snow in the attic

[momz]

a couple weeks ago, we had some snow blow up under the ridge vent on our roof. We discovered it when the snow melted and leaked through the ceiling.

We have had one roofing company come out to assess it, all they did was enter the attic through the hatch. They did not go up on the roof. (I didn't expect them to, as it was below zero and there was still snow up there). But, they somehow were able to present us with an estimate to replace the roof vent.

Since then, we have not been able to get another roofer out here. We have been talking with 2 different companies, both of which say they need to wait until the weather improves so that they can get up on the roof to properly assess the situation.

In the meantime, I've been doing a little research. From what I am reading, there may not be anything that needs to be repaired. It may just be a matter of the wind blowing in the wrong direction as opposed to a structural problem with the roof or the ridge vent.

I'm left wondering if the first roofing company was really giving me an honest assessment. In retrospect, I think that I would have more confidence in their opinion if they would have just waited for the weather to clear, like the other companies have done.

 

[momz]

forgot to add. The first company told me that the problem is that the ridge vent is defective and that the insurance will not pay for the repairs because it is not a weather related problem but a defect in the original install.

But...we have lived in this house for 13 years and have never before had snow in our attic.

This has been a particularly brutal winter, the worst since we have lived here. So...how can it NOT be a weather event?

If the ridge vent has performed properly for 13 years, how can it be defective now?

Do you think this guy was being honest?

Now, after I've written all this out, I'm wondering if he knew that the insurance company would say that the ridge vent is fine and doesn't need replaced. So, he wants me to just take his word for it that it is a defect in the install, insurance won't pay and then I will be stuck with the bill.

What to do?

 

[rock_doctor]

I would stick my head up there after each storm to see if the snow comes in again. It may be a "once in a blue moon" deal and you may not have to worry about it. If it has been like that for 13 yrs and you have not had a problem then i would not worry about it. I would go up there and look around. Look at the insulation for mold which would suggest that it is getting wet often but if everything is clean and not wet, i would leave it. Make sure to walk on the wood only. If you step on the insulation you will fall though the ceiling. The ridge vent material comes in a couple different types. One uses a plastic mesh that almost looks like a fabric and another uses a plastic sheet that looks like cardboard. The cardboard one has channels that allow air to flow though it and i can see snow being forced though the channels. With it so cold the snow is like a dust (very fine) and that would make sense. In that case and this what i have on my house i would not change anything. Take a good look yourself and see what is up there.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We had that happen once. It was a 100-year snowstorm, apparently, with drifts higher than our front door. We didn't know there was snow in the attic until water leaked through the ceiling onto the carpet. Our insurance did cover repairs to the drywall and carpet cleaning, and the ridge vent did not need to be replaced. We were told it functioned as designed - it was just a crazy, freak storm.

I would get another estimate as soon as you can, but I would also notify the insurance company of the event.

 

[momz]

Very reassuring posts. Thank you. It is warming up a bit, so hopefully the other roofers can get out to inspect it soon.

I have an estimate from a handyman to repair the ceiling as well. It seems a very reasonable fee.

Also, DH and I are tossing around the idea of upgrading the insulation up there. DH looked around and it appears that we do not have a vapor barrier between the insulation and the drywall. We also don't have baffles in place to stop the insulation from being blown around by the soffit vents.

We have R-38 insulation and would like to increase to R-49. There is a small area of wet insulation, but no mold. So, it does not look like this sort of thing has been happening consistently. Also, its been so cold, the snow that came in has mostly just evaporated. We haven't had any more snow melt coming through the ceiling.

We currently have fiberglass insulation. But are thinking of going with the green stuff (shredded newspaper type stuff). Can we just layer the new stuff on top of the old, or would it be better to remove all of the old before adding the new?

 

[3boymthr]

I'm not sure where you live but in Massachusetts we have free home energy assessments. They come in look at all the insulation in your attic, around the sill, check your lights, etc. and tell you how much it would cost to fix. We are getting a whole bunch of stuff done, including weatherproofing the doors and the vents and the access to the attic and upgrading our insulation from around 4 inches to 13 inches for $504! The value of the repairs was over $4,000. The electric company is covering the rest of the cost. We were eligible for a heat loan to cover the additional $500. The energy assessment guy also gave us one LED bulb and he was an independent contractor affiliated with the electric company not with the insulation company - he actually gave us a list of 50 different companies to choose from. Check with your electric or gas company to see if they offer something similar. It took 5 weeks after my initial call to have the guy come out and about 4 after I sent back in the papers to have the insulation contractor call me back to schedule the repairs/upgrades.

 

[momz]

I'm not sure where you live but in Massachusetts we have free home energy assessments. They come in look at all the insulation in your attic, around the sill, check your lights, etc. and tell you how much it would cost to fix. We are getting a whole bunch of stuff done, including weatherproofing the doors and the vents and the access to the attic and upgrading our insulation from around 4 inches to 13 inches for $504! The value of the repairs was over $4,000. The electric company is covering the rest of the cost. We were eligible for a heat loan to cover the additional $500. The energy assessment guy also gave us one LED bulb and he was an independent contractor affiliated with the electric company not with the insulation company - he actually gave us a list of 50 different companies to choose from. Check with your electric or gas company to see if they offer something similar. It took 5 weeks after my initial call to have the guy come out and about 4 after I sent back in the papers to have the insulation contractor call me back to schedule the repairs/upgrades.

What a fabulous suggestion! I'll be contacting our electricity provider to see if there is a similar program here. Thanks!

 

[wiigirl]

We had that happen once. It was a 100-year snowstorm, apparently, with drifts higher than our front door. We didn't know there was snow in the attic until water leaked through the ceiling onto the carpet. Our insurance did cover repairs to the drywall and carpet cleaning, and the ridge vent did not need to be replaced. We were told it functioned as designed - it was just a crazy, freak storm.

I would get another estimate as soon as you can, but I would also notify the insurance company of the event.

 

[momz]

I have some more information today.

spoke with the insurance company. They will cover damage that is caused by a weather event. We have a $1K deductible.

Roofer #1: Did not go on the roof. Assessed from inside the attic space. Said the problem is a flaw in the original design of the vent and is NOT a weather related issue, but the vent needs replaced.
$2050 (insurance would not cover because he says it is not weather caused)

Roofer #2: Went up on the roof. Said the wind has caused the ridge vent to pull up and away from the roof on one side. The wind blows and causes the roof vent to lift thus allowing the snow to enter into the attic. Says the vent needs replaces.
$850 (insurance won't pay because it is less than our deductible).


HMMMMM...Both agree that the vent needs replaced, although they differ on their opinion of WHY. Neither estimate will be covered by insurance. There is big difference between the 2 estimates!

How confusing!!!

Now...more snow this weekend, plus rain...fabulous.

One more estimate to go.

 

[ktlm]

I vote for roofer No. 2 as you have lived in the house for 13 years with no issue.

We recently had this happen. No damage, but when DH went into the attic related to some Christmas stuff he found a little pile of snow. We had recently had the roof replaced. The roofer came back out and quickly determined there was a small hole in the vent exhaust, likely due to it being accidently hit by one of the roofers while replacing the roof. He had it fixed that day. If your vent had been installed defectively, I don't think it would have been 13 years before it had this kind of problem. Roofer 2's explanation sounds much more likely and reasonable. Will be interesting to see what No. 3 says.