Question about drywall ceiling

[mikeb27]

I know it's not a garage, but I have a drywall ceiling question. I woke up to this problem in my spare bedroom this morning. I just bought the house in January, and was told the house roof was only 3-4 years old. It's a ranch house, attic above with insulation. It is cold and damp to the touch. Any ideas on what can be causing this issue?

 

[OctoMan]

Water leak? Can you get to that area in the attic for further inspection?

 

[mikeb27]

I have access to the attic. It's kind of tight, but I should be able to get to that area. My only thought is that I may have a small hole in the roof. We have had some rain recently. There's no piping or ductwork run through the attic, everything is run through the crawlspace.

 

[ddawg16]

Leaks....they happen.....

Fix it now before it does more damage.

Nice thing about drywall is that it can handle 'some' water....

Make sure you pull out the wet insulation to help it dry quicker.

If your not sure where the leak is, take some brown paper and lay it out. Any drips will be real obvious. Also note that where it drips may not be the leak...quite often it drip is up higher but the water is running down a joist until it gets to a spot to drip.

 

[Flexia]

You could have a vent pipe going up the wall and out the roof there. It may need reflashed

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

[mikeb27]

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to find some time soon to get up there and put some paper down and see if I can find the leak. Won't be able to get up there today, which is unfortunate since they're calling for rain and the first snow flurries of the year. Hopefully I don't get any more leaking.

 

[mikeb27]

I checked this morning, no vent piping in that spot. But it is close to a ridge line in the roof, not sure if that could possibly have anything to do with it.

 

[pattenp]

Check the ends of the roofing nails where they protrude through the sheathing to see if any of them are rusted or there is any staining. A missed placed roof nail where its not covered by a shingle will leak. Also roof leaks are almost never directly above where the leak shows up on the ceiling.

 

[Kevin54]

I'd venture to guess that you have an exposed nail showing on the roof. Before crawling all the way back into the attic, get up on the roof and walk a straight line above where the spot is. If you see a nail head in the rain grooves of the shingles (if they are 3 tab), then you will have to caulk or use roofing tar over the nail head. The reason I say **** a line strait up is because the water may not drip directly under the nail head, but it may run down inside on the sheeting then drip. If you find it, and once things dry out, you will probably have to use something like Kilz to cover the stain. You can also use a rattle can of clear over the top of the stain to block it, then either touch up if the paint is not too old, or repaint the entire ceiling.

You may want to also check where your shower vent comes out. Some guys when building will just let them lay in the attic and not run them to a soffit.

 

[mikeb27]

Thank you for all of the info. Kevin54, I will go up on the roof first and see if I can find anything. Luckily, the ceiling was painted in February before I moved in, so I should just be able to dry it out, cover it with some Kilz, and repaint just the area affected.

 

[pattenp]

A leaking nail may not be visible from up top. This one in the pic is either placed wrong or the singles were not staggered correctly placing the nail to close to **** ends.