water coming through loft?

manhattan

hi,
i have just been up into my loft to retreve the xmas stuff,and noticed that the inside of the whole roof is all damp and wet? ie water residue quite alot.

it is only on the protective material which sits underneath the tiles on the roof.

the stuff in the loft feels a bit damp as well.

is this normal or is there a problem with the protective material?

thanks.

plumb1_2

manhattan wrote:

hi,
i have just been up into my loft to retreve the xmas stuff,and noticed that the inside of the whole roof is all damp and wet? ie water residue quite alot.

it is only on the protective material which sits underneath the tiles on the roof.

the stuff in the loft feels a bit damp as well.

is this normal or is there a problem with the protective material?

thanks.

It sounds like condensation,do you have the roof insulated?

if you also have any water storage tanks in the loft,it could be that the expansion pipe has been dischargeing over, that could be from your boiler or hot water cylinder, depends on your set up.
Has you noticed your thanks overflowing?

ronaldmacdonald

I had the same problem one day, went into the loft and there was a line of water dripping from the lining on the loft roof onto an electrical socket/equipment :eek: and it felt damp. We have full insulation and boarding and the house is only 12 months old. I was worried about damp and wood rot and all sorts of nasty things happening _pale_

I put it down to heat from a lamp I had on up there (very bright and very hot) which must have started to thaw out some frost on the roof. That said I havent had this problem since and that was a good 3 weeks ago now

Prudent

My loft had insulation under the tiles. I never felt it was warm enough so about 18 moths ago I asked someone to put insulation on the floor of the loft and to floor over it with wooden borads so that I could use it more. At the time I was told that one area felt a bit damp. We looked together and the only thing seemed to be that there was an outside vent there. Roof tiles in that bit looked fine. I wondered if water was driving in via the vent. Six months later I woke up to a dripping noise and found water coming through my bedroom ceiling (from same area). In the end it transpired that there was a broken tile further up the roof that was letting water in. Initially it had just allowed a little water in, which had run down into one area (hence the damp). After a storm, it got worse and more rain penetrated. Now it is completely dry.

aliasojo

I had exactly the same problem and got someone out to check it. Turns out it was condensation pure and simple.

You will probably find when the weather gets really cold, the condensation will increase and drip down off the roof onto whatever is in the loft. (Probably why your stuff feels damp.)

We were advised to make sure we had those little plastic draught excluder strips round the outside of the loft hatch and to put hook and eye type clips on the hatch lid so that it could be fastened tightly against the hatch frame (to help stop the warm air rising into the loft).

We also got an extra air vent put into the roof which did help but we should really have put in two (as we were advised and didn't do as someone else told us one would do :rolleyes: ), As a result, the condensation is not as bad but is still there a bit so we'll need to get the other vent put in after all.

beefster

If its over the whole roof area its condensation.

Ensure you have adequate insulation on the floor of the loft and increase the ventillation through it (the loft not the insulation!).

Make sure if you already have insulation on the floor it does not block the air flow from vents in the soffit boards.

manhattan

thanks,

we do have quite alot of stuff up there!
and lots of empty boxes from moneysavingexpert purchases! haha

swift_gti

Glad I found this thread.. just noticed the same thing in ours when getting the Xmas stuff down.
How should the loft be ventilated ?
Our house is only a few years old and has loft insulation down on the floor, but nothing on the inside of the roof.. apart from the usual lining under the tiles.
I don't ever remember seeing any 'vents' in the roof but there is a pipe that comes through the loft, through the roof and goes outside.. not exactly sure where it comes from.

MRBOTSWANA

I found the same problem in the last few weeks, with some stuff in the loft covered in thick green/blue mold.

I have had a roofer out to take a look and he has recommended fitting three vent tiles for about 250 quid, he also said that if we can get the neighbours to do the same it will help even more (old house c. 1850s, semi-detached)...Going to get it done in next week or so

Let me know if you come up with anything....

Handyman502

Prudent wrote: »

My loft had insulation under the tiles. I never felt it was warm enough so about 18 moths ago I asked someone to put insulation on the floor of the loft and to floor over it with wooden borads so that I could use it more. At the time I was told that one area felt a bit damp. We looked together and the only thing seemed to be that there was an outside vent there. Roof tiles in that bit looked fine. I wondered if water was driving in via the vent. Six months later I woke up to a dripping noise and found water coming through my bedroom ceiling (from same area). In the end it transpired that there was a broken tile further up the roof that was letting water in. Initially it had just allowed a little water in, which had run down into one area (hence the damp). After a storm, it got worse and more rain penetrated. Now it is completely dry.

Hope they did not cover your electrical wiring beneath the insulation, not good.

A big mistake people make when insulating the loft is to have the insulation going right up to the edges stopping/blocking ventilation.