Question about Leaking

[robstiles]

I would greatly appreciate some suggestions for the following issue...

We recently moved into a 4 bedroom cabin in central Minnesota and are in the process of turning the once seasonal use home into a year - round living space. I have a problem with a leaky ceiling and am not sure how to take care of it. The issue is when it gets cold out and when it warms up, the ceiling in certain parts of the house start to leak. Here is what I think the issue is...

When it gets cold the attic gets frost built up on the inside and then when it warms up, the frost melts and leaks through the insulation and then therough the ceiling. Not sure if that is what it is as we have not climbed up into the attic to check it out yet. We did insulate with blow - in insulation this fall, but maybe did not do a good enough job. We are planning to blow in more insulation in hopes that it will take care of the issue. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what else we can to to fix this problem? Any would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Rob

[kactuskid]

Your prognosis sounds correct about frost in the attic, but added insulation won't do any good if you don't have the proper ventillation along with sealing out the passage ways for warm moist heat that's escaping up into the attic. Here's a link that'll explain to you why ventillation is important and will show you how to calculate the amount needed for your cabin. You need both soffit and roof venting and be sure to install the venitllation chutes into the soffit cavities to keep them clear so air can move up into the attic from the outside.

http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=18231

You also need to seal all air penetrations that are allowing warm air up into the attic. This link here will show you what to do for that.

http://www.rd.com/familyhandyman/content/18158/

Once you stop the air from escaping upwards and then provide the ventillation that'll allow any that does get up there to move out you shouldn't have any frost on the bottom of your roof decking anymore. This'll also prevent the growth of mold and mildew up there.