Morning, hope everyone is well. I wasn't sure which part to post in as my problems possibly cover a few areas, so i'll waffle on and see if anyone has had similar probs or solutions....
Moved into my top floor maisonette 15 months ago. This is my first property, so it's all a learning curve..
Not long after moving in I noticed that my clothes had started to smell foisty so I bought dehumidifier. During the summer months I mostly had all the windows open and tried to get as much air I as poss as the flat had been empty a while.
Cupboard where boiler is was quite foisty and bathroom smell foisty smell on floor and vanity unit ( no visible water anywhere). I had a plumber come and check for leaks etc and he could not find anything. ( the soil stack from the down stairs goes through this cupboard, through my loft to the roof).
Smell beginning to drive me a little crazy so I paid for a damp survey. This revealed that I had no damp bit he suggested good ventilation, so on his recommendation I had a fan fitted in bathrrom, new double glazing with trickle vents ( which I had planned to invest in anyway), a cooker hood.
He suggested getting someone to check the loft to make sure I had enough insulation. ( im not DIY orientated atall as you may gather from my waffling). So a friend came and looked in loft and the front grills were stuffed with insulation which we untucked to create a cross flow. Noticed wetness on the eave wall, so pulled the insulation back there. The soil stack mentioned about had a towel stuffed around the top- friend suggested seeing if dried out as was prob condensation and this could be why the cupboard stinks. ( that has been scrubbed out with bleach several times even though theres no visible damp anywhere). HE said to get a builder to double check.
So I had a builder come and check. He said he thought I had enough insulation and would bring a a big ladder to look at the roof ( are you asleep yet?)….. waited and waited and couldn't get hold of him again so I called another builder, explaining what the last one had said......he came and looked in loft and said everything looked ok and that I could possibly need more insulation and he didn't bring a ladder ( even though I pointed out what last said) and would come back with ladder......didn't and coudlnt get hold of him! floor in bathroom occasionaly swelled a bit and they had pointed out if there was a prob with the roof, it codl trickle down the wall to the floor...
So.… I put a post on FB asking if anyone could recommend a builder/roofer.....I got in touch of one who I contacted one who I had also double checked was on one of those builder recommended sites as I was starting to be distrusting! I described my prob to him and he suggested that the flashing around the soil stack could be broken and said this could be where it was getting in to the cupboard/floor ( its never really really wet). HE came and replaced flashing and said there was a crack in it. HE suggested that the dry ridges also needed replacing or fixing. so he came back and did those. it seemed that when it was raining the smell in the bathroom became worse and I would have to have the dehumidifier in the bedroom on more.
This was about 8 weeks ago. Ive been monitoring and the smell in the batroom doesn't appear AS bad apart from if it has been really cold, can smell it more( it never actually goes away).
Other things ive notice- I can see my loft beams through the plaster in the ceiling. These seem to be worse. Various sites/forums have suggested that this could be due to a lack of insulation in the loft and is condensation?
My bedroom carpet ( next to my side of the bed) smells foisty and part of my lounge does too. The floor never feels wet to me but it does feel cold. I noticed there is no underlay under my carpet ( which was here when I moved in). The flat below has no central heating. He only has a gas heater at the front of his lounge. I have central heating.
Is the probs with my clothes ( feistiness) de to condensation and because theres not enough insulation from my loft or between the flats....
Ive got those dehumidifier bags everywhere and im spending a fortune on keeping the electric one going. Ive also spent a fortue on the repair so far to the roof and getting various people to look!
Theres no visible mould anywhere but the smell is getting me down ( im asthamstic too and sometimes can feel on my chest).
I know ive gone on and on and builders cant come at the minute....has anyone else experienced any of this and can give me some pointers? I don't want to keep wasting money if its not helping
Thanks for listening. Ive bored myself!
Moved into my top floor maisonette 15 months ago. This is my first property, so it's all a learning curve..
Not long after moving in I noticed that my clothes had started to smell foisty so I bought dehumidifier. During the summer months I mostly had all the windows open and tried to get as much air I as poss as the flat had been empty a while.
Cupboard where boiler is was quite foisty and bathroom smell foisty smell on floor and vanity unit ( no visible water anywhere). I had a plumber come and check for leaks etc and he could not find anything. ( the soil stack from the down stairs goes through this cupboard, through my loft to the roof).
Smell beginning to drive me a little crazy so I paid for a damp survey. This revealed that I had no damp bit he suggested good ventilation, so on his recommendation I had a fan fitted in bathrrom, new double glazing with trickle vents ( which I had planned to invest in anyway), a cooker hood.
He suggested getting someone to check the loft to make sure I had enough insulation. ( im not DIY orientated atall as you may gather from my waffling). So a friend came and looked in loft and the front grills were stuffed with insulation which we untucked to create a cross flow. Noticed wetness on the eave wall, so pulled the insulation back there. The soil stack mentioned about had a towel stuffed around the top- friend suggested seeing if dried out as was prob condensation and this could be why the cupboard stinks. ( that has been scrubbed out with bleach several times even though theres no visible damp anywhere). HE said to get a builder to double check.
So I had a builder come and check. He said he thought I had enough insulation and would bring a a big ladder to look at the roof ( are you asleep yet?)….. waited and waited and couldn't get hold of him again so I called another builder, explaining what the last one had said......he came and looked in loft and said everything looked ok and that I could possibly need more insulation and he didn't bring a ladder ( even though I pointed out what last said) and would come back with ladder......didn't and coudlnt get hold of him! floor in bathroom occasionaly swelled a bit and they had pointed out if there was a prob with the roof, it codl trickle down the wall to the floor...
So.… I put a post on FB asking if anyone could recommend a builder/roofer.....I got in touch of one who I contacted one who I had also double checked was on one of those builder recommended sites as I was starting to be distrusting! I described my prob to him and he suggested that the flashing around the soil stack could be broken and said this could be where it was getting in to the cupboard/floor ( its never really really wet). HE came and replaced flashing and said there was a crack in it. HE suggested that the dry ridges also needed replacing or fixing. so he came back and did those. it seemed that when it was raining the smell in the bathroom became worse and I would have to have the dehumidifier in the bedroom on more.
This was about 8 weeks ago. Ive been monitoring and the smell in the batroom doesn't appear AS bad apart from if it has been really cold, can smell it more( it never actually goes away).
Other things ive notice- I can see my loft beams through the plaster in the ceiling. These seem to be worse. Various sites/forums have suggested that this could be due to a lack of insulation in the loft and is condensation?
My bedroom carpet ( next to my side of the bed) smells foisty and part of my lounge does too. The floor never feels wet to me but it does feel cold. I noticed there is no underlay under my carpet ( which was here when I moved in). The flat below has no central heating. He only has a gas heater at the front of his lounge. I have central heating.
Is the probs with my clothes ( feistiness) de to condensation and because theres not enough insulation from my loft or between the flats....
Ive got those dehumidifier bags everywhere and im spending a fortune on keeping the electric one going. Ive also spent a fortue on the repair so far to the roof and getting various people to look!
Theres no visible mould anywhere but the smell is getting me down ( im asthamstic too and sometimes can feel on my chest).
I know ive gone on and on and builders cant come at the minute....has anyone else experienced any of this and can give me some pointers? I don't want to keep wasting money if its not helping
Thanks for listening. Ive bored myself!