish it were just the roof. Then all I would have to do is lean on one roofing company to fix their work. One of the biggest roofing operations in town put on a new roof (and rafters) 5 years ago.

Tezer posted:

If this is really interesting to you beyond just your acute issue, two good books on the subject:

"Moisture Control Handbook" by Joseph Lstiburek
"Water in Buildings" by William Rose

Lstiburek's book is more cut and dry, here are techniques, etc.
Rose's book is more of a textbook

Lstiburek will be more applicable to your acute issue, Rose is a easier introduction to the overall subject.

The first book has a case study of a very similar situation. The preview doesn't include the page on the fixes, but I'm not sure if I'm going to pay $115 for one page



In this case, the moist air is getting through penetrations at recessed lights. I assume the fix is either removing the lights or sealing them better. I guess my question is, could this fix be done with minimally invasive surgery? Like, cut out the light from inside, cap the wire, patch the insulation, patch the vapor barrier, patch the drywall, drink a beer?

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Here's some other spots where moist warm air gets out and freezes on things. This is an exterior door with a glass screen door (storm door?) where air leaks out around the main door and turns to frost on the outer door. I think this is not a big deal, just shows what the air transported moisture situation is here.



For the sake of discussion, I think I could squirt Sika Pro or whatever Elviscat was talking about around the main door. This would reduce that moisture transport. I wouldn't be able to use the door, but hey.

This is more of a puzzle, and something of a problem, though I don't think as big as the rafter one. The window on the left in the first image, taken close up in the second




You can see the moisture dripping at the top of the window. You can also see streaks from this happening frequently. Is this interior air leaking around this window? Did they not connect the moisture barrier around this window? The trim inside and outside is all intact and painted and sealed as far as I can tell, so not sure what's going on here.

The window in the middle doesn't have this problem. That's the bathroom. Maybe they did a better job of sealing the bathroom?

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Whether insurance will pay or not, they're not going to fix it. This is clearly complex, so I'm avoiding breaking any seals before I have to. Both opening drywall/siding or interacting with giant nightmare factory bureaucracies

Tezer posted:

You're in luck, I own the book. I like it because it never strays from core concepts. For example, the solution for that case study just lays out the basic reality: "condensation at a surface can be controlled by reducing the amount of moisture accessing the surface, elevating the temperature of the surface, or by removing the moisture once it gets to the surface". You can't do the second (requires reinsulating) or the third (requires rebuilding the assembly for proper ventilation), so you need to do the first. You can do the first by removing the moisture being transported (reducing the humidity in your home), removing access to the condensation surface (air sealing at the drywall plane), or by removing the transportation mechanism (depressurize your home so air tries to infiltrate your home instead of exfiltrate).

Air-sealing by removing the lights can be done, but don't do it until a professional who has seen your home says it needs to be done. If you have can lights in a cathedral ceiling it is "not good", but it also doesn't necessarily mean there is an issue or that it contributes to your other issues.

Like any thread, there is a bit of "blind men feeling an elephant" syndrome. We are reacting only to what we can see, which is what you are posting. We aren't diagnosing your home as much as we are diagnosing an incomplete model of your home. So hopefully the BPI contractor is a good one and can give you some answers. If they disagree with what this thread is telling you, keep in mind that no one in this thread has actually seen your home and this thread is probably just missing a key detail that is easily viewed onsite.

For example - is that really a bathroom right next to the soffit area where you have moisture issues? That is something worth investigating - for example, if the duct for the bathroom fan isn't properly sealed it would just be dumping warm, moist bathroom air into the roof right around where you're having issues.

Thanks! A couple people have mentioned heat recovery ventilators (HRV), so I'm starting to think that's part of the fix. Lower the inside pressure. Sounds like it requires installing ducts though

Sorry, we don't have recessed lights, or we do but not in the problem area. I was just talking about principles using the books example.

I think y'all have a good picture. You're not the first one to suspect the bathroom fan. I heard that the 2015 roofers may have fingered that as the culprit. It may be involved, but I'm fairly sure it's not the main issue. Thinking more, I wonder if the bathroom windows don't have the weird leak problem because the fan let's air out, so lower pressure differential in the bathroom. Even when the fan's not running you can see air flowing out.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Right on, that's where I'm at. Again, I really don't mind people pointing out low quality elements. The pros that come in are infuriatingly reticent to do so. Also, if I pull it off, gonna be like

https://youtu.be/zkCNPl1Siz8

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
I appreciate that, thought I'm not sure I can take too much credit. I'm fairly boxed in. Also, I had some pretty ugly thoughts in April when I first was getting the full picture. Bluffing some other bougie A-hole is far from the worst legal escape route.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Here's an email i sent to my mate in April. Maybe house shoppers can learn from my mistakes. Still, seems to me the only hard and fast way to not end up here is set your max budget and stick with it.

