Discolored Wood In Attic

If you find any perform the screwdriver test.

Discolored wood in attic.

There are a couple of boards in the pictures that i circled that are a grayish color. So i m confused the wood in the attic has black streaks discolorations. Is that rotted wood. Dark black staining on wood surfaces if the wood in your attic shows any black discoloration the problem has moved beyond moisture.

Attic feels excessively hot or stuffy attics should feel breezy if they are properly ventilated. If the frost does melt it will further wet the wood in the attic staining it. Small stains may only be this surface moisture bleeding out minerals or dirt from the wood and are often brownish in. This is likely a mold or mildew of some type but testing from a specialist is needed for confirmation.

Commonly black discolorations on insulation material and wood can be difficult to distinguish from mold. This dampness can come from roof leaks quite rare ice damming infiltration not so rare and usually at the lower eaves or condensation of. I thought this was a ventilation problem someone came to look at the wood and said it was fine. You have mold that should be removed.

Wood will discolor when dampened on a regular basis. That could be harmful particularly if it is entering the living area. Similarly if the mold has matured and degenerated it is difficult to recognize since it rubs off the surface leaving only stained spots or patches. Wood should never be soft.

I don t think that necessarily looks like mold just the usual dark staining that can happen to wet wood and is mostly harmless. But then i read that this could be mold. While a lab test would be needed to reliably identify the genera species of the green attic mold you have found a common greenish coloured mold found in attics and roof spaces on wood surfaces includes several species of aspergillus sp. In old houses you ll usually see some spots that are stained dark or black where there was a roof leak at some point in time which was repaired but the stain remains.

It s a good idea to check your attic periodically for signs of excess moisture.