Wonder no more:
This attic was insulated last year, along with the floor. The contractor did not put any insulation on the access to the attic. Therefore that access hatch was the coldest surface in the whole house.
Moisture always knows where the cold spots are and it will find them. It will condense on the surface. And days, if not hours later, mold will begin to show up.
Two lessons here:
1. Make sure your exhaust fans work. Hold up a piece of tissue paper to the vent to see if it will hold it up. If it falls you are not getting any airflow out of that fan. Check the vent path and think about replacing the fan.
2. When you go to insulate a portion of the home be consistent. By leaving small portions undone you will get surface temperature variations that will encourage condensation.
P.S. Answers to previous questions are still coming. . .
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2 comments:
thats good that answers are still coming, but I'm on to a new question. The question of oil furnances. I've heard that they now make a bio fuel for these furnaces. They are touted as lasting 30+ years next to a gas furnace life of 15. And no excessive taxes, no delivery fees(unless your lazy), burns cleaner and hotter than gas, no interference from the pesky PUD's. Similarly priced to gas furnances, but are they effcient like other fuels?
If it works for the homeowner it works for me. I have heard arguments that the production of bio fuels produces more green house gases than using the alternative (frequently the follow up here is that the production will get more efficient). I have also heard that the production produces less.
Some have told me it is a cheaper alternative (if you don't count the 6+ hours a week they spend on the project), and others have told me it is more expensive.
Most customers want the most reasable, cheap, and easy solution. While bio-fuels would be cheaper if carbon taxes were introduced, that approach requires higher prices and both know how well that goes over. Just look at the response to the gasoline market.
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