roof vents and the mysterious midnight drip

Had a customer last year with a similar drip issue, but theirs turned out to be condensation forming because the bathroom exhaust fan vented directly into the attic space - not outside. Have you checked where your bath or kitchen fans vent to?

Yeah, had that happen to me too - thought the roof was leaking, turns out previous owner vented the bathroom fan straight into the attic. Instant DIY sauna up there...not the spa experience I was hoping for. Definitely worth checking out.

Had a similar issue here, except mine was the kitchen exhaust fan. Previous owner decided it was fine to just let it vent into the attic insulation...because who doesn't love greasy insulation pancakes? Ended up having to redo the whole venting setup properly. Curious, did you notice any mold or moisture damage up there, or did you catch it early enough?

"Previous owner decided it was fine to just let it vent into the attic insulation...because who doesn't love greasy insulation pancakes?"

Haha, greasy insulation pancakes - that’s one way to put it. Reminds me of a job I helped out on last summer. Homeowner had been complaining about random drips coming from the ceiling, mostly at night or early morning. We climbed up there and found out their bathroom fan was venting straight into the attic space, no ductwork whatsoever. The insulation was like a soggy sponge, and yeah... mold city. It wasn’t pretty.

Ended up having to rip out a good chunk of insulation and treat the area before installing proper ducting and roof vents. Luckily, sounds like you might've caught yours earlier than they did. If you're not seeing obvious mold yet, that's a good sign - but I'd still recommend checking carefully around joists and corners where moisture tends to collect quietly before showing itself clearly. Better safe than sorry with that stuff.

"Ended up having to rip out a good chunk of insulation and treat the area before installing proper ducting and roof vents."

Yikes, sounds like quite the project... Did you DIY the ducting or hire someone? I'm debating tackling mine myself but worried about hidden costs or surprises popping up mid-job.