Roof Moisture

[red49er]

Hi all. We had some storm damage to our home which resulted in water getting in through our roof. We had a new roof put in our house and I noticed some moisture in the area where the walls are still exposed - we have yet to put up drywall in the area that got wet. I took some pics and wanted to get the group's thoughts. I bought a moisture reader and it is showing 15-20% in certain areas of the plywood. Do you think this is a leak? Or could it be moisture from the exposed wood hitting the warmer air inside and causing condensation? We don’t want to put the drywall back up before we get to the bottom of the issue — we cannot afford any more leaks in the house. Thanks very much.

 

[oldognewtrick]

Can you post some pics of the outside?

 

[red49er]

Can do. Here is a pic of the impacted area (the space between the dormer and the main portion of the house). Appreciate any insight.

 

[oldognewtrick]

Did your roofer install new step flashing? If it's under warranty, I'd call them back.

 

[red49er]

I believe so. But I will double-check. I am wondering if the moisture on the plywood could be attributed to the difference in temperature between the inside of our house and the outside given that the studs are exposed for now until we put the drywall back up.

 

[oldognewtrick]

You should be reading 5-6% moisture.

 

[red49er]

The normal wood reading is coming up at 7% but those darker areas in the pics register at 15%+ at certain times. Our roofer is stumped(clueless) and we are trying to figure out if it is a leak or if it is due to the fact that those walls are exposed and the cold air from the outside is hitting the warmer air on the inside and creating condensarion on the plywood. The plywood was reading high this morning and it did not rain last night which makes me think it could be a moisture issue. However, it also read high the day after it rained a few nights ago. We are stumped and don’t have the $ to go through fixing another leak — like we had with the old roof.

 

[oldognewtrick]

Is the ride vent cut 1-1/2 " on each side of the ridge pole? Is there adequate intake vent? Does a bath vent exhaust into the attic and not to daylight?

 

[red49er]

Really appreciate your help on this subject. To answer your questions, we only have one vented bathroom and it vents to the outside not the attic so safe bet that isn’t the issue. I am not too familiar with roofing specs, so not sure about the 1-1/2” ride vent cut and intake vent. Would it be possible to elaborate a little further on those? Here is a picture of the end of the roof from the inside. it has not rained here since Thursday night and there is a distinct amount of moisture on the plywood this morning. The readings near the end of roofing (pictures included) were as high as 24% this morning. It was a warm day (around 70 degrees) yesterday and it turned cold overnight (as low as 39 degrees).

In my simplistic head, it seems like The cold air is getting in from the outside, hitting the warmer air on the inside, and ultimately causing condensation on the plywood. But I could be totally off.

 

[oldognewtrick]

https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2012/01/27/replacing-a-roof-how-to-cut-and-install-a-ridge-vent