Hi and thanks for using JustAnswer.com.
If I am getting your time line right, you moved in 6 years ago. In the winter of year 2 ago- the LAST winter- You had a new roof installed the summer before the LAST winter-year 2 ago-. This winter- year 1- you still have the problem. Forgetting the overall timeline,if this is correct, you installed a roof one summer and the following 2 winters you have had condensation problems, and this is something that did not happen prior to the reroofing. I can understand why you would suspect the roof. However this association of cause and effect is a common excercise of failed logic. The economy and stock market tanked at that time, but is it responsible for your condensation? Of course not. And your new roof is not a cause either. Something else changed- or happened- in this time line. Something you have dismissed as a possible cause, or something you never realized could be a cause. You need to look at sources of water vapor. You changed your diet and are now boiling rice with every dinner. You bought a new high volume showerhead and produce twice as much steam. You installed a hot tub. You installed an indoor fish pond. You moved in all your relatives.These are examples of vapor source. On the other side of the equation is elimination of water vapor. Your installed a vapor barrier on the inside walls and ceilings- as you should. You sealed up all drafty door, window, electrical boxes- any way outside air can get in. These are examples of trapping water vapor.
You got rid of your crappy old doublepane windows and installed brand new aluminum single pane windows. You raised the indoor temperature. These are examples of aggravating factors.
Now, all that aside lets look at what causes condensation. Basically it is the collision of warm moist air with cold or fridgid surfaces. Cold surfaces created less condensation than fridgid surfaces. To prevent the collision, insulation is employed, and vapor barriers are used to prevent the moist air from entering the insulation. At this point you have an airtight box insulated from the condensing cold. In these super insulated homes, ventilation must be provided for bathrooms and cooking appliances. HERE is where your home is probably comming up short. You may have had leaky windows, ceilings, doors, walls- something that created ventilation, and NOW YOU DO NOT.
Look to sources, trapping, and inadequate ventilation.
As for the roof: should moisture escape the living area to the roof, it would condense on the underside of the roof, NOT in your living area.
Find out why your windows are so cold that they condense water vapor in the house. If the windows are not all that cold, find out why there is so much water vapor in the house.
I hope that this information was helpful to you. If it was please remember to click "ACCEPT" on your screen to make sure that I am paid for my efforts. By clicking ACCEPT you are not giving up your ability to ask more questions pertaining to this subject, and I will be happy to respond to these as well. Please take a moment and leave feedback, it is very important!If I exceeded your expectations, a bonus is greatly appreciated- it's easy to do when you accept an answer. Or you can come back and add a bonus at a later date by using the "bonus" button at the top your question page.
General C&ontractor
35 years of troubleshooting construction, remodel, component & material failures. What to do next
Thank you for your answer. We have not changed our eating/living habits over the past year, nor have we installed new windows or done any more insulation/air leaking projects. We bought a gauge to measure humidity yesterday. Within 2 hours it was reading over 60% and the temp outside was about 12 c. (had a bit of a warm spellher in Toronto). Could the problem be with the existing/lack of soffits in conjunction with the new roof?
(explained the soffits in my original letter). The only other situation that occurred was we had our newer high eff. furnace cleaned for the first time......could the service man have disconnected something (you must think we are going crazy?) We turned the humidifer connected to the furnace to the "off" position last winter. We also want to insulate our attic but are fearful that by doing so we may create a further problem with moisture? What are your views on insulating at this time? We really appreciated your first answer and hope to hear from you soon.
Hi efficiency furnaces have a heat extracted cool exhaust that is blown into a 2 inch PVC pipe connecting to the out doors. If this got disconnected or poorly reconnected it would introduce oodles of humidity into the house. If you have no insulation in your ceiling, you probably have no vapor barrier either. If the roof is poorly ventilated there may be trapped humidity rising from inside the house. As this area heats up in the day the humidity would try to equalize between the 2 air spaces(roof & house). Generally in cold weather the humidity is very low and the roof area would equalize with the outside air- as such I still can't see it as a source of humidity. When it is cold enough outside to chill your windows, any humidity outside has already condensed.
One possibility is you have older windows with sash cord and window weights. The pockets the weights travel in leak inside & outside air badly. This would chill your window areas. The heated indoor air can hold more humidity that the cold air outside.The 2 air masses may be colliding here. Insulating is always a good idea. Be sure to put a vapor barrier between the warm house air and the insulation.
Thank you for your accept.