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Hi everyone - I will try to keep this short. We are redoing one of our bedrooms upstairs. We bought our house about 6 years ago and at the time I noticed that an area of the ceiling had been poorly patched and I figured it would just be one of those things that I would get to. The roof was replaced the year we bought the house. I have never noticed any leaks in the area in the past 6 years and of course in that time we have had some pretty good rainstorms and no issues.
So I am finally redoing this bedroom and I decided to remove the section of poorly repaired drywall on the ceiling. Right above the the area is a vent pipe that vents our powder room on the first floor. There was a little insulation around the pipe (just the insulation that is original to the house). The insulation was wet (not drenched or anything like that) and the pipe itself (copper) had condensation on it. I am guessing that the roof is not leaking because I think we would have probably seen more water in the past 6 years if it was a true leak.
My question is - should I insulate the actual pipe itelf and maybe add some foam insulation where the pipe meets the sheathing on the roof and would that help stop the condensing? I was already planning to replace the insulation in that area, but am wondering if i should add that foam and insulation around the pipe as well?? Thanks for any help!
Wow. Copper vent pipe was expensive even before copper went up in price. Actually, PVC is a better choice for the job, since it doesn't conduct heat as well. If you wrap the pipe, you will extend the cold downward and move the area of condensation. You could wrap the pipe or encase it above the roofline to reduce the cold getting to the pipe. A fix that I might do is NOT according to code. Cutting the pipe and leaving a gap of about an inch, then filling that gap with a non-heat conducting material, such as a PVC sleeve or some such would minimize the problem. If the pipe is not wetting a support member or creating a stain on the ceiling, it may be best to just let sleeping dogs lie. Fiberglass insulation can absorb small amounts of moisture and eventually release it without any problem.
Thanks for the reply. I hadn't thought that wrapping it would move the condensation down. There was some staining on the sheet rock on the attic side, but unfortunatley I can't tell if its from the condensation over time or if its from the leak that I assume was there before the roof was replaced 6 years ago. I guess I can just try to patch it up, replace the insulation that was there and just see what happens down the road!
I'm thinking no just because I've never seen the water come through the sheet rock into the bedroom side in the 6 years we have been there and we have had some pretty good rainstorms in that time. I had thought of that though and we are having rain this wed into thursday so I plan to leave the area exposed until then so I can see if its leaking when it rains out. thanks!
I have the exact same problem. Did you find a resolution that worked?
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