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You have no doubt mixed loads of water into the new structure? A hundred years ago, a home would be left empty for a year after building to dry out, these days people move in as soon as its built. All this water has to make its way to the surface and evaporate off into the air. However...

A traditional castle is made of stone, as such its cold and unpleasant to live in. Our ancestors solved the problem by building wooden panelled rooms inside the stone rooms, thereby creating a buffer zone of still air between the wood and stone. (OK I know that air circulation starts in gaps...

The concrete outside needs to be cut back about 15 inches and dug out to make a french drain. French drains are merely trenches filled with clean stones, the rain hits the stones and disappears, whereas rain hitting the ground will bounce up and make the wall wet above the dpc. The top of the...

It is interesting that you say there are damp patches, as one might imagine that a building of that age has no dpc and might be damp everywhere. And that it was designed and built and expected to be damp, keeping dry by a mixture of hight above ground level, local soil, and soil level and the...

You are right the chimney load is carried by the foundations and a chimney is very heavy weighing in at around 50 kilos per cubic foot. However, that load should be spread through the wall and the chimney on the other side (if designed and built correctly) Since 2002 any work on a working...

Have the fitters glued plastic strips round the window frames to disguise the fact that they are not fitted correctly? Does the contract state that you are responsible for making good? Are the windows and frames the right size? Park your car outside and sit inside to record the noise level of...

The solution to your problem is not adding more loft ventilation, but to stopping the water vapour at source. Water vapour usually arrives from inside the home, due to lack of ventilation in the home. We all wash and breath and create water vapour. Warm wet air rises! 2.5 litres of water...

I suspect that you have a piece of white asbestos screwed to your door. The type that was used to build so many garages that you see all over the country. Left alone white asbestos is not dangerous and can be expected to fulfill it function for many years. On the other hand Blue asbestos was...

I am sure your home feels warmer since you changed to gas, open fires pull air from all sorts of holes and these drafts are what kept your home dry. There are several solutions. You can open the windows and let the water vapour out. (and the warmth) You can stop breathing, as this creates...

Silavent in High Wycombe make several models using 230v that have automatic louvers, they also make a 12 volt model that does not.

Yes they are, they are also virtually invisible. They merely cause the rain to run off, instead of soaking into the wall. A dehumidifier is a good idea, get one that collects about 10 litres per 24 hours, they never do collect that much, but they will collect around 2 litres per 24 hours...

It is perfectly normal for a solid wall to be cold on the inside during winter - the normal range is 16 to 19 degrees C. You can insulate on the outside or inside and can expect to receive a noticeable improvement on your heating bill. Above 5 inches of insulation is a waste of money. Air...

From your description, I would guess that you have rain blowing through the wall. The rain has made the wall cold. The cold has attracted the water vapour from the house to settle on the wall, where the wall being damp causes the moisture to move towards the outside of the wall, where it has...

John. A simple illustration is your perhaps typical bathroom. With a typical bathroom you have an extractor fan fitted,that is expected to pull/push the water vapour and air from the room, while the bathroom door is closed. Result not very good. However, an extractor fan that is also a...

Breezer, how do you know I love marmalade?

This is perhaps condensation up to a point, in as much as, we all breath and sweat up to 2.5 litres per 24 hours. Overnight we produce 330 ml of water vapour just controlling our sleeping temperature. In the normal way, this water vapour is held in the air and gradually with doors being...

Perhaps you will clarify things for me? You write, the door to the outside is aluminium, but do not say if it has running condensation on the inside? Then you write, you have wet cupboard doors? If this was a normal high water vapour situation, with condensation I would expect you to write...

From your text and pictures, I might guess that the only ventilation to this floor is from the holes at one end? Therefore the question you need to ask is, is there a damp proof membrane under the garage floor? As ventilation will only take place if there is another vent in the oposite wall...

As you may expect a damp proof course will only work if it is above ground. In your case attempting to prevent ground water coming through basement walls by painting them was hopeful to say the least. (unless you are on a hill and the ground water can easily flow round your property - say...

Wired systems are best.Wireless systems can be jammed.