Attic ventilation.

Originally Posted By: Heath Brier Johns
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I inspected a home today that had discolored plywood decking on one side of the home. An attic fan had been added in this area. Did this plywood turn black from excessive heat? Please help!


heath
[ Image: http://www.nachi.org/bbsystem/usrimages/K/Kendall_photos_002.jpg ]
[ Image: http://www.nachi.org/bbsystem/usrimages/K/Kendall_photos_003.jpg ]


Originally Posted By: jbushart
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Looks like fire treated plywood. Heat cooks out the chemicals and makes it dark and extremely brittle. Probably a DIY job.



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Originally Posted By: chorne
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Heath,


It looks like there is no soffit vent.
I have seen the similar situation and had a mold test performed.
The mold specialist stated that it was not dangerous mold.
and that roof had no ventilation either.
Carla


Originally Posted By: lleesch
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Heath, I zoomed up on your pics and it appears that this black mess is also on the insulation. In your second pic, it appears that there is some old fire/smoke damage to the back left corner. Could this house have been in a fire awhile back? Otherwise, I would also suspect a mold issue. Soffit vents aren’t going to work either unless insulation baffles are installed. The discoloration is not from solar heat.


Originally Posted By: Heath Brier Johns
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Hey thanks for the input.


Few things of note:

Million dollar home not a DIY, trust me.
It did have soffit vents and they were not covered with insulation.
An attic fan was present directly above the area.
I agree that the heat in the attic turned the plywood black.
Upon further investigation there wasn't any black on the insulation (just shadows).

Thanks again guys and gals!

Heath