vaulted ceilings

[John Dirks Jr]

I know there can be problems with vaulted ceilings with regard to poor or no ventilation.

How do you treat these things differently during an inspection? Where is the most common place to find conclusive evidence of problems?

[Jerry Simon]

I know there can be problems with vaulted ceilings with regard to poor or no ventilation.

Where is the most common place to find conclusive evidence of problems?

On the roof, as your foot protrudes through the drywall below.

Look for and report obvious lack of ventilation, and feel for soft spots in the roof decking.

In case you've never seen this, it makes for a good read:

Download Attachment: HotRoofCold Roof.pdf

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[John Dirks Jr]

OK, Its a walkable roof so I'll be sure to go up on it.

I'll look for soft spots but I hope my foot doesn't go through. [:-bigeyes

[Brandon Whitmore]

Besides feeling for obvious rot/ deterioration to the sheathing...Look through eave vents (if possible) and ensure you can see an air space between the insulation and sheathing.

[John Dirks Jr]

This place may not have vents at the eaves. There is not much overhang. I do see a ridge vent but that could have been put on any time. 1996 construction.

If there are no vents at the eaves but a ridge vent, what are the implications?

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[John Kogel]

That's newer construction. I'll bet there is soffit venting disguised into that trim. There are plans somewhere that will show the attic details.

If the vaulted ceiling has problems, you should be able to see some anomalies in the drywall. Check the lower edges with a moisture meter. Shine a light across the surface of the ceiling to see if the drywall is sagging between the rafters.

[hausdok]

Could be scissor trusses. Look for an attic access anyway. If so, they're a bitch to get through but I often find the insulation above the ceilings isn't even near touching the ceilings. Be careful you don't slip down into the lower space; it's an even worse bitch to extricate yourself from there.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Rocon]

It also appears in your photo that there could be ridge venting inplace.

[John Dirks Jr]

It had soffit vents and baffles and ridge vent which is good.

It had incorrectly spaced metric shingles which is bad.

Each picture is a different error. I'm sure I could have found many more if I felt like spending enough time up there.

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Here's the baffle that could be seen by lifting the shingles at the eave.

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[Ben H]

I looked at a 850,000.00 house the other day that had the "bonus" room above the garage finished. The two attic access in the garage showed clearly on the back side of the finished wall the insulation that was installed between the roof sheeting and drywall. No gap at all.

My point is John, you can clearly see the baffles installed, but could you confirm they didn't stuff the ceiling.

[Brandon Whitmore]

That's a new enough place; I'm surprised there's not ice and water shield installed at the eaves.

[John Kogel]

That's a new enough place; I'm surprised there's not ice and water shield installed at the eaves.

Well, judging from the shingle installation, no surprise at all.

Maybe not required in Maryland? Even if it was, nobody checked that roof job. It should all be torn off and done right. And I think that's a whole complex worth of roofs they've got there. Ouch!

[Tom Raymond]

I'd wager there'll be issues at all the standing seam roofs too, right where they slam into the rowlocks[:-banghea

[John Dirks Jr]

I'd wager there'll be issues at all the standing seam roofs too, right where they slam into the rowlocks[:-banghea

I wrote that up too, along with no pitch on the sill rowlocks, no weeps or flashings, no deck ledger flashing, rotting under slider doors from lack of flashing under thresholds...etc.