We had snow get through a ridge vent during a recent winter storm (Texas, so ridge vents either installed incorrectly or not the kind that can handle snow I guess). After noticing dripping from an AC intake, I went into the attic and saw a few small clumps of snow. The area was inaccessible from the attic, and we had no power, so I was not able to inspect it closely.
Fast forward to the day power was restored. Dripping got a bit worse and I cut a couple holes in the drywall, reached up, and removed blown insulation and a good bit of melting snow. Took my moisture meter and found wet spots in 3 or 4 other places (including another room) by following the ridge vent that was overhead. Also found wet spots in a wall cavity that the ridge vent goes over. So it appears the snow came in all along the ridge vent, and not just in the couple spots I saw.
Couple questions:
Had it not been for the location of the AC intake, I think there's a good chance I never would have even noticed the issue. The areas that show wet with the moisture meter do not have any exterior signs of moisture yet. But the brown paper on the back of the drywall was definitely soaked and the wall reads 100% in the wet spots. The hole I cut at the intake did have very mushy drywall, but that's where water was running through its cut edge.
- How bad would it have been to just have left it alone and let it dry?
In more normal times, I'd call a water damage company out to evaluate and tell me what to do. But they are booked solid with folks with much bigger problems (burst pipes) from the storm. I have a great painting company willing to tear out the wet sheetrock and insulation, let it dry out, and then re-insulate and re-sheet.
- Does that sound reasonable, or seem like overkill? I don't want any mold issues, but I also don't want to rip things apart unnecessarily.
