I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very
concerned after finding the unfinished attic is extremely moist to the
point that the wood is damp to the touch and has what is now
crystallized material on some. How long until major damage is
caused. I know I need to address some things like the lack of roof
vent ridges and the old drafty windows, but don't know if much can be
done until spring ( I live in Northern NY). Any ideas? I'm afraid I
have ice dams forming.

"Maria" wrote

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very

Maria, if you mean 1927 as the year it was built, I'd relax. It;s been doing
that for 80 years now.

crystallized material on some. How long until major damage is
caused. I know I need to address some things like the lack of roof
vent ridges and the old drafty windows, but don't know if much can be
done until spring ( I live in Northern NY). Any ideas? I'm afraid I
have ice dams forming.

You will get ice dams. They fall off in spring. Pretty normal.

On Jan 10, 8:14*pm, Maria wrote:
I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very
concerned after finding the unfinished attic is extremely moist to the
point that the wood is damp to the touch and has what is now
crystallized material on some. *How long until major damage is
caused. *I know I need to address some things like the lack of roof
vent ridges and the old drafty windows, but don't know if much can be
done until spring ( I live in Northern NY). *Any ideas? *I'm afraid I
have ice dams forming.

If your attic floor has insulation, move some of it out of the way
above the bathroom and kitchen so you can see the ceiling. If the
moisture is coming from those rooms - a likely source - then it would
condense first in the insulation and you might have problems starting
in those locations.

There could be a lot of contributing factors such as type and location
of insulation, roof construction, location of the damp areas on the
underside of the roof, etc. If you're really concerned the best thing
to do is get a pair of knowledgeable eyeballs to size up the
situation.

R

On Jan 10, 8:33*pm, "cshenk" wrote:
"Maria" wrote

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very

Maria, if you mean 1927 as the year it was built, I'd relax. It;s been doing
that for 80 years now.

And you would know this..........how?

Ron wrote:
On Jan 10, 8:33 pm, "cshenk" wrote:
"Maria" wrote

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very

Maria, if you mean 1927 as the year it was built, I'd relax. It;s
been doing that for 80 years now.

And you would know this..........how?\\

2008
-1927
------
=0081

Math is hard.

On Jan 10, 7:14*pm, Maria wrote:
I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very
concerned after finding the unfinished attic is extremely moist to the
point that the wood is damp to the touch and has what is now
crystallized material on some. *How long until major damage is
caused. *I know I need to address some things like the lack of roof
vent ridges and the old drafty windows, but don't know if much can be
done until spring ( I live in Northern NY). *Any ideas? *I'm afraid I
have ice dams forming.

How long has it been like this, a moisture meter can show areas of
roof leaks. An unheated attic needs good insulation on the floor and
venting for fresh air. If nothing is changed in the last maybe 10
years that you had done maybe a roof leak, If moisture was real bad it
would have rotted away 70 years ago.

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:14:55 -0800 (PST), Maria
wrote:

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very
concerned after finding the unfinished attic is extremely moist to the
point that the wood is damp to the touch and has what is now
crystallized material on some. How long until major damage is
caused. I know I need to address some things like the lack of roof
vent ridges and the old drafty windows, but don't know if much can be
done until spring ( I live in Northern NY). Any ideas? I'm afraid I
have ice dams forming.


Whatever you can do to increase ventilation will help. Of course, if
there is a roof leak ventilation won't help much. Perhaps a small
oscillating fan on a timer or a 40w light bulb will work, but I
wouldn't wait until the spring rains to inspect for roof damage.
Ideally the humidity should be below 50%. Anytime wood gets wet,
rot, mold, possibly termites follow and weaken the structure. The
rate of decomposition varies with temperature, humidity, type of wood,
etc. Consider a ridge vent and more soffit vents.

Maria wrote:

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very
concerned after finding the unfinished attic is extremely moist to the
point that the wood is damp to the touch and has what is now
crystallized material on some. How long until major damage is
caused. I know I need to address some things like the lack of roof
vent ridges and the old drafty windows, but don't know if much can be
done until spring ( I live in Northern NY). Any ideas? I'm afraid I
have ice dams forming.


How long since new roofing? Any vents (bathroom, kitchen or dryer) that
exhaust into the attic?
Soffit vents?

On Jan 10, 7:14*pm, Maria wrote:

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very
concerned after finding the unfinished attic is extremely moist to the
point that the wood is damp to the touch and has what is now
crystallized material on some. *

I'm guessing that a house that old that has 'crystallized material' on
the wood was probably built with heartwood pine. If so, it is mostly
impervious to damage from moisture.