a month ago i had more cold hard cash than i thought i'd ever have in my life. today i'm in the hole, praying that nothing more goes wrong before i can climb back out. i think i'm repairing the strain to my marriage this caused, but still worried about that too. should i have hid the chips from my wife? should i have told her she can't be involved in the hand? she was clearly on tilt. i suppose i should have told her no, we can't make that bet, that's irresponsible and reckless. we can make a smaller bet instead. well, actually i did say that, but she was on tilt, so she said no we should go for it. so i said gently caress it, we got a strong hand, it'll probably work out, and if i say no and we have to fold pre-flop, that might be a bad situation for marital bliss. so in we went.
i maybe could have gotten us out of the hand at the turn, but i am bad at reading people, or no, that's not true, i read him fine. i'm just a chicken poo poo about making a move that people are going to be uncomfortable with. god damnit, i shoulda made those fuckers squirm. anyway, it goes to showdown, and she's all "yay we won" and i have to study the cards for a couple days but find that, nope we got taken to the loving cleaners. i mean real life chips are way harder to value than poker chips, so still don't really know the tally, but pretty sure it's six figures. i mean, i guess it's just money, but gently caress it hurts to get owned hard.

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Ok so I took off the cover both inside and out. The pipe exits the housing parallel the roof so has to do a 90 degree turn. Still, I think I could see most of the run, and it all looks intact. Again, this was just redone, so hopefully it's done correctly, but agreed no reason to assume at this point. Also, the little flapper door thing hangs down when closed, but the ceiling is sloped, so at rest it's partially open. After noticing this, I put a butterfly baffle thing on the top. Maybe that's now increasing pressure inside and making my problem worse? However, part of my motivation was there is quite a large depression in the snow around that vent stack. Seems like a lot warmer than it should be. Needs better insulation there? Or is this another consequence of big pressure difference with inside greater than outside?

As far as the rafters, I still think this is separate. The worst of the soffit frost is a little bit away from that stack. And, the portion of the roof that is way too hot for no good reason (no snow left on it) is even further away.

The bathroom vent stack is just off the left side of this pic

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer


The worst frost is just to the outside of the addition side wall
The melted out section of roof is just to the inside of the same wall
The stack is pretty far to the left

i should have labeled the skylights, maybe no one can tell what is going on in this picture. Maybe i'll work more on it later

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Here's a more labeled diagram, with some of the photos again. Hopefully this helps orient everything. The suspect wall is labeled with :( on the outside wide angle and the diagram, and the knifeboard is on that spot from the inside view







Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Wasn't able to find a smoke pen locally, but I have the skills to DIY this one



Didn't find anything conclusive, but at least helped me get familiar with the technique. Could help me understand anything subsequent test results

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Jesus Christ. It's like trying to do R1 level research at an undergraduate-only institution. They all know everything, and none of them will spend the time to do the work, let alone think through the problem.

The short version is we did a little more poking around diagnostic wise, but nothing really new there. We did more or less confirm the previous findings, which is something I guess. I hoped he would take on the job, or know someone who would. Maybe he'll get back, but as of now I'm still empty handed. At least he didn't charge the full quoted price before he left me with my dick in my hand.

The long version- I called and was very specific about what I was asking for. I said "blower door, thermal imager, and smoke pencil." And he said ya, though he was kinda suspect about the smoke so I wasn't going to be surprised if he didn't bring that. But he didn't run the blower door either. So I got one out of three. At least his camera was lightyears better than the last guy's, and we spent the time to turn up the heat and run the bathroom fans for a while. Still, I loving wanted the blower door camera test. I swear I saw air moving in the trouble area when the last guy had his blower door going (but his camera was out of batteries during that visit (rant about that visit here). So I said "if you brought your door, I'll pay extra for you to set it up" and he started to say ok, but then said na I don't want to. GAH! He did sit down with me and talk about details, and gave me a number of a guy who might be able to find engineering filings from the 2015 job. He was also very knowledgeable, an old timer that's been around. Very professional. Shared a lot of general theory. Gave a lot of assessments of what he saw that he liked, and what he saw that he didn't like. He pointed out elements I hadn't seen before. However. He contradicted himself. "It's a roof leak, it's not interior air" (goes outside and looks) "It's interior air, it's not a roof leak." Ah... "It's not related to the heat supply lines." (5 minutes later) "Hmm, I wonder about these heat supply lines." Ok, sure, whatever, you're making a judgement based on what you can see, no expectation you'll nail it right off the bat (despite the tone that implies you have). But when I bring up HRV he scoffs and says you don't need it (tone says they're a scam to bilk yuppies). Which, I still think it would help, but I don't really know. The one that's really throwing me for a loop is "oh that frost is normal." Like, what!? No, I'm pretty sure it's from the house cancer. Which it sounds like you agree I have, because you agree someone needs to come take down the cabinet and take down the drywall to find out what's going on. But not you though, you only do insurance jobs.

