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Hi All,
Please help, I have read similar posts but I just need someone to spell out for me the best thing to do in this case. I have a very old sandstone built house. It is mid terrace and backs up to a sandstone cliff. At some point in history an extension has enclosed the area between the main house and the cliff and so I have a very irregular shaped downstairs bathroom and box room above built out of concrete. I have verified that the concrete flat roof is not leaking but because of the difference in inside/outside temperature during the winter months I get condensation dripping in the box room. I am currently renovating the box room which I use as a home office. So far I have ripped down the old tongue and groove ceiling, the very smelly fiberglass wool insulation and the extremely rotten timbers above. The concrete was soaking wet when it was revealed but now, after a couple of days with the dehumidifier, it is drying out nicely. Now I need your help! How to fix it...
There is a roof terrace above and it would not be possible to create a 'warm roof' therefore I need to construct something INSIDE which will insulate the room and prevent moisture from the air reaching the cold concrete surface. Ventilation is going to be tricky, there are no windows in the room because none of the walls are external. If I put in vents then they will have to be vertical in the concrete roof with some kind of rain hats... but because the roof terrace is enclosed by the cliff and neighbour's house wall there will be very little movement of air around these vents.
For the final interior finish I would like a plasterboard ceiling with spotlights. I guess I can afford to leave 4 or 5 inches behind this for insulative materials and vent void if you think I need it.
Other info? I live in Luxembourg, outside temp can get as low as -20 celsius this time of year. The room is about 7 square metres, near enough L shaped. It gets very warm when the radiator is on (or at least it did before I ripped down the old mouldy ceiling) I have tried various methods to reduce humidity in the whole house but with windows only on the front and no window in the bathroom it is always going to be a winter problem so we have to factor it into the solution.
I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this, I have a rough idea from what I've read on cold roofs but I am just a weekend fixer and I don't want to stuff it up!
Thanks,
Please help, I have read similar posts but I just need someone to spell out for me the best thing to do in this case. I have a very old sandstone built house. It is mid terrace and backs up to a sandstone cliff. At some point in history an extension has enclosed the area between the main house and the cliff and so I have a very irregular shaped downstairs bathroom and box room above built out of concrete. I have verified that the concrete flat roof is not leaking but because of the difference in inside/outside temperature during the winter months I get condensation dripping in the box room. I am currently renovating the box room which I use as a home office. So far I have ripped down the old tongue and groove ceiling, the very smelly fiberglass wool insulation and the extremely rotten timbers above. The concrete was soaking wet when it was revealed but now, after a couple of days with the dehumidifier, it is drying out nicely. Now I need your help! How to fix it...
There is a roof terrace above and it would not be possible to create a 'warm roof' therefore I need to construct something INSIDE which will insulate the room and prevent moisture from the air reaching the cold concrete surface. Ventilation is going to be tricky, there are no windows in the room because none of the walls are external. If I put in vents then they will have to be vertical in the concrete roof with some kind of rain hats... but because the roof terrace is enclosed by the cliff and neighbour's house wall there will be very little movement of air around these vents.
For the final interior finish I would like a plasterboard ceiling with spotlights. I guess I can afford to leave 4 or 5 inches behind this for insulative materials and vent void if you think I need it.
Other info? I live in Luxembourg, outside temp can get as low as -20 celsius this time of year. The room is about 7 square metres, near enough L shaped. It gets very warm when the radiator is on (or at least it did before I ripped down the old mouldy ceiling) I have tried various methods to reduce humidity in the whole house but with windows only on the front and no window in the bathroom it is always going to be a winter problem so we have to factor it into the solution.
I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this, I have a rough idea from what I've read on cold roofs but I am just a weekend fixer and I don't want to stuff it up!
Thanks,
