mold, bad paint, thermal bridging???

[cory nystul]

I was in a 10 yr old house today. ALL utilities are off. I noted random staining on the ceiling in random rooms. Below you wil find pics. I do not have a thermal camera nor do i imagine it would help the house was bout the same temp as outside (no gas for the heat) The attic DOES NOT have adequate ventilation. The client claimed he had researched the stains and thinks it is thermal bridging? Is he right? Would a thermal cam have helped? what should i be looking for?

3108031081310823108331084

[Jim Luttrall]

I was in a 10 yr old house today. ALL utilities are off. I noted random staining on the ceiling in random rooms. Below you wil find pics. I do not have a thermal camera nor do i imagine it would help the house was bout the same temp as outside (no gas for the heat) The attic DOES NOT have adequate ventilation. The client claimed he had researched the stains and thinks it is thermal bridging? Is he right? Would a thermal cam have helped? what should i be looking for?

3108031081310823108331084
Check out this past thread.http://www.inspectionnews.net/home_inspection/building-interior-home-inspection-commercial-inspection/30399-drywall-ghosting-phonomenon.html

[Scott Patterson]

Ghosting... Most likely soot from fireplace, candles, plug-in air freshness, etc..... Get some HVAC running, deep deep clean the house and a fresh coat of paint.... It's a common sense approach type thing!

[Eric Barker]

It's usually due to high particulate levels in the air and surfaces approaching dew points.

[John Kogel]

In my climate, the dark stains will form where attic insulation is missing. So I would take pics in the attic above those stains. Cold air drawn in at the soffits, condensation on the ceiling, soot.

Then that gives the client a way to resolve the problem - insulate. Turn up the heat. Stop with the scented candles already. :D

Nice pics, BTW.

[Mark Reinmiller]

Definitely ghosting from thermal bridging/missing insulation. I don't have an IR camera, but it could show this if temperatures permitted. So could an IR thermometer. But neither is needed for this.

[Mark Hagenlock]

In my climate, the dark stains will form where attic insulation is missing. So I would take pics in the attic above those stains. Cold air drawn in at the soffits, condensation on the ceiling, soot.

Then that gives the client a way to resolve the problem - insulate. Turn up the heat. Stop with the scented candles already. :D

Nice pics, BTW.

And while your up there taking pictures of the area, you might focus on the way (what appears to be) the girder truss was put together. Often these are not fastened together as the truss manufacturer requires, so that they act/react as a single unit, structural issue. Sometimes when this is the case there are gaps between the members which allow direct air path. Four details may be present here which are common for mistakes; the girder truss assembly, the method of attachment for trusses to the girder truss, the insulation treatment of the end wall of the vaulted ceiling room, and the insulation treatment of the trusses which might be shared with an enlarged soffit or porch area on the other side of that window. Love crawling around in attics.