Is there an attic?

Yes but there is wall studs in the way of where the ceiling has water spots. I think someone should look up there too but right now they are think it’s coming from an upstairs vanity. But no one uses the bathroom upstairs so idk.

Is this possibly not a plumbing leak but condensation on HVAC duct?

Hmm could be. The light fixture only had like 2 drips and feeling around the area it felt dry. So maybe 🤷‍♀️

But there is some slight discoloration on shiplap boards on the ceiling.

Water travels in mysterious ways and can show up "miles" away from the actual source of the leak.

Somehow feeling around the light fixture for water sounds dangerous.

Somehow feeling around the light fixture for water sounds dangerous.

Thanks for your insight, Mark. Your comment started my day off with a good laugh. ARG has apparently stopped publishing his top 100 quotes of the year. I'm pretty sure yours would have qualified for the list.

Somehow feeling around the light fixture for water sounds dangerous.

Not as bad as checking for a gas leak with a match... I'd say a 1.5 on the Darwin scale.

Tracing a leak can be very difficult. It has a way of surprising you. It can run a long distance from the source of the leak.

If you get a long rain storm, get out the flash light and go to the attic. Inspect every rafter starting at the top and moving down. Use your hands on the rafters to try to find moisture. Inspect the underside of the roof. If you get lucky, the water will reflect from the light of the flashlight. It may drip from the penetrating nails, too.

In one old house, we strung up a series of strings attached to the rafters with a washer at the bottom of the string. Let them hang. Any water moving down the rafter will be diverted to the bottom of the string. It's one way of eliminating possibilities of a roof leak.

If you cant' find a roof leak, you can move on to a pluming leak. That is even harder to find. The fact that you had dripping water from a light fixture means there is a leak. It's not condensation. Get out the ladder and feel for water along the channels of your boarded ceiling. You will waste a fair amount of water finding it. Take a bath, take a long shower, run the water in the sink, flush the toilet continuously. Inspect the ceiling with your hands as you go through each water device.

The leak is there, you just have to find it. Use that flashlight. You will need to be a detective.

I had a leak in a bedroom with a boarded ceiling. There was no bathroom above the space. We were in the in the process of tuning up a metal roof. It was raining. Turns out one of the screws was not replaced and was open to flowing water. We temporarily plugged the hole with caulk until the roofer could return to make the repair. The only way we found it was to get on the roof and look for a missing screw hole. The point is, you will need to become a water detective.

Thanks for the reply. Yes I’m sure there is a leak somewhere. This is a custom home and we have been here practically everyday since they broke ground. I do know nothing was leaking prior to us moving in. The only thing different would be bathroom upstairs being hooked up even though they are being used we have been up there from time to time. The area where it seems to be leaking is right under the upstairs vanity however after the builder took his moisture camera thing said he couldn’t find any. My kids will be home this weekend and using the upstairs bathroom so we will see if that produces any leaks. Actually I’m hoping it does because then it will be narrowed down to what it is.

Bathroom upstairs is not being used regularly.