is this kind of mold?

[Peter Louis]

I felt ventilation fairly good in the attic. Vapour barrier in place, eave/roof vents.

[Raymond Wand]

Could be sap from the wood. Pine and spruce sometimes exhibit such sap staining and the sap will have a whitish look to it.

[Rick Cantrell]

Looks like Lumberyard mold to me.
Forms when lumber is stored wet.
Not a problem.

[John Kogel]

We need a better pic than that to make a diagnosis, sir. It looks like talcum powder. Did you see a baby up there? :D

[Peter Louis]

Thank you guys. I thought it was fine but I need veterans to verify.:D

Hi, John, RHI got hammered again. Sadly, no chance for the guy to fight back.

[Matt Fellman]

I agree with the others..... hard to say from that picture but doesn't seem to be a problem. Something to keep in mind in attics is if a problem is isolated to a single framing member (as in one segment of a truss or one rafter next to 10 others) it most likely occured before the house was framed.

Kind of like one snow covered car sitting in a parking lot of dry cars. You're unlikely to look at the parking lot and conclude it snowed there recently.

[Dee Reynolds]

I agree, typical mold when lumber is stacked and wrapped with paper.

[Lon Henderson]

Rub your hand on it. If it is hard little bumps, some of which break loose or sticky goo, then probably sap. The summer heat in the attic can often cook the sap out. I can't say that I've seen a white lumber yard mold, but I have seen green and blue algae on wet lumber.

[Gilbert]

Decay in lumber starts with "white specs" then progresses to a wider spread (like in your picture), will turn red or brown then eventually be rotten. What you have there is the first stage of rot in lumber. Normally called dry rot (although misleading for a name) I have worked with Lumber Inspectors that have allowed 75% of a "stud" filled with this dry rot. Personnally I would not recommend anyone buying such lumber since it is the first step in the decaying process. As long as the piece remains under the 20% moisture content, the piece will never loose strenght. You said there is good attic venting so that's a good sign. Just by looking and touching the piece should give you an idea how dry the piece is. Hope this helps.

[Gunnar Alquist]

Could be a surface fungus. If so, in CA it would be a "section 1" item and require treatment. Ask a WDO inspector.

[Dan Cullen]

I think the nature of the substance is of secondary importance. The pattern indicates that it is something that happened outside of the attic since there is a clear line of demarcation where the truss chords and webs meet. If it was consistent across multiple truss members then it would be more likely a result of something happening to it 'in situ'. Personally I wouldn't mention it in my report.

[Pete Curtis]

Could be sap from the wood. Pine and spruce sometimes exhibit such sap staining and the sap will have a whitish look to it.

It doesn't look like mold. However, when you are able to feel the airflow (ventilation) there is usuallt a problem. In 50 years of building, roofing, and repairing homes, plus 20 of those years doing inspections, in every case where I felt the air flow there was an imbalance in the system. In every case there was far more exhaust NFA than intake. In one case about five years ago about 23 five gal. buckets of snow had to be removed from the attic. The ridge vent was not installed properly and the intake (cornice) vents were more than 50% plugged (and there were not enough of them).

[Pete Curtis]

You are right about one thing, I am old. Yes, I do still go on roofs and climb into attics. I did have to take my cane with me a few months ago when I was on a roof with an adjuster.
I do know current Code. I help train inspectors for several cities. A couple of years ago I was called to a home because the homeowner spotted staining on some ceilings. I crawled through the little hole in the closet and immediately felt cool air moving. In this case the roofer had used a hammer to make the opening for the ridge vent. It was really open. Also, he had installed ridge vent along the main ridge and a couple of dormer ridges that were about three feet lower. There were no open soffit vents.
I told the people what the problem was and what had to be done to correct it. They called the roofer several times with no results. That Christmas we had a very heavy snow. The teenage girl living there woke up in a cold, dirty shower. The teenage boy had fun carrying about 25 five gallon buckets of snow out of the attic. There was extensive water damage to ceilings, floors, walls, and furniture.
At their request I called one of my guys and fixed the ventilation mess. There has been no further leakage or damage.
Recently, I reroofed a home that had over $30,000 of damage to the interior. When I made my initial inspection, the first thing I noticed was the air movement I could feel in the attic.
I admit that I'm not as smart as you are, but after inspecting thousands of homes over the past 50+ years, and never having one complaint filed against me, I think I'm doing a fair job.
Oh yes, I go in crawl spaces too.

[Pete Curtis]

Sorry. I forgot to mention, I said what I meant to say about the rdige and soffit vents. The incorrectly installed ridge vents had openins on each side of the ridge that were very uneven (they were made with a roofing hammer) and as wide as three inches in many places. The old C816 cornice (soffit) vents had been covered with a vinyl soffit material which, when installed properly, provides a little over 5" NFA per linear foot. The problem was, that material had been installed over the plugged C816 vents, so there was nearly no intake ventilation at all.
The ridge vent probably had about 6" NFA per linear inch! Can you inderstand me now?
One last thing, I have read the entire Code every year since 2006. Every word on every page. I have passed every exam I've ever taken with flying colors. And, I was recruited to do roof inspections in Florida after the hurricanes a few years back - including in Dade County.
As I have said, I'm sure I don't know as much as you, and don't have nearly as much experience, but please pardon my senile arrogance when I say, "I have been doing this work since before you were born, and may be doing it long after you've gone into used car sales."

[John Kogel]

Pete, Welcome. This guy Don A. has been trying to annoy people since he discovered this site a short time ago. Ignore the rude remarks and he will go away soon.

He is now doing mold ID from blurry pictures and warning us not to touch anything that's old and moldy.

I guess that includes you and me, too. :D

[John Kogel]

OK, I didn't want Pete to think we are all rude boys here. :D

We share experiences from all over the continent. Some of us are always right, except me, I'm a Lefty.

[Peter Louis]

Well, what happened here? anything wrong?

[Raymond Wand]

Peter,
In your original post with picture, is the roof covered in wood shingles or tile roof?

[Mike Lamb]

I think the nature of the substance is of secondary importance. The pattern indicates that it is something that happened outside of the attic since there is a clear line of demarcation where the truss chords and webs meet. If it was consistent across multiple truss members then it would be more likely a result of something happening to it 'in situ'. Personally I wouldn't mention it in my report.

Agreed.

This was on the truss when it was installed. Forget about it.

[Peter Louis]

Peter,
In your original post with picture, is the roof covered in wood shingles or tile roof?

Wood shingle