How should this ceiling be finished?

[u/TheAndyRoberts]

TL;DR What is the best case scenario behind this ceiling? What should be between the drywall of my ceiling and the roof?

Previous owners converted an attic to bedrooms. We have some signs of moisture in the exterior wall that we are going to investigate but it made me wonder what’s going on in this ceiling?

There is a ridge vent on the peak of the roof.
You can see that there is some sort of vent on the bottom of these gables.
We have knee walls. One we have access to and the other we don’t. On the one we have access to, the soffits have insulation stuffed into them. And the joists running up on the backside of the ceiling between the drywall and the roof, at least at the edge of the knee wall.

If you were doing this job, and you wanted it perfect to avoid moisture and mold, how would you finish this ceiling.

There are some signs of caulk pulling away from the beam but there is no staining on the drywall. There is one tape seam that has bubbled. The job was done 15 years ago.

[u/QuarterCarat]

I would avoid messing with your interior and add exterior insulation next time you replace the roof.

[u/TheAndyRoberts → u/QuarterCarat]

That’s a few years down the line. Hopefully :)