Rubber Roof Condensation Problems

The rapid cooling leads to immediate condensation.

Rubber roof condensation problems.

If your roof deck or insulation is developing water droplets chances are your forehead is too. Moisture occurs when heated air inside the home rises up to the roof where it meets the colder temperatures of outside air. Virtually the only negative for a rubber roof is appearance and even that drawback can be overcome with the use of rubber shingles or acrylic paint. Roof condensation occurs when moisture becomes trapped between the roof and the insulation.

Condensation can cause a number of problems within a building particularly interstitial condensation which can occur inside the roof s structure. On a 1400 sq ft old adobe house in central new mexico currently 2 3 of the roof is flat vented and covered with foam while 1 3rd has a low slope is unvented and covered with maxitile over ice and water shield. Using the wrong roofer to install a rubber roof can lead to problems down the line due to incorrect installation and can even negate a warranty on the rubber itself. This applies to both the timber and steel trusses.

But with proper design and maintenance principles you don t have to sweat roof condensation issues. It is the leading cause of the deterioration of trusses. Warm wet air rises and meets the cold roof and cools. House has condensation problems and roofer plans to install single ply rubber app torch down over 75 base sheet nailed to deck.

Although condensation in roofs may not seem like a serious problem it actually is. Picture a cloud of moisture floating overhead between the rafters. Roof condensation has a very specific cause. Essentially condensation occurs at night when the temperature inside a building is warmer than outside.

That excess moisture ends up as drops of condensation on the roof. As it cools it can t hold as much moisture. In the case of the timber trusses and purlins they will rot and eventually lose their stability. It s no surprise that this tends to occur more in colder months when home heating is more common and intense.

And second the roof deck and rigid insulation form a reasonable interior vapor barrier. It can also have an effect on thermal insulation materials as the measured thermal performance reduces when increased moisture is present. These roofs have few inter material condensation problems for two reasons. First there is little air movement within the roof system to pump moisture laden air into the roof.

If this problem is not caught early it can be a very expensive and possibly dangerous problem to fix.