Moisture test and adding ventilation system

Andee77

We have 3 story Cedar vertical T & G siding and flat roof. We have some issue with peeling, one of contractor suggest testing for moisture issue and possibly adding ventilation system.

If we do test and there is moisture issue, what is best ventilation system to add and who is best to hire for the job?

I have seen dehumidifier attached to wall and plug in to outlet to run 24/7.

This is different from portable machine sold by Sears.

If there is moisture issue, what are possible issues and problem that can happen to a house?

joecaption

Wet basement, no vaper barrier on the ground is it's a crawl space, no bathroom vent, under sized, not running it long enough, not running the line to the outside of the building.
Not having an outside vent to the outside over the stove.
Double vaper barrier in the wall.
No gutters.
Mulch piled up againt the foundation.
Grade running toward the foundation.
HVAC short cycling.

To name just a few.

GBrackins

issues could be:

rot of wooden members (growth of fungi that eat wood)
lessening of the values of installed insulation (can cause fibers to stick together or settling of blown in insulation)
growth of mold and mildew (depending on the depth of mold it can be expensive and extensive to remediate)
respiratory ailments of occupants from mold and mildew exposure (if you wake up in the morning congested and coughing, but become better when away from home you might have mold)
possible insect infestation (bugs love moisture and a nice place to live)

worth taking care of ....

Good luck!

__________________
Gary

"You get what you pay for, and sometimes free costs more!"

Gary in WA

Where is the moisture problem, describe it please?

Describe the attic and any venting.

Where are you located?

Gary

__________________

Andee77

You guys are awesome.

We have custom built home. We are not the original owner who built this house and did not have much history or knowledge about our house when we bought them.

But only visible problem we have is siding.

When we purchased our home about 10 years ago, we had few areas of siding with paint peeling issue. But condition of sidng was great except of only handful of tissue thin peeling around few areas.

Instead of hire some one to deal with peeling areas, we hired someone to paint entire house was wrong decision. The paintng contractor told us, putting good latex primer and good acrylic paint job will take care the issue. He used Benjamin moor product and even company rep came by to reassure us, it will take care the problem. But after this paint job, surface of siding started cracking and peeling became bigger problem.

With horrible experience, we could not hire new painter right away because we didn't know who can deliver the job we need. Now,we need to hire someone because my dad spot painted the area since the issue started with oil primer and acrylic paint. But entire house need fresh cover and it is mess. I have learned, there's great products out there that can deliver the good result to current issue.

But with long time of waiting, some of siding has rotted and need of repair as well as prep and paint job will cost us some money.
Still cheaper than replacing new siding, but we still have question what is better decision for home from new painting vs new siding.

I am very keen on replacing siding to hardie, but getting new estimate for new hardie has been challenge too. Depend on contractor, we received new cost of hardie price has been very expensive and not sure why they cost so much.

Anyway, one of contractor we met want us to test moisture issue to find out what has caused this peeling from the beginning and thought it is good idea.


Especially, no one is able to pin point actual issue for us and I want to do this moisture test.

We have mutiple issue that can cause issues and not sure exactly what, but here's some of possible issues.

The flat roof with not much over hang, Cedar vertical T & G siding, location of house facing west and south and we are by the water.