Gutters and downspouts with extensions? Grade pitched away from the house? It’s pretty strange, condensation should only occur on a surface that is cooler than ambient. Venting the roof is not the answer.
It is strange. I just had a roofer out to look at it.
The roofer said he would not vent it as well. He wanted to tear the entire roof off and add more insulation. I agree that it needs more insulation, but he also said the roof was only about 5 years old and if I could find another solution to hold off on reproofing it, he would say for me to try that first.
I asked him about White Coating the roof, because he never mentioned it as a solution. After I brought it up, he seemed to think that could help reduce the heat in attic area but he said he never installed it for that reason. He only installed it to repair roofs and extend the life of them. He said that in theory, the less heat, the less humidity.
My HVAC guy said he could add a Whole House Dehumidifier / Ventilation system that would help reduce humidity in the house. But he is the one that suggested that I start with a roofer first because the Dehumidifier will not solve where the issue is coming from. It will only help like a bandage.
The roofer also suggested he would likely do the Dehumidifier system first to see if that works, then do the White Coating on the roof it it needs a little more help.
I have never lived in the home. It’s an investment property. It’s currently unoccupied and I wanted to resolve this issue before I rent it out again.
That said, I have been aware of the humidity the past 2 years. But I would only assume its been an issue for a while.
I have only seen condensation in 2 areas…
inside of the ceiling dome light fixtures
Around Wall Outlets Covers and Inside and around Dome Ceiling lights
I recently added foam insulated gaskets to go on the outlets before putting the outlet covers on them. This was to help reduce air leaks which i hope resolved the condensation around the covers.
I have not noticed any condensation on windows either.
The condensation only seems to appear in places that have an opening in walls and in ceilings. Around outlets and junction boxes for lights ect.
Sounds like you need to seal the masonry and then dehumidify the house. Only thing that is logical is the brick is transferring moisture into the house. The uninsulated void/inside of the brick would be your condensation point.
Last question… and appreciate your input. Do you think if I put Henry White Coating over the roof would help with controlling the Humidity in house or Condensation in the ceiling dome lights?
Not at all. I’m about 20 minutes east of you, I think. The condensation problems in this part of the country come from temperature differentials and voids in insulation. Vapor condenses on cold, when it’s trapped in a system, it will not re-vaporize and reverse back into the air. The expansion ratio of water to steam is 1 / 1700, good luck getting that genie back in the bottle!
I think your HVAC is not running long enough to extract the humidity from the home. The metal of the recessed lights is showing condensation because the metal is cold [compared to the area above]. Putting a white coating on the roof will reduce the heat some but the real answer is to size the HVAC correctly so it runs longer. Now it satisfies the thermostat {temp] without extracting enough humidity.
I just ordered a Whole House Ventilating Dehumidifier that will remove 98 liters of water per day. I will add it to my excising HVAC system. It will draw moisture from all of the rooms using the existing duct work.
My thoughts are that if the Dehumidifier can bring down the Humidity in the house, we will not have to run the AC temperature as low which I hope will also help close the gap between the heated roof and cool glass where the condensation is occurring.
Current Humidity is about 50-54% with the AC set to 72. I’m hoping that if I can get the Humidity down to around 40% the AC will only have to be set at 74 or so.
Currently with the AC set at 72, it still doesn’t feel very cool in the house. At least not to my comfort level.