Condensation is Often Mistaken for

Metal Roof Leaks…

Condensation

Roofrite is occasionally called out to investigate metal roof leaks that turn out to be “phantom” roof leaks. The occupiers of the property are experiencing staining or mould growing on the ceiling. A sure sign of a metal roof leak right? Wrong! Investigation sometimes reveals the cause of the leak to be condensation.

Condensation is more common in winter as the metal roof cools with the night air and the inside of the building warms. The problem can also be caused by venting of warm moist air from kitchens, bathrooms and laundries into the roof cavity rather than directly outside.

Condensation is rusting this metal roof from the inside out

The Problem

If the building has had no sarking or sizalation installed, condensate builds up on the metal underside of the roof. It then drips onto the ceiling below. The insulation batts below can act like a giant sponge. As the batts absorb the moisture from above, hey presto! Ceiling stains appear. The ceiling can become so wet that it is in danger of caving in. Fortunately, before this stage occurs, most people assume they have a roof leak and call a roof plumber.

Image 2: The Solution is to install a flue to vent the moist bathroom air directly outdoors.

The Cause

Though our client’s ceiling wasn’t caving in, condensation accumulating under her bathroom roof was causing the metal roof sheet to rust through. The Thornbury bathroom had a fixed glass window. The only ventilation was a ceiling fan venting directly into the low pitched (almost flat) roof and the client was worried about the build up of mould in her bathroom. This led her to call us. Our investigation of the metal roof revealed rust advancing from the inside out.

The Solution

Fixing the condensation issue in this case was a text book solution. The Australian Building Codes Board, Condensation In Buildings Handbook 2011, states it “is best practice to exhaust air directly outdoors from high moisture generation rooms, such as bathrooms, kitchens, and laundries.” Roofrite replaced the roof sheet and installed a flue venting the bathroom air directly outdoors.

Image 3: The newly installed flue venting directly outside

Roofrite Melbourne for Metal Roof Repairs, Metal Roof Restoration & Metal Re-Roofing – 03 9499 8059

If you have any queries, or would like a quote on repairing or replacing your metal roof, please call Roofrite on 03 9499 8059.

Lucy Parker

The team at Roofrite were fantastic and so professional, making sure the job was done properly. Very trust worthy and will use them again.

Damon

After spending ages sifting through reviews online as well as listing the job on a website, I finally found a decent business to replace rusted box guttering as well as repair a separate roof leak next to the Air conditioning unit. When it rained hard enough, water would pour into the ceiling and exit through the downlights. After dealing with some of the "cowboys"out there, (some even had good reviews), my opinion has been that if they can come around at short notice and want cash with no paperwork, then avoid at all costs. I'm a few hundred dollars lighter for this life experience. Some didn't even bother to call back. Fortunately I found Roofrite. The whole process was well managed from start to finish. Someone did the quote with an estimated start date as well as ensuring the dimensions of the new gutter would comply with building code. Then someone else came to measure up the job. The tradies arrived on the date they said they would and did the job, to a very high standard and took away the old Guttering. Finally the office sent me photos taken of the job and a VBA certificate. I can definitely recommend these people who were very professional and friendly. I no longer need to race for the buckets when there is a downpour! Update I was waiting for a really bad storm to hit before doing a follow up review to my original August 2022 post above. Well we got that recently. I am happy to report that after the morning storm that hit Melbourne last week there were no leaks. Excellent quality workmanship is all I can say. Damon

Cathy Harris

We had a large job to replace existing boxed in gutters, fix leaks and replace asbestos lining. The team at Roofrite did a great job to sorry out all the issues, even the ones found after starting the job. They kept us informed of start dates, progress and any issues found. Communication from all of the team was exceptional. We feel like we have had a very high quality job done and feel assured if we have any issues, we can call them to come back anytime. Would definetly use again and recommend for trustworthiness and good value.

Rosemary Jones

Excellent workmanship, communication and lovely people. Highly recommend every part of the organisation.

Bec Wood

Roofrite were great to deal with every step of the way, from the quote through to install. The admin team were equally lovely and responsive, our whole experience was extremely positive and we'd definitely recommend them and use them again in the future.

David Brown

Roofrite re-did the roof at the front of our house and installed 9 skylights. They are an extremely well run organisation who communicate very well. The workers are neat, tidy, polite and extremely high quality. We had no problems with anything they did and they took great pride in their craft. Absolutely love our seemingly leak proof and bright new home!

Tatiana Mauri

Jamie and the team did a wonderful job installing our skylight. We have used Roofrite a number of times and have been very happy with the outcome. They're very professional and we highly recommend them. Karen and Tatiana

Erin Paterson

2. Just wanted to provide some feedback -; From the outset I felt great confidence with Kym, he certainly knows his stuff and made me feel assured that what we wanted could be achieved and actually delivered. It wasn’t as simple as putting on the cladding but we had various issues with leakage and the lack of water proofing by the correct placement of flashing's etc. Then the day finally came were the boys showed up to do the job. The “boys” consisted of Jamie, Jermain, James and ( Chris on occasion). I have to say as a business owner, all of them are very impressive, punctual, hardworking and good at what they do… In particular Jamie is excellent as the leader of the gang and his knowledge and eye for detail is impeccable, he is an absolute asset to your business. I was so impressed by him and his ability to communicate with me what some of the issues were and how he was going to fix them. So overall I am beyond happy with the work and the outcome and it was my pleasure dealing with the boys. Kind regards, Erin.

Condensation is Often Mistaken for Metal Roof Leaks | Roofrite Melbourne