on an inspection today to confirm a roof repair, i have microbial growth she is worried about entering the attic. it is a covered porch that used to be exteterior, and the roofing inspection she had prior to mine said it was missing the membrane. it is an unconditioned space with no soffit vents. she said it never leaked before the roof replacement. she didn’t tell me until after my inspection or show me the pictures she had of frosty nails. those ended up melting and soaking the wood that couldn’t dry because of inadequate ventillation. i tod her on the phone i’d prefer not to see them so that my judgement wasn’t biased.
i looked up the irc reference and it said that it was needed 24" past the heated wall. the question i have is simple, is that both sides? the contractor has it in writing that it will be there, it is in the irc, and i can’t get back to that part of the attic due to suports that weren’t connected moving when i grabbed them to see if any growth is there. i’d hate to go put it in writing in a report and be wrong. that’s no way to get business.
I’m too stupid to even understand your question. I hope someone more intelligent than I can come and help you with your eloquently narrated situation. (I’m not kidding. I really don’t know what you are asking here about a membrane in the attic).
@bhull1 it’s not in the attic, it’s over the attic on the eave under the shingles, or not there in this case over the porch. i don’t know if it has to be there over the porch or just over the attic
All kidding aside, I believe you want to know about ICW. Ice and Water shield.
ICW is a flexible “Self-Sealing” Ice and water barrier applied at the roof edge to protect in harsh climates or for use on low slope roofs. Not all ICW is bituminous (asphalt based). Rubber is also very common.
Here is a link for you. Local codes may differ or supersede manufacturer instructions.
It is located on top of the roof decking (OSB in your case) before the shingles are installed. In other words, pictures of the underside of the roof don’t indicate if you have ICW installed. To check if the builder used this product you will lift up the shingles at the roof edge like this:
Morning, Tim.
Hope to find you in good health and spirits today.
Always helpful to include images of the roof covering and images in the attic. Next time.
Tim… Describe what you see. No more. No less.
Porch roof: Exposed Roof Eave:
Component Observation.
No soffits. Open soffits.
Exposed OSB sheathing. Suspect: Visible Microbial growth in sections. Protruding fastener shafts.
Roof covering. Prior repairs of unknown quality.
Attic Eaves are vent less.
Refer to a licensed roofing contractor: Further evaluate and repair any areas of concern.
Act upon any licensed roofing contractors recommendations therein.
Over the drip edge at the bottom of the slope. Under the drip edge at raked ends.
As well, ice shield at least 36" inches from the starter course and 24" inches past the fascia on 4/12 slopes. Cover the entire roof on low sloped roofs.
the black square is the house, the red and orange squares are the porches, the red one is covered and the orange one is not. there is supposed to be a membrane where the black arrow is but the shingles would not lift to see it so i did not force it. i am asking if there is supposed to be a membrane where the yellow arrow is. that is where the frosty nails are showing up when they protrude through the plywood (osb). my thoughts are that perhaps it is in place where the black arrow is but not where the yellow one is.
@bert thanx for that info on membrane material. i was using the words from the roofers report as they were slightly shorter than the actual code phrase i found that reads as follows: 2015 IRC Section R905.2.7.1 (Ice barrier) states: “In areas where there has been a history of ice forming along the eaves causing a backup of water, an ice barrier that consists of at least two layers of underlayment cemented together or of a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet shall be used in lieu of normal underlayment and shall extend from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point not less than 24 inches (610 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building.”
in this case it was pretty cool because she showed me the roofers report and the contract. it isn’t very often i would expect to do an inspection and then see what a professional said about part of it to see what i missed. then finding something the roofer missed was also pretty cool.
as far as wording the question, i probably could have had i spent more time with it and included the illustration on the first post. i learned a lot yesterday and found a lot wrong they had no idea about. i just want to make damned sure my information is correct as this one will most likely be headed into court if she can find a lawyer. thanx for all the help guys. i have learned a lot in the last month and a half reading these forums.
If I was doing it, the underlayment membrane would extend up the black to a minimum of 24” inside the wall and would completely cover the green low slope roof. And that wouldn’t change whether the nails got frosty or not.
However, heat loss from the heated envelope moving up and congregating into the cold nail area underneath is probably why there are frosty nails underneath. JMO YMMV
almost flat and has rolled roofing on it, asphalt 3ft wide strips. normal covering i would expcet to see on a flat roof. 3 1/2" overlap at the seams. the sketch is a real close approximation except the slope is about a 6/12 on the house.
it isn’t leaking at all, just the nails getting frost on them, then melting and keeping the wood wet allowing microbial growth. the self-sealing part of the membrane would have stopped that, however it is not there. he said so in the email chain even though it was specified in the contract. it just doesn’t say whether it goes on both sides of the wall separating the area or just the living space side, aka up the wall over the attic. i can’t interpret the irc correctly i suppose.
