Condensation/ventilation - single brick w/ concrete floor

[Hobby6]

Hi,

Hope you can help. My partner and I live in a 1930s single brick end terrace. It has a solid concrete floor, windows have no trickle vents.

In the winter months we have a couple of spots of condensation, it used to be a lot worse but we have improved the heating to the building which helped dramatically as well as keeping certain windows on half lock when possible, again this has proven a big help.

However there is a lack of ventilation in the living room and kitchen and once the heating comes a couple of spots on the wall start to condense, one of which has seen the paint bubble. I was wondering whether a vent in these respective rooms could give the required ventilation to help solve the problem and if so, what kind of vents would be appropriate. Extractor fan in kitchen seems obvious.

I understand air bricks are normally meant for sub floor ventilation.

Suggestions appreciated or if anyone has cured a similar problem themselves.

Thanks

 

[dishman]

Extractors in the bathroom and kitchen are the best course of action as this is where the majority of moisture is created.

My advice is to get an extractor (or extractors) with humidistats. That way, the extractor will only turn off when it has reduced the humidity to a selected level. Do not get the ones that only come on with the light (or if you do make sure it has a good overrun after the light goes out), as they will not be on for long enough usually.

In the kitchen, if you have a hob extractor use it (check if it is externally vented first). Don't dry clothes openly on radiators. Always use your tumble dryer (or dry outside in summer). An externally vented tumble dryer is best. If you don't have a hob extractor, fit an extractor fan with a humidistat in there too.

You could even get a super quite extractor for the living room with shutters to prevent back-draft from wind outside.

Unless you have a damp concrete floor, I would not worry about that. Concentrate on what is causing the moisture (how you live) and how to reduce it at it's source.

Finally, try to not have the heating go on and off, on and off. This heating and cooling encourages condensation to form on the coldest spots in the house. Try to just turn the heating down, keep it on a low level for a longer period of time.

 

[Hobby6]

Thanks for your advice. Would an extractor be needed in the living room or could a very small vent also be an option? Problem with living room is it tends to have door closed and therefore air isn't really moving at all.

 

[dishman]

As I said, it is not exactly normal to put an active extractor in a living room hence I would look for a super quiet one if you were.

Passive airbricks would usually be enough. Although the amount of airflow through these is a lot less then one would think.

It depends on how bad the condensation is. So maybe concentrate on the main areas first and the other things I mentiond and see how it improves before doing anything in the living room. Depending on the size of the openers on your upvc windows, you could put some of them on the night vent (open but locked setting if they have that feature) in the living room for now.

Also take a look at this recent post (similar issues) and the links posted there.

//www.diynot.com/forums/building/possible-damp-patch-on-interior-wall.387867/