We have a 1925 home and are in the process of cleaning out and adding new insulation in the attic. I noticed some gold dust showing up in areas I was working, and then found this gold-ish powder on a few beams.

gold/amber dust

I’ve read that this is probably sap, and can be caused by several issues. We have two gable vents, and a ridge vent was added about 5 years ago during an emergency roof repair. I’ve since had a couple of contractors up there, one of which said that the ridge vent gap is not nearly opened up enough. The other one said he thought it was fine.

ridge vent underside:

There are no soffits due to the age of the house, though along one edge of the roof you can see a line of daylight where some of the masonry meets the roof line.

Aside from the sap there’s not a lot of evidence of moisture issues, one contractor thought he saw some evidence of moisture, the other thought it was very dry and was fine.

It is balloon framed construction, and we have added insulated fireblocks at the tops of the empty stud cavities against the gable walls. Although there are no soffits, because there is some airflow due to the leakiness/age of the house, we’re putting baffles in anyways.

I don’t think we can add soffit vents, even bird hole ones, because the soffits are so tiny.

Is there anything else we can do to improve ventilation up there?

Can we do anything from the inside to open up the ridge vent anymore? Should we call the original roofing company to task about this omission?

I’m a little afraid that adding fireblocks to the empty stud cavities may further restrict airflow against the roof underside, although it’s essential to getting the home insulated.

Any thoughts?