larry littlejohn
New Member
Posts:4
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| 30 Aug 2011 12:31 PM |
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we built a sips home in central mississippi. we have lived in it less than 2 years. last summer during the 100° weather, we noticed water drops on the floor under the central beam. there was also some ceiling damage. the beam is 25' above the floor and runs from the front to the rear of the house.
the roofing sips have a special felt cover which we purchased from the panel manufacturer. the roof is metal with firring strips under the metal to prevent any trapped moisture.
the manufacturer's recommended installer who had been doing sips homes for many years returned last fall to check the problem. he discovered that the upper osb skin was damaged on both sides of the roof peak. he repaired that damage, refoamed with high expansion foam, and installed a moisture barrier.
problem solved, or so we thought. unfortunately, in the 95°+ days this summer, we have noticed water drops on the floor again. we run our ac at 78°. the loft area stays a couple of degrees higher. the humidity level in the house is 32-35% all over.
i am concerned that the osb may be deteorating again, that the roof may have to come off again to repair, that the ceiling is getting damaged, etc. the manufacturer has no suggestions.
anyone ever seen this problem before? any thoughts on how to resolve? |
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rossborel
New Member
Posts:6
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| 09 Sep 2011 05:58 PM |
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Thanks for your post. Consumers need to hear things like this.
Who manufactured and installed the panels?
Sounds like a condensation problem, tuff.
Funny how the know it alls have no comment. |
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cmkavala
Veteran Member
Posts:4327
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| 09 Sep 2011 06:18 PM |
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very hard to diagnose a problem from a post, especially one as it is described, I think there is something else going on with the building , but can't determine that from a distance |
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| Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br /> |
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SimonD
Basic Member
Posts:167
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| 09 Sep 2011 11:56 PM |
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Larry,
Are the water drops on the floor occurring in a different place than last time or in the same location?
Do the water drops occur during a certain time of the day?
Do they occur after it rains or at the hottest part of the day?
Do your air conditioning vents blow cold air directly on that location?
Can you provide photos of the metal ridge cap, is it vented in some way, or tight to the roofing?
If you have voids in the insulation at the ridge where the panels meet, warm air is going to meet cold air inside those voids and create condensation. Also, the way your air conditioning system cycles on and off can exacerbate the problem. You may have an oversized a/c system which blows real cold air for too short of a time and then switches off, not allowing enough moisture to be removed from the air. |
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| Building Designer PANELfusion, LLC Tampa, FL [email protected] "Metal SIP Advocate" |
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larry littlejohn
New Member
Posts:4
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| 26 Sep 2011 03:19 PM |
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drops are in different spots.
they occur during the hottest part of the afternoon when the temp goes over 100.
the ac vents are in the floor, 25 feet below the ridge beam. the temperature in the loft and attic varies approximately 2 degrees from the main floor.
the metal ridge cap is vented. the whole roof is screwed to firing strips which allows for air passage under the metal.
on the repair a year ago, a vapor barrier was installed after going from low to high expansion foam.
we sought counsel from our local epa, the sips manufacturer, and our ac installer before installing the ac. we went with a small system which runs almost continually. we were told that with a heat pump, that was the most effecient way, and that with panel construction it was most effective. |
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cmkavala
Veteran Member
Posts:4327
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| 26 Sep 2011 03:34 PM |
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Larry;
is the ridge vent open to the attic or just venting the roofing? where is vapor barrier installed?
Ther is nothing wrong with the AC running all day long as long as it is not loosing ground temperature wise. The reason you have such low humidity is because it does run constant.
The AC in My SIPs home cycles off in the afternoons, but humidity is closer to 45% , still an acceptable level |
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| Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br /> |
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larry littlejohn
New Member
Posts:4
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| 26 Sep 2011 04:27 PM |
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the ridge vent is not open to the attic. the attic is on either side of the house with a loft area between. the beam (at 25') is visible from front to back.
the vapor barrier was installed on the roof when the repair was done, outside the outer osb of the panel.
the temperature stays at 78 regardless of the outside temperature; it does not 'lose ground.'
didn't mean to mislead; our unit does cycle, but never stays off long. |
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cmkavala
Veteran Member
Posts:4327
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| 26 Sep 2011 05:16 PM |
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Larry;
you said the drops were occuring on the floor under the beam, is the drywall wet as well in ceiling? If not and the water drops are occuring just on the floor it may be cold concrete condensing in extremely hot weather or moisture driving up from a bad concrete vapor barrier |
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| Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br /> |
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larry littlejohn
New Member
Posts:4
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| 28 Sep 2011 09:41 AM |
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Chris, I appreciate the thought you are putting into trying to decipher the problem. The house is built on a conventional foundation not a concrete slab. The drops when we originally noticed the problem in summmer 2010 did damage the ceiling drywall in some places right next to the beam. The drops this summer only occurred on 4 or 5 of the hottest days and were fewer in number. We did not notice any additional ceiling damage. |
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cmkavala
Veteran Member
Posts:4327
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| 28 Sep 2011 12:38 PM |
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Larry;
there must be some kind of connection flaw where the hot humid air is coming in contact with the cold interior, unfortunately the only way to find the problem is to tear coverings off.
If left unchecked it will probably be doing some hidden damage, that won't appear until it becomes a much greater problem |
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| Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br /> |
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jstelmack
Basic Member
Posts:127
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| 07 Nov 2011 01:56 PM |
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Larry - I would ask the builder/panel installer to bring a thermal imaging camera to your house during one of the hot days. The image will show exactly where the problem is. Please note that it is possible that the water/condensate is occurring at a place other than where it is dripping. i.e. Condensing two/three feet away from the drip location and draining down the beam but at an angle. ?? Possible. I n my mind the thermal imaging will reveal much info. It may even prove helpful in the winter where there is an extreme temp difference between inside and out. Maybe the exterior will show a heat loss where warm air is escaping??
Just suggestions: Good luck!
John |
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