Moisture and the Warm Attic

Moisture and Condensation


The trends of the modern energy conservation in residential construction, especially older homes, have presented the roofing industry with challenges. Homes are commonly retrofitted with new windows and insulation and sidings with house wrap-style vapor barriers. All of these measures are valid; however, the key element of moisture condensation is the most misunderstood concept among home renovators.



Warm Air is a Moisture Conduit
It is not the outside conditions such as the wind, but interior heat that is the conduit that carries with it most of the harmful moisture within residential dwellings. The sources of the most damaging moisture are not rain or snow or ice from the outside, but the very every day activities that produce water vapor within the home. This vapor is picked up and carried by warm air. Whatever the humidity level within a home during the winter, warm moisture laden air escapes the living area of the dwelling. Just as your breath immediately will fog the inside of your cold automobile