Had a similar situation last year—thought I had a leak, but it turned out to be condensation from poor attic airflow. Whoever installed the insulation years ago blocked half the vents with batts. Once I fixed that, no more drips. Still amazed how much attic issues can mimic roof problems...
- Gotta admit, attic airflow gets blamed for a ton of stuff. But I’ve seen more than a few “condensation” cases that were actually tiny leaks hiding behind vents, chimneys, or flashing. Water’s sneaky—sometimes it’ll travel a good ways before showing up as a drip in your living room.
- Not saying your fix didn’t work (props for tracking that down), just… sometimes it’s both. Bad airflow plus a pinhole leak = double trouble.
- Funny thing about insulation: folks love to stuff every gap, thinking more is better. But block those soffit vents and it’s like putting your roof in a sauna. I’ve crawled through attics where you could feel the humidity hit you in the face.
- Quick test I use: if the “drip” happens right after heavy rain, I’m suspicious of the shingles or flashing. If it’s more random, especially on cold mornings, then yeah—probably condensation.
- By the way, those fish-scale layers on shingles? They look cool but if they’re not lined up right (or if there’s no proper underlayment), water can still sneak through like a ninja salmon upstream. Seen it too many times.
- Bottom line: roofs are like onions—lots of layers, and they’ll make you cry if you don’t get ‘em right.
Anyway, just my two cents from crawling around too many attics with a flashlight and sore knees…
roofs are like onions—lots of layers, and they’ll make you cry if you don’t get ‘em right.
Ain’t that the truth. I learned the hard way after insulating my attic too much and blocking the soffits—humidity shot up, and suddenly I had mystery stains on the ceiling. Anyone else notice if certain shingle brands are more forgiving with minor alignment mistakes? I’m in a freeze/thaw zone, so even tiny gaps seem to cause headaches.
I’ve noticed some brands are a bit more forgiving, but honestly, if you’re off by more than a quarter inch, even the “easy” ones will show it after a few freeze/thaw cycles. Did you use architectural or three-tab? I find the thicker ones hide my rookie mistakes better… but they’re heavier to wrangle.
Funny you mention the weight—first time I tried architectural, I thought I’d pulled something in my shoulder just getting bundles up the ladder. They do cover up a lot of sins, though, especially if your lines wander a bit. I’ve always wondered if anyone’s had luck with those lighter composite shingles that are supposed to mimic slate or shake? I keep seeing them at supply houses but haven’t tried them on a job yet.
