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are you sure that not dry rot or mold? it looks as though there is a sprinkler pipe below the area - did you have the place inspected before you moved in?

mold. you need to get rid of it.

I can't tell exactly what it is from your photos, but if it's mold and your inspector missed it, I think you should definitely bring that to his (or his boss's) attention.

My inspector didn't check my appliances thoroughly and after I moved in, my dishwasher leaked all over the floor the first time I tried to use it. I wrote a letter to the owner of the company requesting that they refund the amount I paid for the inspection and they complied.

It is sap. The best thing to do is take a flexible scraper (think putty knife) and shave off the little drops and dribbles. And then enjoy the natural look of your ceiling!

I dont know if it is mold or not, but it does look like some kind of water damage. I doubt you would have a before pic of that spot, but thats what it looks like to me.

Just because there is no plumbing above you does not mean that you are immune to water damage.

My first step would be to go and talk to the people above you- see if they spilled anything or see if you can get an idea what is above you in their apartment. If no luck there, and you want to go the DIY route, they sell moisture readers for $15 online and in hardware stoes to see if the area is moist. Also, check on your green wall to see if you have any water stains.

Once you find out that information and if you are still puzzled, you should probably go the professional route and have someone look into potential water damage or mold. Although to my eyes,it looks like water damage and not mold, but one can quickly lead to the other.

I hope I provided some insight.

wet wood gets like that - what's above you? could've been a big spill, window open while it rained, etc., but also if it's a leak it could be traveling/puddling from another area (one with leaky plumbing?)

The pictures you posted appear to be water damage rather than leaking tree sap. Sappy woods are not normally used in structural portions of buildings. Just because water lines do not exist in the area above the ceiling, doesn't mean that water damage is not occurring. Water can travel significant distances from a leak source before seeping into or through a wall or ceiling. The unit or structure above your ceiling should be thoroughly checked for leaks.

I would also check the sprinkler line running through the area and spray head as your pictures appear to indicate rust on the line directly under the area in question.

That's water damage - not sap.

This is an old warehouse/factory building - any remaining sap would have seeped out shortly after the old place was built.

Is it possible that someone in the unit above had some kind of large spill over that spot? It looks like both moisture and sap to me... maybe they spilled something and that got the sap temporarily flowing? It can be so hard to judge from a picture! Good luck!

I would call the newspapers and start charging money. Maybe it is Jesus or Mary crying through your ceiling.

Water can run a long way and change its direction quite often in a multi-story building. I got a kitchen wall flood from a neighbor 4 stories up and several units over when her new dishwasher was not properly installed. You should see if the neighbors above you have noticed wet wall spots or spots on their ceilings. If you just go up there and insist it is their fault you won't really find the problem.
This could be all the way from the roof and just have started in the last month which is one reason your purchase inspector may not have noticed any problem at the time. Good Luck with finding it.

Thanks for the laugh, Jenzoe!

As John H mentioned, the sprinkler line has some rust spots on it that look like they're from water dripping on it from above. I'm not thinking sap either due to the possible age of the wood, you'd be able to tell when you got up close though, sap's always been more yellowish in my experience.

I'm going with water, Downtoearth has a point with a possible roof leak or something due to the weather. We've had a good freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw kind of cycle recently, that's always a good way to find new leaks.

At first, I thought you meant the crumbly looking stuff in the crevices in corners, but I think you mean the wet spot along the main beam?

What's behind that wall where the beam is embedded? Maybe whatever liquid is coming through is actually moving along its length and not coming straight down.

es caca.

Interesting.

Do you happen to live in the west loop? That beam looks like the one i have in my unit!

It is probably mold, and it's not any type of plumbing leak or spill in the upstairs unit...It's probably water that has seeped down through the old bricks from the roof, or maybe even the external building face. It travels through the cracks in the brick and leaks out at points where beams and things intersect with the wall.

Fun huh?

I'd say water damage. I think mold takes a bit longer to develop but I'm not expert (I see some white stuff along the beam that looks like mold though).