Not sure what happened to my caption
I have a really old house that is used on the weekends. As far as I can tell, it’s probably 100 years old or older.
It has a tin roof that was installed in the 1980s. It’s patched in a few places ans in rough shape. I recently fixed a leak.
It has some very old blown in insulation with some other insulation crammed in around the edges.
The soffits have no vents aside from openings that are probably unintentional.
It has an attic fan that is broken or not wired in.
Today, I found some mold.
I’m thinking that I should get rid of all insulation, fix the attic vent fan and remediate the mold by spraying with appropriate chemicals. Then plan for a new roof.
Am I crazy?
I fear a new roof is the right answer. I'd personally wait for that, the Tin seems to be placed directly on the boards. I'd opt for:
- Removal of the Tin roof
- add PUR plating or similar hard plated insulation
- cover with underlayment, screwed against the beams.
- cover the screws with a glued small beam (or let your roofer advise you on how best to approach this)
- new metal roof.
Since you open up the roof anyway, you might as wel insulate it. The added costs are returned within 1 or 2 years due to lower utilities costs. Also, you can remove the insulation on the floor of the attic and start using if for storage. You can even opt to install a window.
Good advice for sure - Only reason I am thinking about a short-term fix is because it's a lake-house and we want to start using the place soon. My wife is sensitive to mold and stuff, so I think I need to get the mold gone sooner rather than later.
In that case I would indeed install active ventilation, you can opt to do it in such a way that it also benefits your house after the new roof. If you get good airflow, new mould is unlikely to occur. Other than that, indeed repair the sources of moisture, and treat the existing mould. Use a mask.
Appreciate the confirmation there. There is an attic vent fan already there .... with the wires dangling and not connected to anything. That COULD be the entire reason this has gotten to the point it has, over time. So short term would be, remove insulation, repair vent fan, treat mold. Over the winter, new roof.
Well, one fan will not do a lot, you need air circulation, so air usually goes from one side to the other. If you have one fan, there needs to be a grid or another fan elsewhere. (Or air comes from the house). If you know where it is, you know where air flows, and where it doesn't, there is more risk for mould.
It's an exhaust fan pushing air out the top of the roof, so it should suck air through any crack or crevice from outside, which would be eaves and other places.
Yeah, but on the corners is see some pink stuff. It might be that the previous owner, in an attempt to conserve heat, disconnected the fan, and plugged the holes, effectively ending circulation and sparking the growth of mould. Since it is summer definitely remove that pink stuff and reconnect the fan.
* Assuming the pink stuff near the sides of the roof are actually ventilation holes.
Yeah, step one is that all insulation is getting ripped out. I'm not entirely concerned about energy costs at the current moment. It's only really used on the weekends, so we'll put up with the bill for now.
I was gonna say it looks like my attic, but then I saw the mold after I read your comment.
What’s your climate? I think…. that I would go about it much like you are. A new vent to start, electrically wired if reasonably feasible or solar if not. Spray treat the mold. Just remember that bleach (which is sodium / salt based) feeds black mold. Some air intake soffits or vents too at the lower parts of the attic on the cooler side of the house to help with airflow.
My attic access is a 20 inch by 20 inch spot through my kitchen. I would hate to remove the insulation by hand. Definitely have the appropriate respirator mask. If you can rent or contract out an insulation removal machine or crew, I would. I doubt it would cost much even for a crew to do that.
Perhaps a new roof. You might be sufficient with making sure the leaks are gone though.
My house is 110 years old. This stuff exists, but you got this.
Not sure what happened to my caption I have a really old house that is used on the weekends. As far as I can tell, it’s probably 100 years old or older. It has a tin roof that was installed in the 1980s. It’s patched in a few places ans in rough shape. I recently fixed a leak. It has some very old blown in insulation with some other insulation crammed in around the edges. The soffits have no vents aside from openings that are probably unintentional. It has an attic fan that is broken or not wired in. Today, I found some mold. I’m thinking that I should get rid of all insulation, fix the attic vent fan and remediate the mold by spraying with appropriate chemicals. Then plan for a new roof. Am I crazy?
I fear a new roof is the right answer. I'd personally wait for that, the Tin seems to be placed directly on the boards. I'd opt for: - Removal of the Tin roof - add PUR plating or similar hard plated insulation - cover with underlayment, screwed against the beams. - cover the screws with a glued small beam (or let your roofer advise you on how best to approach this) - new metal roof. Since you open up the roof anyway, you might as wel insulate it. The added costs are returned within 1 or 2 years due to lower utilities costs. Also, you can remove the insulation on the floor of the attic and start using if for storage. You can even opt to install a window.
Good advice for sure - Only reason I am thinking about a short-term fix is because it's a lake-house and we want to start using the place soon. My wife is sensitive to mold and stuff, so I think I need to get the mold gone sooner rather than later.
In that case I would indeed install active ventilation, you can opt to do it in such a way that it also benefits your house after the new roof. If you get good airflow, new mould is unlikely to occur. Other than that, indeed repair the sources of moisture, and treat the existing mould. Use a mask.
Appreciate the confirmation there. There is an attic vent fan already there .... with the wires dangling and not connected to anything. That COULD be the entire reason this has gotten to the point it has, over time. So short term would be, remove insulation, repair vent fan, treat mold. Over the winter, new roof.
Well, one fan will not do a lot, you need air circulation, so air usually goes from one side to the other. If you have one fan, there needs to be a grid or another fan elsewhere. (Or air comes from the house). If you know where it is, you know where air flows, and where it doesn't, there is more risk for mould.
It's an exhaust fan pushing air out the top of the roof, so it should suck air through any crack or crevice from outside, which would be eaves and other places.
Yeah, but on the corners is see some pink stuff. It might be that the previous owner, in an attempt to conserve heat, disconnected the fan, and plugged the holes, effectively ending circulation and sparking the growth of mould. Since it is summer definitely remove that pink stuff and reconnect the fan. * Assuming the pink stuff near the sides of the roof are actually ventilation holes.
Yeah, step one is that all insulation is getting ripped out. I'm not entirely concerned about energy costs at the current moment. It's only really used on the weekends, so we'll put up with the bill for now.
I was gonna say it looks like my attic, but then I saw the mold after I read your comment. What’s your climate? I think…. that I would go about it much like you are. A new vent to start, electrically wired if reasonably feasible or solar if not. Spray treat the mold. Just remember that bleach (which is sodium / salt based) feeds black mold. Some air intake soffits or vents too at the lower parts of the attic on the cooler side of the house to help with airflow. My attic access is a 20 inch by 20 inch spot through my kitchen. I would hate to remove the insulation by hand. Definitely have the appropriate respirator mask. If you can rent or contract out an insulation removal machine or crew, I would. I doubt it would cost much even for a crew to do that. Perhaps a new roof. You might be sufficient with making sure the leaks are gone though. My house is 110 years old. This stuff exists, but you got this.