Water dripping from your ceiling or visible signs of water damage on the drywall or plaster above your head is nothing to take lightly.

1/13/2020 (Permalink)

There may be more water at play than you can visibly see and ignoring a leak can lead to structural damage and mold and mildew growth.

Water coming from the ceiling is a symptom of some other home system that is leaking. When a ceiling shows signs of water damage and dripping water, the place to look is in one of two home systems: the roofing system or the plumbing system. Ceiling leaks may be evidenced by actual water dripping down, but before the problem escalates to that point, you may see blistered or peeling paint, or discoloration over a spot in the ceiling.

Identifying Roofing System Leaks

If there are signs of water damage or dripping water coming from the ceiling that is directly below an attic space or directly below the roof surface itself, there is almost no question that the true cause is a hole or other type of damage in the shingles or other roofing material that make up the roof system. There are rarely any plumbing pipes or fixtures running through an attic, so signs of water damage in a ceiling below an attic or roof are always caused by a roof problem. In addition, roofing system leaks will make themselves known through other symptoms:

• The leaking occurs during or shortly after a rainfall. It may take some time for the water to appear, but if it appears during or after a rain, the roof is the place to look for the source.
• If there is active water dripping, it will often be brown or dirty if it comes from the roof. Water making its way into your home often picks up dirt and impurities along the way.
• In cold climates, if ceiling leaking or damage coincides with the presence of ice buildup along the eaves of the house, you likely have ice dams that are causing ice and water to back up under the shingles and down onto the ceiling. Because ice dams occur along the edges of the roof, the ceiling damage or leaking is often near the edge of the room, or may even appear on an exterior wall, since the water may be dripping directly down into the walls.
• In the attic, you may find damp and soggy insulation. Gain access to the attic and look for areas of insulation that show signs of wetness. Do not assume, however, that the roof damage is directly above this part of the attic, because water can flow for quite some distance down along sheathing or a roof rafter before it drips down onto the insulation and through it to the ceiling surface. If you spot damp insulation, pull it back and examine the drywall or plaster lathe beneath. It may be obvious that you've found the source of the ceiling leak.