Couple of questions for homeowners

[wilderness medic]

Thanks I will check on obtaining one. It is probably worth mentioning I live in EXTREMELY humid coastal forest. Moisture is normal. If this was the whole house I probably wouldn't have thought about it. But the fact it's in one room only is what got me concerned.

[edr730]

Go beneath the bathroom area in the crawl space and look up at the floor. Go above the bathroom area and look up at the roof.

[Rick]

If you had a plumbing leak in the walls you'd know it. There would be discolored marks on the wall and the sheetrock might even be crumbling if it had gone on long enough. Plumbing leaks usually present themselves pretty quickly. My next concern would be a leak in the roof, siding or around windows. There is also a possibility the room is sealed too tight not allowing moisture to escape. The air in a house should exchange twice a day. You don't want the house so tight that it can't breath. Is there a bathroom in that bedroom? If so, it may simply be moisture from the bathroom condensing on the walls. Especially if you like long hot showers. If that's the case then it could also be moisture in the bathroom tripping the breaker.

There's always the possibility of a steamy sex life too. Just sayin....

[MrFixIt]

I'm impressed folks! Very good advice (as someone who does plumbing, electrical and carpentry for a living).
I really don't have anything to add.

[JPGreco]

Make sure your bathroom vent fan ACTUALLY vents to the outside of the dwelling. In a flipped house, nothing would surprise me.

Without pics of how your room is located compared to the landscape, it's hard to say, but make sure down spouts move water away from the house, and that the grade pitches away from the house so that there is no standing water near the foundation when it rains. Generally actual leaks in the roof/plumbing don't lead to humidity problems, but rather visible water damage. Generally damp rooms are on or below grade with crawl spaces or on slabs. This allows ground moisture to get into the room causing the dampness. Also the cooler floors/walls can cause condensation, especially if it's concrete/block walls.

If you have a crawl space, you can add a vapor barrier to the underside of the floor joists and make sure the crawl space is properly vented to the outside.

[canid]

All you need is one good one.......
I have seen some scary stuff.

I don't do residential, but I've fixed some scary stuff. Never trust what somebody you don't know passed off as acceptable, electrical or otherwise.

[Duece]

I don't do residential, but I've fixed some scary stuff. Never trust what somebody you don't know passed off as acceptable, electrical or otherwise.

Thats is the best advice by far. Sad state of affairs when you cant even trust home inspector to hsve his $hit together
D

[wilderness medic]

There's always the possibility of a steamy sex life too. Just sayin....

Lol! No way. I don't allow them in my room. There are no sandwich making supplies in there.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Called my mortgage company. Taxes are on me.

The after leaving the bathroom window open and the door closed it feels pretty dry around. Going to close the window and see if it comes back. If so it must be something pretty big. I expected it to get more humid with the outside RH and fog.

The electricity apparently is a bigger issue than I thought. Talked to my fire chief about it and he said the same thing, electrician needs to come out ASAP.

Still need to get ahold of the home inspector and see if he's got anything helpful to contribute seeing how many things he missed. But I doubt it since it's been so long.

[crashdive123]

Not sure how home inspectors are regulated in your neck of the woods. Here, a small group that I was proud to be a part of worked for several years to rein in the out of control inspectors. At the time there were no licensing or insurance requirements. I would imagine that in California they are fairly well (heavily?) regulated. If they missed things that they are required by statute to report you probably have some recourse on getting them to pay for what they should have found (if in fact it is something they should have found).

[Rick]

You do need to check up on the inspector. Unfortunately, around here their liability is limited to the cost of the inspection. They could miss a million dollar item and still only be forced to refund the cost of the inspection. Still, that's a couple of hundred bucks in your pocket.

[wilderness medic]

Well what the bleep. The only local electrician said there isn't really anything that can be done about the lights. The new fluorescents are crap and burn out quick. Just make sure they're all tight. As far as the breaker he said he doesn't think he'll find much if it went away but i'm welcome to pay to have him come check it out.


Have to dig through my papers to find the home inspector now.

[crashdive123]

Sounds like that electrician just doesn't want to be bothered. I know you said that he is the only local electrician, but it might be good to keep looking for another.

[edr730]

Get the electrician back and have him check both incoming legs in the circuit box. If it shows up with one higher voltage than the other you'll have problems with fluctuations in electricity. I wired my house and circuit box, but I'm no electrician so I'm no expert. JP sums up everything concerning moisture. Leaks shouldn't cause thst much humidity. Make sure the fan works properly without birdsnests, mud wasps and it goes to the outside.. Close the window if it's cooler outside. Keep the bathroom warmer and dryer and see how it works out. Home inspecters won't know what a builder knows and a builder will know little in comparison to the individual tradesman for addressing problems within his trade.

[hunter63]

Sounds like that electrician just doesn't want to be bothered. I know you said that he is the only local electrician, but it might be good to keep looking for another.

What he said.......

[wilderness medic]

Get the electrician back and have him check both incoming legs in the circuit box. If it shows up with one higher voltage than the other you'll have problems with fluctuations in electricity. I wired my house and circuit box, but I'm no electrician so I'm no expert. .

Thanks. I'll just have him come out and point at this haha...

[Rick]

Actually, I think the electrician gave you some decent advice. He's not wanting to charge you when he's not sure he can find something. Sounds like he has a good moral compass. Intermittent problems can be nearly impossible to find. If the breaker trips again take note of everything that was occurring at the time and any device that was running.

If you own a volt ohm meter and know how to use it then you can take some readings to ensure you have the correct voltages and no grounds, which is about all the electrician can do other than a visual to ensure everything looks good. If you don't know how to use one then it's best to invest in the electrician. Even if you aren't experiencing the problem he can take the readings and do the visual to ensure everything is kosher. He'll be able to determine what is on that circuit and might even replace the GCFI or breaker in case it's just weak. They do get old.

[crashdive123]

Actually, I think the electrician gave you some decent advice. He's not wanting to charge you when he's not sure he can find something. Sounds like he has a good moral compass. Intermittent problems can be nearly impossible to find.

That's something I had not considered. You may be correct.