Mysterious water leak, might end up being a project

[ericbx1500]

This maybe a hard question to answer but I will try to describe it the best I can. Four days ago we had an ice storm (1/2 inch) then a little rain then snow. I was checking the area around my pole barn the next day and noticed on one area (north side) of the siding there was a little (not big) frozen waterfall. It started from the inside bottom of the soffit and ran all the way down along the siding right to the ground. I have a 24x32x8 with 1-foot overhangs and gutters. It has vinyl siding and aluminum soffit and fascia, and is not heated nor is there insulation. It’s 4 years old. Things like this always rack my brain as I try to figure the causes. First thought was ice dam but I really don’t see any build up at the drip edge other then some tiny icicles that hang half way down into the gutter. I think somehow the water is getting behind my fascia trim and running down on top of my soffit trim on the inside and towards the wall and then drips out at the other end? I also see that a little water is getting behind the gutter right there as well. Now correct me if I’m wrong. The fascia is a 2x6. I’m thinking when they installed the fascia trim they dropped the lower lip (which receives the soffit trim) down lets say ½ inch or so below the fascia board. Now this left ½ of exposed fascia board were the drip edge goes. Of course with the drip edge installed it covers this up. Now my gutters were installed after the drip edge was installed and this seems to be right around were the transition of the gutter being over the drip edge to being below the drip edge. Anybody have any thoughts on this? I could take some pics if need be.

 

[ericbx1500]

pics.....

 

[EddieWalker]

Eric,

If it's a leak, you should be able make it happen with a hose. Get up on a ladder, or better yet, get somebody else on a ladder and have them spray the roof to simulate a heavey rain. A hose is always gonna be allot more than any rain, so this should show you if there is a leak.

Do it for awhile to really make sure. If there is any moisture coming in, then you have a course to follow. If nothing happens and it stays dry on the inside, then it's probably condensation.

How well is the building vented?

One metal buildings, this is fairly common. With the changes in air tempatures, the humidity inside the building will turn to moisture on the underside of your metal roof. This moisture will do all sorts of weird things. It may look like rain, it might all go to one spot, or it may run all the way to the wall, and follow the wall down.

If it's condensation, then it's happening all over. Look really close all around the inside of you building. Just because it's obvious in one spot, doesn't mean it's not happening in others.

The last thing is the ice dam. I don't live in an area where that happens, so I'll leave that to those of you who know something about it. I don't. hahaha

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[ericbx1500]

I have a continuous ridge vent for venting along with the soffits vents. The pole barn is vinyl sided and has a shingled roof. It is also non-heated and there is no insulation. I think the main contributor was the ice storm where we received around a ½ inch of ice then it rained a little then started to snow. My theory was the ice started to build up in the gutters then the rain fell and also froze up in the gutters causing it to get behind the drip edge and then start to leak down the inside of the fascia trim. With the ice and rain freezing and in turn expanded it probably created some sort of opening in this area to let water in. I know icing can create strange problems as I’m starting to believe this is more of a special condition leak as it had all the right ingredients at the right time. Also this side of the pole barn faces north so it doesn’t get full sun. Tomorrow I am going to get the ladder out and check up there.

 

[PHIL850]

Sounds like the classic ICE DAM situation. if you can get to the edge of the roof you will most likely find that Ice has built up along the lower edge of the roof forming a Dam. As snow melts at the top of the roof, water runs down and meets up with the Ice dam and backs up under your shingels, leaking down inside your sofets and walls. These are common here in new england, and are some times solved by placing heater cables in a zigzag pattern along the edge of the roof line.

regards, Phil C.

 

[ericbx1500]

I believe the water was getting behind the gutter and it started to freeze and build up to were it was getting behind the drip edge and entering the fascia that way and then dripping down in the soffit area. My gutters were installed after the drip edge was up. So on the high end of the gutter the drip edge is behind it (the gutter was installed over it). On the low end it’s just underneath it. The leak seems to be where the gutter makes the transition of being over the drip edge to being right below it. This has never done this before during the winter. Like I said before looks like I had all the right ingredients in the wrong place.

It’s not dripping down anymore. If you look at the first pic you can see the water getting behind the gutter. Its all dry at that spot today. We received this ice,rain and snow storm last Sunday. Since then we received around 3 inches this week so the roof is snow covered all the way down to the gutters. I thought about getting the ladder out and pouring some hot water in that area to see what’s going on.

 

[Bird]

the ice dam. I don't live in an area where that happens

And that's what I thought living in Dallas a long time ago. If you've never experienced and ice dam, you don't know what you've missed. It was probably 25 years ago, during one of Dallas' ice storms and freezing rain, when our next door neighbor called and woke me up about 2:30 a.m. one night. He said he had water running out of the ceiling around a HVAC vent in the bathroom and wanted to borrow my ladder to get up in his attic to see where it was coming from. So without turning on any lights or getting dressed, I start through the house to go open the garage door so he can get my ladder. Naturally, I was sorta thinking that I was glad it wasn't my house with the roof leak, but as I walked through the kitchen, I found my bare feet in a huge puddle and water running on my head from around the HVAC vent in the ceiling. I set a bucket in the floor to catch the water and mopped up what was already there. But that was the only time in my life I've personally seen that phenomenom. I did contact a roofing company to check it out and was told they had lots of calls that day because of ice dams.

 

[ericbx1500]

Good story bird. Of course ice dams are very common here in heated dwellings. Since my pole barn is not heated I believe mine was a special situation with the right ingredients. Never had this problem during a normal winter but then again I never had an ice storm before since I have been in this house. That ice just sticks and coats everything it hits.

 

[Bird]

Since my pole barn is not heated I believe mine was a special situation with the right ingredients.

I agree, Eric. Of course those of us in the south have either little or no experience with the ice dams, but I, too, would not have expected it in an unheated barn.

 

[bugstruck]

That's a pretty typical ice dam and not a bad one. Forget your saw it for several years. That's how long before you see it again on your building IMO. Now if you were heated, in your locale, I'd guess you'd see it again in a year or three. I read the posts rather quick but I'm not seeing you mention it appearing inside the building, so no major problem I presume. I've had it just like that in Maryland and no inside problems. Your interpretation of how it got there is correct. Capillary action of the water primarily. No big deal.