porch ceiling occasional ice dam leak

pfazio

I have a porch that was enclosed many years ago. It has original beadboard ceiling. I don't know if there is insulation up there unless I take out some of ceiling. Ok, every couple of years, I get a leak through the ceiling after we have heavy snow and then melt/freeze. Looking for wisdom on whether this is more about the roof needing repair or something to do with the porch being heated and not insulated. Any thoughts welcome. I am a complete newbie and trying to teach myself.

joecaption

Post a picture.
Most enclosed porchs I've got stuck working on do not have enough slope, no or not enough insulation, and no venting. All great ways to get a roof leak from a ice dam.

cortell

Well, the most obvious question here is...do you witness ice dams forming? If so, then that's almost certainly due to insufficient insulation and/or insufficient venting in the attic space.

Now, is that the cause of your leak? Could be. If the leak is in the middle of the ceiling, it's less likely (but not impossible) and you might have a roof leak. If the leak is near the walls, it's likely caused by the ice dams.

pfazio

Well, that is interesting. The leak does drip from center of porch.

cortell

It could be a roof leak instead of an ice dam issue, then. But if you don't see the problem during heavy rains, then I'm doubtful that's the case and you what may be happenings is that the water that backs up from the ice dam rolls down a sagging joist and releases near the center of the ceiling.