Condensation in loft

[thesulei]

Theres another thread a couple posts down with a similar problem i didn't want to hijack his so im making a new one.

Anyway i need to some advice, went up the loft a couple days ago during the recent cold spell here in the north east and noticed we had major condensation on the inside of the roof in the attic.

It was so bad it was literally raining in our loft not ideal as you can imagine.

We had the heating on pretty high and it was very cold outside at the time.

As far as we are aware this is the first time this has ever happened im trying to figure out why.. and what needs to be done.

Bit more back story as i think there could be a link, we've had a new boiler and heating system put in recently as well as pvc fascia and guttering to replace the old wooden stuff.

I don't know exactly how loft ventilation is meant to work so bare with me but ive read a a couple of times that poorly installed fascia can effect ventilation in the loft ?

I've been looking around at pvc installer websites and a lot of them show ventilation grills and claim that this helps loft ventilation, comparing this with ours i cannot see any air vents anywhere.

Next door still has the old wooden style fascia and i can see that there is a little gap between the brickwork and the wood, ours however is sealed to the brickwork. Is there meant to be a gap for air flow?

Our loft opening is covered by a a wooden hatch cover a few people have suggested that this could be allowing too much warm air through and we should insulate that and it will fix the problem entirely... seems too easy to me any thoughts?

We have no vents on the roof and none in the brick work that i can see some have said we can just install an air brick or vent to help with airflow again im not convinced.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[GoingDigital]

Yes traditionally the loft is ventilated by a gap where the fascia and soffits are. If they have been replaced by PVC that has been sealed in then there is not enough air in the loft.

Your best bet is probably to fit some vents in the boards, you just need a hole saw.

Another common problem is that the loft space used to have little or now loft insulation and so the air could come up under the eaves. But with a push to be more environmentally friendly many people have topped up their insulation and often push it right up under the eaves. If you have insulation all the way up to eaves then you would normally install a tile vent above the insulation line so that the air can enter above the insulation.

Condensation is made worse by installing recessed lighting in ceilings, again a very popular DIY upgrade. The trouble is a huge amount of hot moist air will end up in the loft through the fittings. Fitting fire hoods over them will reduce the damp air entering the loft, oh and make sure the loft hatch fits well.

 

[JohnD]

Does this help?

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1080717#1080717

Comments please