Working with Mother Nature to safeguard your family's health
THE PROBLEM
A contractor was being sued for roof moisture damage to a home they had insulated a year earlier.
The homeowner wanted all new drywall ceilings, complete replacement of roof structure including sheeting and shingles, and all new windows due to mold growth.
The home was 1056 sq. foot, raised ranch modular with a full walk out basement . Five people lived in the home. The home was 17 years old.
CASE STUDY: $28,000 Moisture Litigation
The homeowner kept a bucket of water on top of the wood stove because he believed he needed to add moisture to the home since wood heat was a dry heat.
There were clotheslines in the basement indicating they dry clothes in the basement.
FINDINGS
Our evaluation indicated that the first floor living area experienced a large positive pressure with the furnace fan operating.
Any moisture from normal living and from the basement was being pushed or forced into the attic space through the passages that weren't airsealed between the house and the attic as well as all of the bath room moisture being supplied into the cold attic.
WHAT WE DISCOVERED
Our investigation found the attic insulation completely saturated with water; the roof structure wet and indicated mold growth. The interior windows had mold growth and water stains and damage to the drywall ceilings.
WHAT HAD GONE WRONG
The homeowner would not allow the contractor to vent the bathroom ceiling exhaust fan through the roof, so it remained vented into the attic.
A wood stove had been installed after the contractor did the attic insulation installation. The homeowner’s furnace technician cut a grill into the return ductwork adjacent to the basement wood stove.
He had set the furnace control to “Fan On” which pulled heat from the wood stove and the basement into the ductwork to heat the entire home.