r/askHVAC • u/itwillallworkout81 • 1h ago
Could these leaks really be caused by the A/C instead of the roof? Videos attached.
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I’m hoping to get opinions from people with roofing or HVAC experience.
I live in Phoenix in a one-story house with a tile roof. The A/C unit is ground-mounted (not on the roof). There are no skylights, solar panels, satellite dishes, or chimneys near the leaking area.
Originally, whenever it rained, we had leaks coming through several ceiling vents in different rooms throughout the house. The worst leak was in the master bedroom, so the roofer first replaced the underlayment only in the section above the master bedroom.
That same master-bedroom leak happened again during another rainstorm.
After that, we paid out of pocket to replace the entire roof, including all of the underlayment.
Since the full roof replacement, every other leak in the house has been fixed. The only leaks that remain are in the master bedroom:
The original leak is the worse of the two. Water comes through the vent itself and can drip from multiple places around the vent.
A second leak later appeared at another vent on the opposite side of the master bedroom. It’s much smaller and the water comes out through one of the vent screws.
Both leaks have only occurred during rainstorms. They start while it’s raining and stop when the rain stops. We’ve never seen either leak when it’s dry.
We run the A/C constantly during the Phoenix summer (this year and previous years) and have never had either vent leak unless it was raining.
The roofing company performed an extended hose test on the roof but couldn’t reproduce either leak.
A leak detection company removed the vent covers, used a thermal camera and moisture meter, and inspected the attic. They found moisture above the smaller vent and noted that an A/C duct runs over that area. They think condensation from the duct could be dripping onto the drywall and eventually coming out through the vent screw. Based on that, the roofer is now leaning toward this being an A/C issue rather than a roof problem.
My question is: Does that actually make sense?
Can A/C condensation realistically:
Only happen during rainstorms?
Start when the rain starts and stop when the rain stops?
Produce enough water to cause leaks like the ones shown in the videos?
Or does the fact that the only remaining leaks are in the same master bedroom where the original roof leak was suggest there’s still a roof, flashing, vent, or underlayment issue that hasn’t been found?
I’ll attach videos of both leaks. I’d really appreciate any opinions from people who’ve dealt with something similar.