Ceiling stains - condensation or leaky roof?

Taucher

Hello all,

Got these stains on the corner of our bedroom. Its the top floor so it has the insulated attic above. 1930s end terrace with a new roof installed in January 2020. 

My initial assumption was that the roof was leaking but before I contact the company that replaced my roof I'd like to rule out condensation. It wipes off fairly easily. Our room is not ventilated at all well and we almost never open our window. 

grumbler

Poor insulation in the loft and condensation inside as a result is the most likely reason IMO.

twopenny

The random spots don't seem like a leak.
Have you been up in the attic to have a look at the roof for daylight? You can put plastic, bubble wrap across the area in the attic and look after heavy rain to see if there's a puddle.
That would give you answer to one aspect so you know what you're dealing with.

plumb1_2

Condensation mould spots, clean off with mould cleaner, paint with anti mould paint.
And crack open the window 

Brewer21

The answer is almost certainly contained in your post....

"It wipes off fairly easily. Our room is not ventilated at all well and we almost never open our window."

Ventilation, ventilation....

We get small spots of it at the top of walls and down the bottom of the odd wall. It's condensation turning to mould because of poor ventilation. Wipe with bleach to kill it let it dry then paint over with a damp treatment paint then redecorate that area.

Bendy_House

Taucher said:

Hello all,

Got these stains on the corner of our bedroom. Its the top floor so it has the insulated attic above. 1930s end terrace with a new roof installed in January 2020. 

My initial assumption was that the roof was leaking but before I contact the company that replaced my roof I'd like to rule out condensation. It wipes off fairly easily. Our room is not ventilated at all well and we almost never open our window. 

Taucher.

Everything said above re ventilation is important.

New roof fitted in 2020? A couple of Qs, please - how long have you lived in this house? And did any of these issues exist before the roof was replaced?

You say it's an 'insulated attic'. Was that insulation added after the new roof was fitted?

That's a sloping roof area? If so, do you know if the insulation was continued down the sloping areas? And, if so, is there any chance they might have inadvertently blocked off the ventilation coming up from the eaves?

Taucher

Thanks all. I am happy that this is condensation due to a lack of ventilation, thanks to all of your input.

We dont open our window because we live in a busy road and its too noisy at night. We have bought a decent de-humidifier (waiting for delivery) so I will get that going and treat the stains and see if they come back.

Thanks everyone!

Taucher

Bendy_House said:

Taucher said:

Hello all,

Got these stains on the corner of our bedroom. Its the top floor so it has the insulated attic above. 1930s end terrace with a new roof installed in January 2020. 

My initial assumption was that the roof was leaking but before I contact the company that replaced my roof I'd like to rule out condensation. It wipes off fairly easily. Our room is not ventilated at all well and we almost never open our window. 

Taucher.

Everything said above re ventilation is important.

New roof fitted in 2020? A couple of Qs, please - how long have you lived in this house? And did any of these issues exist before the roof was replaced?

You say it's an 'insulated attic'. Was that insulation added after the new roof was fitted?

That's a sloping roof area? If so, do you know if the insulation was continued down the sloping areas? And, if so, is there any chance they might have inadvertently blocked off the ventilation coming up from the eaves?

We have lived in the house since spring 2016. The issue existed before the roof was replaced but to lesser extent. 

The insulation is the same as when we moved in - not sure how old it is. 

'That's a sloping roof area? If so, do you know if the insulation was continued down the sloping areas? And, if so, is there any chance they might have inadvertently blocked off the ventilation coming up from the eaves?'

That's a very good point and well noticed. yes the corners of our ceiling do slope down in a weird way - the house is a 1930s end terrace. Not sure if that is common in houses of this type and age. Would you recommend us getting an insulation specialist to have a look?

Bendy_House

Taucher said:

We have lived in the house since spring 2016. The issue existed before the roof was replaced but to lesser extent.
The insulation is the same as when we moved in - not sure how old it is. 

'That's a sloping roof area? If so, do you know if the insulation was continued down the sloping areas? And, if so, is there any chance they might have inadvertently blocked off the ventilation coming up from the eaves?'

That's a very good point and well noticed. yes the corners of our ceiling do slope down in a weird way - the house is a 1930s end terrace. Not sure if that is common in houses of this type and age. Would you recommend us getting an insulation specialist to have a look?

My concern is that if the sloping void on the other side of the ceiling is stuffed full of insulation, then it almost certainly won't be ventilated properly. The 'flat' part of your ceiling will likely have a loft space above it, so the insulation there will likely be ok - a nice thick layer laid over the ceiling. Problems can arise when the eaves areas - the sloping bits where the roof meets the walls - are blocked, as these are commonly where the ventilation comes from.

I'd have thought - hoped - that when the old roof was stripped off, the roofers would have worked out if there was an issue here, and done something about it.

You can get up to the loft area, yes? How far can you crawl along to where the roof starts to disappear down that slope? Any chance of some photos?