Red

On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 07:50:37 -0800 (PST), Red
wrote:

On Jan 10, 7:14*pm, Maria wrote:

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very
concerned after finding the unfinished attic is extremely moist to the
point that the wood is damp to the touch and has what is now
crystallized material on some. *

I'm guessing that a house that old that has 'crystallized material' on
the wood was probably built with heartwood pine. If so, it is mostly
impervious to damage from moisture.

So youre saying that either she is mistaking the crystal stuff for
moisture, or she has moisture but they are two unrelated things.

I've seen amber-colored stuff on the outside of old wood, pine, I
guess. It comes from inside the wood.

Saw on the news that they took down the Rockefeller Center Xmas tree
and in place, the sawed into lumber. The trunk at least.



Red

HeyBub wrote:
Ron wrote:
On Jan 10, 8:33 pm, "cshenk" wrote:
"Maria" wrote

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very
Maria, if you mean 1927 as the year it was built, I'd relax. It;s
been doing that for 80 years now.
And you would know this..........how?\\

2008
-1927
------
=0081

Math is hard.


Yeah, but you don't know if it has been damp all 80 years. This could be
recently failed flashing around a chimney or vent stack. Sometimes all
it takes is one wind gust or blown branch, to make an old lead boot let go.

We can't see OP's house from here. They need a roof/attic inspection,
not long-distance speculation.

--
aem sends...

On Jan 11, 8:40*am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Ron wrote:
On Jan 10, 8:33 pm, "cshenk" wrote:
"Maria" wrote

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very

Maria, if you mean 1927 as the year it was built, I'd relax. It;s
been doing that for 80 years now.

And you would know this..........how?\\

*2008
-1927
------
=0081

Math is hard.

Ah, I didn't ask how old the house was.

On Jan 11, 12:01*pm, aemeijers wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
Ron wrote:
On Jan 10, 8:33 pm, "cshenk" wrote:
"Maria" wrote

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very
Maria, if you mean 1927 as the year it was built, I'd relax. It;s
been doing that for 80 years now.
And you would know this..........how?\\

*2008
-1927
------
=0081

Math is hard.

Yeah, but you don't know if it has been damp all 80 years. This could be
recently failed flashing around a chimney or vent stack. Sometimes all
it takes is one wind gust or blown branch, to make an old lead boot let go.

We can't see OP's house from here. They need a roof/attic inspection,
not long-distance speculation.

--
aem sends...

Thank you!

On Jan 11, 8:40*am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Ron wrote:
On Jan 10, 8:33 pm, "cshenk" wrote:
"Maria" wrote

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very

Maria, if you mean 1927 as the year it was built, I'd relax. It;s
been doing that for 80 years now.

And you would know this..........how?\\

*2008
-1927
------
=0081

Math is hard.

And btw, it is now 2009.

Ron wrote:
On Jan 11, 8:40 am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Ron wrote:
On Jan 10, 8:33 pm, "cshenk" wrote:
"Maria" wrote

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very

Maria, if you mean 1927 as the year it was built, I'd relax. It;s
been doing that for 80 years now.

And you would know this..........how?\\

2008
-1927
------
=0081

Math is hard.

Ah, I didn't ask how old the house was.

Oh. Sorry.

Ron wrote:
On Jan 11, 8:40 am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Ron wrote:
On Jan 10, 8:33 pm, "cshenk" wrote:
"Maria" wrote

I am the new homeowner of a 1927 Craftsman bungalow and am very

Maria, if you mean 1927 as the year it was built, I'd relax. It;s
been doing that for 80 years now.

And you would know this..........how?\\

2008
-1927
------
=0081

Math is hard.

And btw, it is now 2009.

Only for those who have caught up on their bookkeeping.

On Jan 11, 10:44*am, mm wrote:


I'm guessing that a house that old that has 'crystallized material' on
the wood was probably built with heartwood pine. *If so, it is mostly
impervious to damage from moisture.

So youre saying that either she is mistaking the crystal stuff for
moisture, or she has moisture but they are two unrelated things.


I'm saying her crystallized material is quite possibly thoroughly
dried pine pitch. If condensation formed on it, it would feel damp
but would not penetrate nor harm the wood.

Red

On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:52:37 -0800 (PST), Red
wrote:

On Jan 11, 10:44*am, mm wrote:


I'm guessing that a house that old that has 'crystallized material' on
the wood was probably built with heartwood pine. *If so, it is mostly
impervious to damage from moisture.

So youre saying that either she is mistaking the crystal stuff for
moisture, or she has moisture but they are two unrelated things.


I'm saying her crystallized material is quite possibly thoroughly
dried pine pitch. If condensation formed on it, it would feel damp
but would not penetrate nor harm the wood.

That seems strong. Even if the stuff is seeping out of the wood and
protecting part of it, would it likely be a complete cover that
protected all of it?

Red