Walked into an attic at 8 a.m. and found a dehumidifier bravely humming while an unflashed chimney was doing its best impression of a lawn sprinkler — moisture meter pegged at 99. Control starts at the leak path: flash it, seal it, then let the gadgets help; what’s your funniest ‘moisture control’ workaround?
I’ll flash/counterflash and add a small cricket, then run a 10‑minute hose test before the dehu ever plugs in; “control starts at the leak path” is right, but half my “chimney leaks” are bath fans dumping into the attic. The dehu’s just a towel with Wi‑Fi — @Marta, you seeing more of that mis‑vented fan stuff lately?
When it’s “99”, I dye-test step flashing, then crown-seal if cracked; pics?
I keep a roll of butyl and a 12x12 aluminum patch to “band‑aid” the upslope side of the chimney, then run a 5‑minute hose at the cricket; if the attic stays dry, it’s step flashing and I schedule proper counterflashing, not another dehu. Got a pic of that crown, @OP? On cold 8 a.m. calls I swap to a magnetic sheet because butyl won’t bite.