Soot on Ceiling

[longislandcamper]

Here’s a pic of the vaulted ceiling in our fireplace room. Total height is around 16’ and the fireplace is on the wall at the bottom of the slope. Our roof is directly above the ceiling in this part of the house.

I did wipe my fingers on the dark spots and it comes off easy. I assume it’s just soot. We only had a few ambiance fires over the 3+ years we’ve been here and we did notice some smoke coming into the house during a few fires. The ceiling basically looked like this when we moved in.

We now have a wood insert so I can only assume this problem won’t happen or at least be as bad in the future.

Has anyone else had this happen?

 

[stoveliker]

I don't think this is soot. Soot would not adhere like that in spots. It would be much more feathered out stains, not seeing the rafters..

Is it mold,.due to moisture?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

0n the right hand side, it looks to be showing stud bays. Maybe condensation over bad insulation?

 

[stoveliker]

He said he could wipe it off with a finger.

But the rafters being visible points at much more serious issues than smoke stains

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I have to say that looks just like when we’ve had water damage on our ceilings. I don’t know about the material that wipes off easily (mold? mildew?). Both our water damage events (one due to a roof leak, one due to an attic air conditioner that was not installed properly) were caught and rectified almost immediately. We were able to remove wet insulation and dry the area out with fans before any mold developed. Are you sure that the roof up there is in good shape?

 

[MR. GLO]

Take your moisture meter and check the ceiling. Do you have an angle shot...but soot usually near the top of the wall too...and cleans off with degreaser and magic sponge. Ice dams? look in attic for heavy rust on nails if you can, and mold.