We're having a cellar slowly converted. We pulled down the 100-year-old plaster/lath ceiling and put up new plasterboard which has not yet been treated.
The cellar is not incredibly damp but it has very poor ventilation and I noticed the plasterboard has surface mold developing. The old ceiling didn't have this problem so I'm wondering a)whether to be concerned b)what to do?
Long-term there will be fans and dehumidifiers but right now, we haven't got that. I am considering putting a portable dehumidifier down there anyway but is the problem simply that the plasterboard is untreated and the paper contains nutrients? Could I buy some time either painting it, or applying PVA, or just mold preventative, until such time as it can be skimmed and painted? As I said, the old ceiling was decades old and didn't have issues with mold or damp - it was cracked and messy but not crumbly.
The cellar is not incredibly damp but it has very poor ventilation and I noticed the plasterboard has surface mold developing. The old ceiling didn't have this problem so I'm wondering a)whether to be concerned b)what to do?
Long-term there will be fans and dehumidifiers but right now, we haven't got that. I am considering putting a portable dehumidifier down there anyway but is the problem simply that the plasterboard is untreated and the paper contains nutrients? Could I buy some time either painting it, or applying PVA, or just mold preventative, until such time as it can be skimmed and painted? As I said, the old ceiling was decades old and didn't have issues with mold or damp - it was cracked and messy but not crumbly.