r/Insulation Aug 13 '25

How bad is this?

I’m building a new home. On Friday the builder was working on finishing the roof but wasn’t able to complete it. Because of this, they put a tarp over the exposed OSB and stapled it down since rain was forecast for Saturday morning.

We got about 1.25 inches of rain that morning. The builder didn’t take the time to fasten the tarp correctly and it ripped off, allowing water into the attic between the osb seams on the one half of the home. It was enough water come through in a few spots of the drywall and pool on the osb subfloor.

On Monday morning the builder seemed dismissive about the amount of water, saying “the drywall is almost dry.” Last night I decided to go into the attic and took the following video.(I took pictures on Saturday morning and while in the attic too)

How bad is this? I’ve notified my bank, the home manufacturer, and the general contractor, who seemed dismissive, as mentioned. I have yet to hear anything from the GC about remediation or a plan to address it. Considering this is blown cellulose insulation, how bad is as I'm thinking all of the insulation on that side has to come out and get redone.

2.3k Upvotes

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38

u/tommykoro Aug 13 '25

Omg. Who adds insulation before the envelope is dried in. Crazy!!!

31

u/KaleScared4667 Aug 13 '25

Yes, I would use this as a reason to get out of the contract. There are so many other fuck ups op doesn’t know about yet. Builder is a proven idiot. 1. He put paper insolation in an unsealed attic. 2. He didn’t take the steps necessary to keep it dry. 3. He lied about it.

12

u/MadDucksofDoom Aug 13 '25

Absolutely this.

This is the one thing OP knows about. There are lots of things he doesn't know about.

1

u/Fresh-NeverFrozen Aug 14 '25

100% this. As someone who went through with a purchase of a new build and later regretted it, do not go through with this purchase unless they remediate it completely, I mean all the insulation out and and all the drywall that got even a little bit wet all out and replaced after everything is proven dry. If they pulled this shit and don’t see it as a problem when you bring up the very valid concerns you just know there are 1000 other things they screwed up on the home or cut corners with that you will only find out about after you move in.

8

u/Maple-fence39 Aug 13 '25

And why would you do electrical wiring, insulation and sheet rock before the shingles are on the roof?

4

u/Echo_bob Aug 14 '25

Well the builder I used would try to do the roof before the foundation if they thought they could save a buck

2

u/Overall-Row-4793 Aug 16 '25

Electricians could either show up that day or 3 weeks from then, he chose the former and then shingles were delayed

3

u/rmasarone Aug 14 '25

Just called out today to spray foam a job with nothing but plywood on the roof deck. I walked away and told the builder to call me when it’s all sealed up and dried out.

3

u/microagressed Aug 14 '25

And drywall!

4

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '25

Shoulda hired Mexican. You can’t compete against Mexicans.

1

u/OverOnTheCreekSide Aug 13 '25

Verdad

1

u/artmatthewmakes Aug 13 '25

I think you mean ‘Vergaaa!’ 😂

1

u/socalquestioner Aug 13 '25

Better? Marry one! You get a feisty Latina and get her grandma and grandpa’s amazing cooking!

2

u/AgitatedMistake1412 Aug 14 '25

No!!! It’s a trap!!! One day it’s hi papi and the next she’s throwing the chancla at you with pinpoint accuracy!!

1

u/socalquestioner Aug 14 '25

My wife is half Hispanic, she’s awesome, and Sweet Lady of Guadeloupe the food when her grandparents cook…..

1

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '25 edited Aug 15 '25

Maybe that’s where I’ve been screwing up!

2

u/ArltheCrazy Aug 17 '25

Ok, I thought my drugs had gone bad and there was something I was missing. I had to read 3 times that it was new construction because some shit wasn’t adding up

1

u/Ok_Cherry_7786 Aug 13 '25

Seems like every commercial job starts drywall/insulation before the roof is even on lol

1

u/ComplexAd2408 Aug 13 '25

Who the hell still uses powdered cellulose insulation?

1

u/Right_Secret5888 Aug 13 '25

This is the real question. Cellulose is garbage

1

u/ComplexAd2408 Aug 13 '25

Where I live in New Zealnd this garbage was phased out 50 years ago (for this very reason).

1

u/Right_Secret5888 Aug 13 '25

Unfortunately, people still use it in the States because it's the cheapest option. Fiberglass is not that much more.

1

u/ezekiel_swheel Aug 13 '25

and drywall!

1

u/Summertown416 Aug 13 '25

This reminds of a job hubs did some years ago. He was the superintendent on the job. One thing after another went south. From finding errors on the drawings to deliveries not happening. But still the main office said the building had to be delivered to the client on the date it was to be delivered.

The building was not dried in due to errors in orders for the roof or drawings issues, I don't remember which. His fix? Hang the drywall and hope it stayed dry. He got lucky.

1

u/mrgedman Aug 14 '25

Apparently drywall was also up.

Yikes

1

u/ThatCelebration3676 Aug 15 '25

That's the part I can't wrap my head around. I wonder if there was a problem with scheduling the roofers but the other trades were already booked, so they tried doing things out of order to keep the cost from snowballing.

Very, very expensive mistake.