Also, "the work that's been done here is very high quality" :v:

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
I think indoor humidity is reasonable. Only have one gauge, but it says 35%. That condensation pic is from outside. I don't know if it's much of a clue, but there isn't condensation on the outside of other windows, and the first energy auditor saw it and mumbled something about "oh ya, you've got water right here."

Likewise, frost. I think I get what you're saying Tezer, that if all I was seeing was frost in the eaves I might be just an overly worried home owner. Like when the oil change place shows you a corroded part to con you into buying a new one you don't need. It only looks scary to someone who doesn't know better. So, it's only because we know other things that we know there's a problem.

Which, we know there's a problem, right? This is a large part of my frustration. It looks scary to me, but what do I know, and I know it's easy to get carried away when self diagnosing. For example I was convinced I had torn cartilage in my knee, and didn't believe the clinician saying I was fine. Even the MRI may not have convinced me if they hadn't pointed out swelling and inflammation, which reminded me I had femoral patellar syndrome earlier, and this was probably just that flairing up again. So I can't just rely on my own judgement.

Motronic is saying I may need to make an emergency exit. You're saying the house might be in a certain sense totalled. I am truly thankful for both of your input. But we're just here posting on somethingawful dot com. None of the six professionals I have paid to look at it seem terribly concerned. I guess I should, if I have the funds and interest, find a contractor to perform an operation. With the understanding it may get Very Expensive, and may not fix the problem. Or I should convince my wife, based on internet advice and my own uneducated assessment, to sell at a loss and uproot our life. Or I should ignore it until things degrade to the point that emergency surgery is required. Or maybe there isn't really a problem :suicide:

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Something like that, but clearly no one knows. At this point my plan is

- Keep compiling data and sharing it with you jerks.
- Keep talking to contractors until I find one that will take on the project
- Maybe buy my own thermal camera
- Maybe get drunk with my buddy and take down the interior trim. Maybe find some crevices we can jam backer rod into or something. I'm pretty hesitant to use spray foam or caulk or anything that I can't take back out.

Oh and shopping/researching HRVs, and seeing if a roofer will weigh in on if that ridge vent should be extended

Epitope fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Dec 22, 2020

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Totally, thus the thread title. If I have to replace siding more often, ok. If I have to replace the rafters every 10 years, not ok!

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
Added more to my diagram



I would like to continue testing whether there are air paths I can find and plug. Of course I'm obsessed with the trim, probably because it is most accessable. Could also look at the hose bibs (there's hot and cold) or the seam between the addition and the original back wall. Also maybe plumbing or heat supply routing.

Here's thermal imaging of the spot I swear was breezy when the blower door was running.

Before running the bathroom fans for a while and turning up the heat.


After running the bathroom fans for a while, and turning up the heat. Of course I was scrambling to get this much of a test cobbled together while the camera's owner told me I was barking up the wrong tree. Would love to be able to set up the camera and get a proper before and after pic from the same spot. Maybe with the trim down.


Visible light pic of that spot


album link
https://imgur.com/gallery/0FTmKmV

Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
This is making me feel a lot more positive about the medical system I experience. Yes it's crazy expensive and screws a lot of people over. But imagine if all the surgeons had to come to your house, and you can only find them by word of mouth. The x-ray tech will only do the x ray if he thinks he should. If you want a copy of the image, quick try and snap one with your phone. Radiologists only do Gundam, so if you want someone to look at your puny android body x ray better try a comedy message board.

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Epitope
Nov 27, 2006

Grimey Drawer
I think overpressure, and ya seems to me that's contributing. The energy audit says 3.15 ACH50, which the last guy said "that's a tight house". It's got a basement with a garage, and the last two evaluators talked about the stack effect making it higher pressure up top. A lot of the stuff that is wet or frosty makes it seem like the house is just oozing through any opening it can. Almost all in the back though, the front/south side seems to have far fewer symptoms

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