condensation - think I have tried everything.....

[lesleybird22]

Please help !!

I have a small detached two bed bungalow that I rent out (quite close to the sea). We just have the one place and had had it 6 years now. Most winters the place is full of condensation. There are trickle vents, there is central heating, it is well insulated, there are wall vents. There are good fans in the kitchen and bathroom. We bought a dehumidifier and now have recently installed a heat recovery system - all to no avail. The tenant is stating that things are quite damp (the place had a grant 10 years ago including damp course, new roof, windows etc) and we have had the problem investigated - everyone is saying condensation. It seems to be an annual problem and it has caused massive problems in the past with tenants kicking off about stuff going mouldy (and maybe making it worse by drying washing insde etc). Once the weather improves, it goes. The current tenant is great and responsible, I don't think she is adding to the problem. We do not want to lose her. But we simply do not know what to do next. We are responsible landlords - any ideas? Thanks.

 

[imamartian]

yeah similar problems here. Can anyone actually describe what's going on with condensation (and i know it's steam in the air turning back to water when it hits a cold surface), but the bigger picture. E.g. ventilation, heating... should you raise the heating? is having a window ajar permanently good or bad? Installing vents? trying to cut down on laundry and showering on colder days?

Or can people point to any sites online that describe all this?

 

[wreckedit]

I also let out a bungalow and the tenants complained of damp on a bedroom wall. I found a small leak in an adjoining bathroom. The water was getting under the floor boards to the ground below and then getting sucked up by the bedroom wall. It will take some time to dry out so I gave them a bottle of anti-mold to wipe the wall with. Don't think I can do anything else. Just keep it healthy.
I saw a tv prog. where a very old cottage had stone floors, no damp proofing and a damp problem. After a survey it was concluded that the ground around the cottage had risen over many years and would during the winter period become water logged. This then seeped under the cottage floor and walls causing the damp. The whole garden was lowered below the level of the cottage floor and the floors relayed with a membrane. End of problem.

 

[pred]

Have you got a breathable felt in the roof under the tiles

 

[lesleybird22]

The tiles, I am not sure. It was a grant job before we ever bought it.

I have been wondering whether the winter problem is indeed somehow linked to the waterlogged ground and it is only a few hundred metres from the sea........

Thanks for the ideas.

 

[joe-90]

During the renovation work, do you know if the floors were dug out and replaced (assuming they are solid) and a membrane put in? A floor on damp ground with no membrane will produce just the type of symptoms that you have.

 

[merlin50]

the clue is the word tenants, they skimp on the heating and leave damp clothes lying around

 

[wreckedit]

I take it you have checked the place out for a tumble clothes dryer that is being used correctly ?

 

[masona]

I don't think she is adding to the problem.

Generally speaking, people are making condensation! find out about her life style first before you do anything

 

[lesleybird22]

Thanks again for the feedback. The tenant is a working woman in her 50s who actually spends little time there. No tumble dryer, dries clothes outside. Place is immaculate. I think the floor could be at fault. As it was a council grant done almost 10 years ago, we have no specifics about the work and they appear not to have such paperwork either.

Should I get a builder out again ? Why, with a dehumidifier and this fancy fan system would the problem persist and only in winter ......it is sooooo frustrating !!

 

[joe-90]

In winter, the heat in the house evaporates water out of the floor. In summer with better ventilation and no cold surfaces it isn't a problem. It is possible to seal the floor with epoxy resin. You need a damp meter to see what's going on.

 

[pred]

Please tell me that you are not useing one of those portable calor gas fires that create condensation!!

 

[foxhole]

Are the vents clear of obstruction? trickle vent open? may have kitchen and bathroom fans but unless they are used at every opportunity will greatly add to moisture content.

 

[wreckedit]

I had an interesting thing happen in my porch. I have concrete floors in the house which are damp proofed. But when I glazed in the porch and laid a covering on the floor it got damp underneath it. I didn't want to raise the floor to damp proof it so I put a carpet over it that allowed it to breath. Laying an impervious sheet on the concrete drew water up somehow through the concrete and the glass would mist over. With just the carpet there now it doesn't mist up

 

[foxhole]

I had an interesting thing happen in my porch. I have concrete floors in the house which are damp proofed. But when I glazed in the porch and laid a covering on the floor it got damp underneath it. I didn't want to raise the floor to damp proof it so I put a carpet over it that allowed it to breath. Laying an impervious sheet on the concrete drew water up somehow through the concrete and the glass would mist over. With just the carpet there now it doesn't mist up

Concret releases moisture, carpet absorbs it, simples.