Wet bedroom walls- Condensation?

Grenage

Is that mould on the hatch insulation? It sounds more and more like condensation.

Arsenal2019

Grenage said:

Is that mould on the hatch insulation? It sounds more and more like condensation.

Nooooo that’s just dirt which has fallen down from the roof/ attic

Arsenal2019

Jeepers_Creepers said:

Ah well - that discounts the leaking loft hatch option... :-(  

Just not convinced by what the roofer says. At the very least, if the lower rows of slates have dropped, I'd like to know why. And wouldn't the simplest solution be to prise the roofing battens up from the rafters and slip a spacer in there? (quite a tight space, tho').

But another concern is, when you looked up there you could see moist/damp on the underside of the slates? I presume all the slates, those immediately above the hatch, those well 'up' from the eaves? So, what's causing that condensation? It's surely not rain being blown in at the bottom.

I cannot see - from your photo - any sign of anything different about these bottom rows of slates; no change of angle, no increase in slate spacing, no larger gaps, nothing.

If the issue is rain being blown in - and perhaps even if it isn't - another solution could be to slip a stiff membrane down the underside of the bottom few rows and out so deflect any rain way and into the gutter. Ie what 'felt' would be doing if fitted. You can get sheet trims for this, or anything else that's thin and waterproof - plastic sheet - should do, I'd have thought. I've seen stuff that can be slipped in under the bottom row to collect what the felt has not quite managed to do.

But, I'm stumped. 

I think best to wait until you do finally get someone else out to look. It's not going to cause a significant issue unless it gets much worse or goes on for months. Chances are it'll dry up as the weather becomes less extreme-rain, which it does appear to be doing - phew.

It's your call. I certainly wouldn't fork out any money to the current roofer, certainly UNLESS he can clearly answer the three Qs I mentioned above.

I shall definitely mention those 3Q’s and get back to you.

yes I am a it stumped Too.  I have another roofer coming out later today, so hopefully he will either back up what the previous guy has said, or say something completely contradicting - either way, it probably won’t be the best news hahah! I am hoping that it is just ventilation which is needed. I.e- a vent sticking in.

I’ve attached another photo from inside the attic. Do you by any chance have an email or whatever which I can send a video- it might be better for you to understand it that way and you might be able to land at a conclusion.

Arsenal2019

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Arsenal2019

**UPDATE**

I have just had another roofer come up and have a look. Immediately he stated that it was condensation. He went up to the roof (outside), and stated that the slates were in perfect condition and that they had not dropped. 

He recommended having roof ventilation installed. He said that this would help the situation, but may not solve it completely:. 

He did say that a new front half of the roof& felted would be a better solution but would be much more costly, and he said we didn’t necessarily need it. 

When I told him that it is mainly when it has been extremely cold and/or torrential rain, he stated that it would be condensation. 

He looked at the photos&videos I have put on here and looked at the current state of the wall (no wetness at all *no rain or cold), and said that it would again be condensation and a vent would help?.

Two roofers = two completely different answers  -_-.   Good and bad news unfortunately ! 

Jeepers_Creepers

Good internal photo - and access looks great!

The slates appear to be mortared, so should be impervious to rain - or if any rain does get blown in, it should be localised and very obvious where.

I'm with the second guy. Nothing of what the first guy said made sense - there was no evidence I could see of dropping/sagging/slipping.

Really, with such good access and such a steep pitch - which means you can get right in there - it should be very obvious whether there's enough ventilation getting through - there should be a gap all along that eaves edge, leading into a soffit/fascia void. Then all that would need doing would be to add vents to the soffit to allow more air through. Not sure how deep your soffits are, tho'.

Did the guy say HOW he'd add more ventilation? That's something that would be interesting to know.

Do the house's party walls extend up to the roof pitch - is each loft space separate? (I'd have thought so).

You don't have to rush to a fix; as the weather warms up, if it's due to condensation, it'll just stop. If it's due to rain penetration, it won't. Ie if there's a strong wind a dashing rain in mild weather - it'll still come through.

stuart45

Don't think it's got any soffits, looks like flush eaves with the gutter brackets fixed to the wall, but it's hard to be sure from the photo. 

Jeepers_Creepers

stuart45 said:

Don't think it's got any soffits, looks like flush eaves with the gutter brackets fixed to the wall, but it's hard to be sure from the photo. 

Cheers. Yes, it does look tight.

How would ventilation be added in that case? I wonder if, traditionally, the roof was just 'loose' slate, so naturally very well ventilated. And then at some point the slates were mortared together, causing the problem in very cold weather?

Jeepers_Creepers

Arsenal2019 said:

...::::::.

It's not just through loft hatches that moisture gets up there, it can actually permeate right through your ceilings to the loft above - and then condense out.

Is your loft insulation to current standards? That might be another things to consider - stuffing it right down tight against the top of the ceiling, and then another layer on top at right angles.

stuart45

Jeepers_Creepers said:

stuart45 said:

Don't think it's got any soffits, looks like flush eaves with the gutter brackets fixed to the wall, but it's hard to be sure from the photo. 

Cheers. Yes, it does look tight.

How would ventilation be added in that case? I wonder if, traditionally, the roof was just 'loose' slate, so naturally very well ventilated. And then at some point the slates were mortared together, causing the problem in very cold weather?

Something like this can be used.
6 Metre of Rolled Formed Eaves Panel Vent, Roof Rafter Ventilation on OnBuy
Slates were often mortared 'known as torching' to stop snow getting in. Before insulation was used condensation was less common, as the loft was warmer. You could get problems with ice dams without insulation though. Remember the icicles hanging from the eaves.