trying to find source of leaking ceiling (floor, roofing, windows)

[bande1102]

We had a really bad storms last weekend--winds gusting up to 50 mph. Anyway, the bedroom underneath my attic had some water dripping from the ceiling during this storm. I cannot find the leak. There was also a small crack in the ceiling where the drip was coming from. I left that as is, hoping the next time it dripped I could find the source.

I went into the attic and the roof looked completely dry. I moved the insulation on the floor of the attic and can't find any water. No plumbing above that room. My roof looks ok from the outside. I actually replaced the entire roof about 5 years ok. Replaced all of the windows two years ago. I just can't figure this out.

To top it off, we had another rainy weekend and no drips at all. That area was completely dry.

Anybody have any suggestions as to where else to look for the source of that drip? Also, who (as in a professional) should I call to even try to find it if I can't?

Thanks for any suggestions. Grrrr. This is driving me crazy.

[Steve Bagu]

Chances are that the water is coming in from another source but leaking at one particular spot. Would be like your left arm hurts, but the problem is at your right knee type of thing. My place is the same. The first rain seems to bring a leak in the kitchen, and the second rain, nothing. The wood swells up after the 1st rain and seals the location of the leak. My roof is also dry appearing and I have put more sealent around the skylites just in case. In your case the wind maybe pushing the water under some small crevice and then flowing under a ceiling 2/4 or 2/6 unseen to where it comes thru your crack. This crack could be the result of a problem in the framwork/construction. Nothing serious,could be settleing or contraction of the wood over the years. All wood houses have a sort of expansion.contraction over a period of time, thus some small cracks. Hope you find the problem. Steve

[Cosmic]

1. Got a water leak

2. Normally don't have a problem

3. Had a bad storm, lots of wind, problem occurred in conjunction with the storm.

I would sort of first of all suspect the air venting system in the attic if there is one. Maybe a roof ridge vent. Sidewall end vents. What ever is open that allows hot air to normally vent out the attic. Prime source for water in extreme conditions where it is being blown sideways with a lot of force.

Can be many things, but the fact the roof is pretty new, I read into the problem normally has not occurred in the recent past with normal rainfall.

The inspection found no apparent water source in the attic. But does a vent line up with the water spot?. Is the ridge vent in the right spot?

Logical place to start. Normal logic for the troubleshooting procedures to begin. Really bad storms can force water into the vent paths from attics. Of course that water once into a structure uses gravity to find its way downward.

My best first guess based on the information given. I would eliminate this possible source first.

I've seen this happen on a few cases. Water actually flowed up hill for a fair ways to get under the roof system. High winds can be nasty stuff.

[Moonwalkr]

It may be a leaky vent pipe. Maybe fine cracks with the boot? We had a problem with it weeks ago with a windy storm. We're also trying to figure out how to best fix it. The pipe itself seems fine, is it best to replace the whole boot or just seal it up with some roofing cement?

[bande1102]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

No, we've never experienced any leaking before. Yes, the leak occurred during a bad windy storm (actually haven't seen that much wind in recent memory). Even when I replaced my roof, I did it before it leaked--hate to worry about worry damage.

We've not had rain for about 5 days. Started raining again last night. No leaks. Again, attic seems dry. I actually made a small hole in my ceiling where it had leaked before just to make sure water wasn't collecting there. Nothing.

Yes, I have vent in my attic and have a vent on the roof.

Steve: yeah, that's the only thing I could think of. Just driving me crazy trying to find the source.

Cosmic: if water was being forced up; is there a way to fix that so it doesn't happen again?

Moonwalkr: thanks for the tip about the vent pipe. Gonna climb up there and take a look as soon as soon as my roof is dry.

The only other thing I can think of is to examine my gutters more closely? I dunno. Thanks

[harborlady]

cosmic everything you said sounds about right. The only thing I'd add is that with the popular 7 gables designs going on with roofs, the water can channel zig zag around and true to form following path of least resistence wind up very far away from the vent. Industrial applications without all the finish work blocking whats going on is much easier to spot.
Reminds me of a funny story at work. Engineer and architect wanted to save $ on hvac treatment for an electrical control pumphouse. Was block construction bldg, flat roof, serious amps running through there. Had 6 fig + worth of pump controllers and computer equip housed in there. They devised a plan to knock a 4'x4' hole on north east wall to fit a GInormous fan w/mechanical louver controlled by thermostat on wall. So much heat volume generated, this place was like a windtunnel even in springtime. They came to see the flaw when 2 ft of snow got dragged into the bldg during a nor'easter blizzard, some of which got sucked into the internal fan motors of the individual units. hahahaha
Electrician and computer tech guy shook their heads for 2 days!
(oh, they also found a nice fire hazard pile of dust & dead bugs dragged in by the windtunnel from summertime too )

For OP= If it is your vent- wondering if finer screening material couldn't be added to vent to minimize what gets in. Even with driving horizontal rain hitting a screen enclosed porch, it keeps things to a dull roar. Not all, most. Depends on exposure like my story above.

[cdelena]

Water travels along surfaces so the source and leak can be far apart. I had ceiling damage and didn't find the leak for years... it was water getting behind siding on a wall twenty feet away, traveling on a enclosed beam and catching a wire to drip out a light fixture.

[deja-zebbie]

Bande,

I just thought I'd toss this out...we had a problem similar to what you are describing and had SEVERAL roofers work on our roof. Repair, leak, repair, leak. The problem got worse and worse. What it turned out to be for US is that an area in the back of the house had a lower pitch than the rest of the roof. I finally had one roofer come, stand to the SIDE and point out the area of the roof which had the lower pitch and tell us that it would always leak with shingles because of the pitch. We had that part of the roof redone with some rubberized heat sealed stuff. I don't have a clue what it was, but it's the kind of stuff used for FLAT roofs, though this area was by no means flat, it doesn't even look flat. Haven't had a leak since. I wish I had know about this sooner -- and I wish the many previous roofers did too because we spent quite a bit on CONTINUAL roof repair.

BTW, the area that was leaking was up the roof from the area with the lower pitch. I don't get how this worked.

Anyway, I'm just mentioning this in case your leak is ANYWHERE near some area (like an entrance or "different" area of the roof, or sometimes it could be an area where there is a closet that juts outside the house, etc.) which has a lower pitch. Our leak was occuring about 15 or more feet from the area with the lower pitch.

oh another thing: did anyone mention flashing around chimney's or a/c or heating units? We had a leak problem from that on a prior house. Now that was a scary one we found out that that leak actually ran over the main power drive. Fortunately at the time we lived in the desert so there wasn't a lot of rain.

zebbie

[Sandy Nelson]

Bande1102,
I would recommend hiring a home inspector to locate the cause of the leak. Based on the findings, the inspector might be able to recommend the appropriate repair professional.

Good Luck!

Sandy

[harborlady]

Bande an inspector will not be able to accomplish what you need. They can tell you that you might want to repair the roof because you have a leak going on. I think you're qualified to tell that on your own!