House/roof/engineering question?
 

I was in the bedroom this evening and noticed two faint brown lines had appeared in the ceiling above the "sitting room". Almost as if they were the drywall tape lines.

I have a shingle or two that blew off the roof as we get some pretty significant wind with no trees nearby.

I suspected after all the rain that some water had gotten into the attic. I checked and there didn't appear to be anything. No wet beams where the rain might have wicked down, no gaping hole where the shingles were, no black wood where water had gotten wet repeatedly and no wet looking insulation. (I looked as best as my flashlight and 10 feet away on the a/c ledge would allow).

I have an a/c unit up there with a hose that comes off the top and goes the opposite direction under the insulation. There is another that would drain the drip pan that looks as if it has never seen a drop of water.

House was built in 2004.

I can't think of what would bring out the tapes like that other than water. But I can't find any. Any thoughts? Something I'm missing? The windows have been open on and off with the nice weather.

Thanks

Look at the plumbing vent line if that is in the same area. You could have water running down that. I would crawl up there and actually feel the insulation to make sure that it is not wet.

X2 daughter called last week after a big chunk of dry wall landed on their bed. It was during the last big storm but prolly leaking for months.

Steve -

Check the drain line on the A/C unit and the "vent" lines from the sewer/drain lines.

Our vent line was sloped incorrectly, and the condensation in the line (warm moist air in the vent line versus cold air in the attic) was accumulating in the pipe and leaking out a poorly glued PVC joint into the wall behind our shower stall. I thought the shower stall was leaking and tore apart the whole wall behind the shower before I realized the leak was originating from above.

BC

there also may be build up of crap in a/c drain line backing up water. Clean these out every so often with bleach and compressed air. Water can back up in evaperator and overflow.

You could call someone like Dry Home roofing in Sterling to check out and inspect the roof.

Water could be coming from some other place on the roof, amhik, had to have new roof after only 15 years. Builder did sh$tty job with scaffold and staples that contributed to premature failure.

hope its not all that bad.

I'll check this again. Maybe the lines aren't new, just that I just noticed them. This line runs the opposite direction, so it'd have to be burst under the insulation and running backwards since there isn't a problem under where these lines run.

The spot where I'm seeing the problem is right in the dead center of the house and there's nothing exciting about this room. Just a space with a vent at the far end. I'll see if I can trace a little better tomorrow evening - access above my baby's room. Thanks for the advice.

Pics might help. Do you feel any moisture on the ceiling?

Do the lines line up with the joists? If so it might be from slight condensation that can form where the joists are on the drywall as they chill the drywall more than the better insulated areas between them. This moisture lets house dust stick and you end up with dirt lines.

Based on the type of weather experienced recently, I would suspect wind driven rain got in. I've had this happen to my ceiling twice, different location each time. Has not reoccurred after several years.

X2 on wind driven rain possibility. Most newer houses have a peak vent that runs along the top ridge of the roof. Occasionally, heavy rain with strong wind can cause some water to blow under the cap, and dribble/pour through the peak opening and into the attic.

Another possibility, though you should have seen already, is a large bees/hornets nest. Seen where a large nest was built on the floor of an attic, partially hidden by the insulation. Moisture inside the next drained to the bottom causing ceiling stains.

Poking a hole near the stains can A) maybe divulge more info and/or B) allow you better locate the location from the attic (stick something up through the hole).