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Roof dripping/wet concrete every morning

Posted on 4/20/26 at 6:12 pm
Posted by CP3
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
7566 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 6:12 pm
Maybe this is normal, but ever since I’ve owned my house the concrete near my front door accumulates a “puddle” overnight, getting its biggest right around sunrise and then slowly evaporating throughout the day. Cycle repeats pretty much every single day. Looking at it in the morning, it seems like the shingles are getting wet (condensation I guess) and water is just running off shingles onto the concrete making the puddle. The water is all on the outside of the roof, so I haven’t been too concerned as the wood sheeting/attic are still dry and aren’t building up moisture. But does this point to an issue with insulation, ventilation in the attic, or maybe something else? Or is this just something normal for LA with how humid it always is?

I did notice if I don’t run my AC (has been broken past 2 days), I don’t get a puddle. So I’m assuming it’s something to do with the temperature difference of shingles/outside air and inside house somehow (which makes me think I have an insulation/attic vent issue)?

I have a thermal imaging camera that I played around with, and didn’t see anything that really stuck out. That being said I’m not really sure that I know what I would be looking for. The Attic and shingles read hot/around ambient temp, and I don’t see any spots where cold air is leaking. Best I can tell, this is only happening on the one corner by the front door, but I haven’t really walked down the rest of the house to see if it’s happening anywhere else.



This post was edited on 4/20/26 at 6:13 pm
Posted by LSUSports247
Member since Apr 2007
1039 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 6:38 pm to
Not an expert but that looks like a lot of moisture to be condensation every night. Does you ac maybe have a rain line coming out in that corner?
Posted by CP3
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
7566 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 6:42 pm to
AC drain is on other side of the house
Posted by MasterDigger
Member since Nov 2019
2928 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 6:49 pm to

Irrigation spraying from the other side of the sidewalk where plants get watered??

Posted by CP3
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
7566 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 6:53 pm to
quote:

Irrigation spraying from the other side of the sidewalk where plants get watered??


Nope. No irrigation in that area at all.
Posted by UptownJoeBrown
Baton Rouge
Member since Jul 2024
9429 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:23 pm to
Does your lot slope from the AC drain to that area? Water moving under your house?
Posted by UptownJoeBrown
Baton Rouge
Member since Jul 2024
9429 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:24 pm to
Maybe ask the previous owners? But they will probably lie and play ignorant. Worth a shot though.
This post was edited on 4/20/26 at 8:25 pm
Posted by CP3
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
7566 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:27 pm to
The ac drain is on the side of the house, and my lot slopes to the street. So I don’t see how it would cause the concrete in this spot to get wet.

I really don’t think it has anything to do with a drain line, plumbing or anything like that. I can see the water dripping off the roof in the morning so it’s definitely not coming from the ground.

I’m fairly convinced it’s condensation building up on the shingles and running off into that valley/corner and dripping onto the concrete. I just don’t know what the root cause is.
Posted by UptownJoeBrown
Baton Rouge
Member since Jul 2024
9429 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:27 pm to
Also you have no gutters I’m assuming. Any wetness at the bottom of other valleys around the house?

A fair amount of condensation can happen on a roof but those with gutters probably won’t notice it.
Posted by CP3
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
7566 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:29 pm to
quote:

Maybe ask the previous owners? But they will probably lie and play ignorant. Worth a shot though.


Honestly it would be an effort to even track them down. I’ve lived here for close to 10 years now. I just finally got the urge to try and figure out why this happens

Edit - no gutters. As far as I know this is the only spot it happens, but it’s also the only spot where it runs off to concrete. Everywhere else is over grass.
This post was edited on 4/20/26 at 8:30 pm
Posted by calcotron
Member since Nov 2007
10602 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:31 pm to
You checked that spot in the attic, have you checked while the AC is running? I could see there being some leakage blowing cold air into that spot. Around a vent or on the way to one, unless you can see some obvious sheetrock issues from the room below that.
Posted by T-Jon
Member since Jan 2012
145 posts
Posted on 4/20/26 at 9:47 pm to
Looks like condensation dripping off the roof (assuming there is a roof valley above the location where the water starts accumulating). Put a bucket under the valley end to confirm. Installing gutters will prevent it from accumulating on your entry walk, if it bothers you.

Dew point conditions seem to occur on every exterior surface on and around my house this time of year, including my lawn. I think it’s more related to the relative humidity than anything else.
This post was edited on 4/20/26 at 9:55 pm
Posted by sosaysmorvant
River Parishes, LA
Member since Feb 2008
1489 posts
Posted on 4/21/26 at 4:53 am to
quote:

Looks like condensation dripping off the roof (assuming there is a roof valley above the location where the water starts accumulating). Put a bucket under the valley end to confirm. Installing gutters will prevent it from accumulating on your entry walk, if it bothers you.

Dew point conditions seem to occur on every exterior surface on and around my house this time of year, including my lawn. I think it’s more related to the relative humidity than anything else.


I have a similar occurrence on the west side of my house. I think its our climate (100% humidity 24/7)
Posted by LSUSports247
Member since Apr 2007
1039 posts
Posted on 4/21/26 at 8:50 am to
I’d imagine that valley pours a ton of water there when it rains. I would add gutters there, it will save your concrete from wearing from run off.
Posted by Spankum
The Sip
Member since Jan 2007
61980 posts
Posted on 4/21/26 at 4:44 pm to
What time do y’all wake up and start taking showers? Is there any plumbing on the other side of that wall in the corner where that puddle first starts to form?

I think that is too much water to attribute solely to condensation on the roof.
Posted by DownshiftAndFloorIt
Here
Member since Jan 2011
71986 posts
Posted on 4/21/26 at 5:47 pm to
Lack of vapor barrier under the concrete right there?
Posted by CP3
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
7566 posts
Posted on 4/21/26 at 6:24 pm to
The only thing by that wall is extra bedroom that I use as an office, and then the main entry area of the house. No plumbing or showers or anything on that wall (or even in that area at all really). I don’t even think I have any boots/vents on that face of the roof either.


I checked again this morning and it wasn’t nearly as bad as usual, but was 100% dripping from the shingles almost like it had been raining lol.

This never bothered me until someone told me they didn’t think it was normal, and now it’s bugging the crap out of me.

I think I’m going to start paying more attention to humidity, dew point and temperature every day and see if puddle size seems to follow that
This post was edited on 4/21/26 at 6:27 pm
Posted by CP3
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
7566 posts
Posted on 4/21/26 at 6:27 pm to
quote:

Lack of vapor barrier under the concrete right there?


The water is 100% coming off the roof, so I don’t think that’s the issue.
Posted by Tree_Fall
Member since Mar 2021
1229 posts
Posted on 4/22/26 at 10:06 am to
Moisture along outside wall is part of BTR life. It changes through time as elevations shift slightly. When my house was 30 years old I asked a landscape architect for help with a perpetually wet garden. His 1st response was "gutters". I did half the house feeding some downspouts to buried drains and things got much better.

The flow of your impressive puddle suggests that the walk to the street dips slightly towards the slab and entrance. It should drain away for its entire length. You might be able to improve drainage by having groves cut by sawing.

Your video seems to show discolored bricks a foot or so at base of wall. That's due to splatter from roof runoff. Over many years you might have some brick and mortar deterioration. A short run of gutter will fix that.

Good Luck
Posted by cgrand
HAMMOND
Member since Oct 2009
48530 posts
Posted on 4/22/26 at 4:49 pm to
You need a gutter right there. Problem solved
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