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  1. #1
    cory nystul's Avatar
    cory nystul Guest

    Default mold, bad paint, thermal bridging???

    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?

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    OREP Insurance

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Plano, Texas
    Posts
    4,245

    Default Re: mold, bad paint, thermal bridging???

    Quote Originally Posted by cory nystul View Post
    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?

    DSCN5191.jpgDSCN5192.jpgDSCN5193.jpgDSCN5196.jpgDSCN5197.jpg
    Check out this past thread.http://www.inspectionnews.net/home_i...honomenon.html

    Jim Luttrall
    www.MrInspector.net
    Plano, Texas

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Spring Hill (Nashville), TN
    Posts
    5,851

    Default Re: mold, bad paint, thermal bridging???

    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!

    Scott Patterson, ACI
    Spring Hill, TN
    www.traceinspections.com

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Lake Barrington, IL
    Posts
    1,367

    Default Re: mold, bad paint, thermal bridging???

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

    Eric Barker, ACI
    Lake Barrington, IL

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Southern Vancouver Island
    Posts
    4,607

    Default Re: mold, bad paint, thermal bridging???

    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.

    Nice pics, BTW.

    John Kogel, RHI, BC HI Lic #47455
    www.allsafehome.ca

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Lansdale, PA
    Posts
    876

    Default Re: mold, bad paint, thermal bridging???

    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.


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Bozeman, Montana
    Posts
    94

    Default Re: mold, bad paint, thermal bridging???

    Quote Originally Posted by John Kogel View Post
    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.

    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.


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