Frost In Attic Melting

The humid air in your home rises to the top of your home the attic when the temperature gets too low.

Frost in attic melting.

But let s say that it is a warm day and the frost has melted. When a warm sunny day arrives after a long cold stretch and it seems like you have a roof leak when there isn t a cloud in the sky it s probably attic icing otherwise known as ice dams or ice damming and the surprising thing is that it s very unlikely that the roof covering itself is the problem. Frost and ice can go straight from a solid state to a vapor and cold outside air is frequently very dry. How to handle melting frost in attic.

My entire attic is covered in frost. In cold climates that leads to ice dams. When moisture gets into the attic it condenses on the roof sheathing in the form of frost. You definitely don t want frost in your attic.

Then the air condensates on the wood of the interior of your roof which is the coldest part of the attic. Frost will form on the underside of the roof deck along framing members and even on the topside of the insulation. Frost comes from air leaks. The difference between this photo and the first is that the garage is unheated so there s just not much heat available to melt the frost on that side in the first photo.

Melting frost can lead to deteriorated roof sheathing mold on the roof sheathing wet insulation and water stains on the ceilings. I ll be getting a new roof this spring and will address that issue at that time. The frost itself doesn t do any damage but once it melts things get wet which is when the damage. Then it freezes against the wood and all of a sudden you have frost.

If the ventilation is working and the source of moisture has been eliminated the current frost and moisture will evaporate hopefully before it melts and drips. When moisture gets into the attic it condenses on the roof sheathing in the form of frost. I m 99 positive it is due to one of my bath fans being routed to the attic and spreading all the hot shower air through out the attic. Melting frost can lead to deteriorated roof sheathing mold on the roof sheathing wet insulation and water stains on the ceilings.

Frost gets into the attic from air leaks or attic bypasses. Over the other units enough heat escapes into the attics to melt most of the snow. When the moisture gets into the attic it condenses on the roof sheathing in the form of frost.