strange pattern on ceiling drywall

kelley4180

There are some strange looking marks on the ceiling drywall in a room we rarely use. Please see attached picture. At first glance, I thought, "oh no, water damage". (It's been raining a lot lately).

However, I went to the attic and directly above the marks, there seems to be no sign of water anywhere up there above these marks.

Any thoughts?

Attached Thumbnails

 

Scuba_Dave

Where are you located ?
Do you know the humidity in the house ?

nap

Kind of looks like termite damage. I couldn't find much in the line of pictures on the net but that was my first thought.

Gary in WA

Dust/dirt settling on condensation due to insufficient air circulation in that room. Blow-in insulation may not be level, that area is lacking or batt has a fold there, causing a temperature difference.
Be safe, Gary

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sluggermike

Maybe it's time to call the Ghost Busters?

stuart45

My first thought was pattern staining, which is the problem described by GBR. It used to be quite common here before lofts were insulated. The dust used to collect in between the joists as the timber added some thermal qualities. You could see the lines of the joists where there was no dust.

Ron6519

Witch on a broom with a vapor trail?
Ron

kelley4180

Ron, in answer to your location question - I'm in Atlanta. So, moisture/humidity is not out of the question. Have you seen something that looks like that?

Michael Thomas

Looks like it may be:







- Termite tubes

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nap

You and me are the only ones that think that Michael. I hope Kelly does come back and enlighten us. I am curious.

Michael Thomas

I hope not - if termites are in that ceiling, the colony is likely *very* well established.

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sluggermike

I live in Southern California and have termites. Anyone who tells you they don't have termites in this area is lying. I've never seen them go after drywall. If they liked drywall as much as wood I wouldn't have any ceilings.

bjbatlanta

It sure looks like termite damage to me. If you take a putty knife or something similar, scrape the area, and the drywall falls apart I'd say call the exterminator. I'm in Atlanta too and I've done repairs, on occasion, where they've gotten into the ceiling (usually they stick to the walls). They eat the paper on the face and back of the drywall and leave "the tunnels/tracks you're seeing. Hard to say positively, sight-unseen.......

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zpm

They go after the paper layer in the drywall.

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bjbatlanta

As I said. The paper is the closest thing to "wood" in the composition of drywall.....

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