Im having a bit of a disagreement with my builder over what he says is condensation but Im fairly sure is penetrative damp.
We have a 1960s block and brick walled chalet bungalow which originally had single glazed wooden windows throughout. We replaced the ones on the southwest elevation with UPVC double glazed units. The ones on the northeast side were mostly not replaced because a large conservatory had been built over them although that has now been removed. The windows were in good condition when replaced and were only replaced due to the heating costs.
Almost immediately we started to get severe localised damp in the bottom corner of all the replaced window reveals. In some cases where the rooms are double aspect we have damp on the new SW facing windows and none on the single glazed NE wooden units. Before someone asks we have no trickle vents on the new windows – but there were none on the old ones either. All wet rooms, tumble drier etc are extracted to outside.
My logic for thinking this is penetrative damp not condensation is as follows
• I would expect to see condensation first on the colder northeast facing single glazed units and there is none
• With severe condensation you would notice visible moisture on the inside of the windows and there is none
• Over the last few days where the wind and rain have been most intense the corners have become wet to the touch. The windows sills outside had water puddling on them but don’t appear to be canted back towards the house. Ive been taking moisture readings from the top and bottom of the window reveals and the top has remained constant whereas the bottom has rocketed.
I have noticed that the silicon sealant around the frames has shrunk back in the bottom 1/3 of the windows leaving a small gap. There are two new windows that don’t have the sealant shrunk back they also are the only two which don’t have damp reveals but they also are the only which are sheltered from the prevailing wind on the NE side . My thought is that water from the sills is being blown either under or around the frame and the window will need removing to reseal properly.
We are looking to replace all the single glazed units but I would rather get the damp issues on the existing windows sorted first.
When I raised the issue with the builder who fitted them he said that in no way could it be the frame seals leaking and trickle vents would solve it. I dont want to fit trickle vents, redo the window reveals and decorate to find that later the windows are still leaking.
sorry about the long post but wanted to include the detail
.
We have a 1960s block and brick walled chalet bungalow which originally had single glazed wooden windows throughout. We replaced the ones on the southwest elevation with UPVC double glazed units. The ones on the northeast side were mostly not replaced because a large conservatory had been built over them although that has now been removed. The windows were in good condition when replaced and were only replaced due to the heating costs.
Almost immediately we started to get severe localised damp in the bottom corner of all the replaced window reveals. In some cases where the rooms are double aspect we have damp on the new SW facing windows and none on the single glazed NE wooden units. Before someone asks we have no trickle vents on the new windows – but there were none on the old ones either. All wet rooms, tumble drier etc are extracted to outside.
My logic for thinking this is penetrative damp not condensation is as follows
• I would expect to see condensation first on the colder northeast facing single glazed units and there is none
• With severe condensation you would notice visible moisture on the inside of the windows and there is none
• Over the last few days where the wind and rain have been most intense the corners have become wet to the touch. The windows sills outside had water puddling on them but don’t appear to be canted back towards the house. Ive been taking moisture readings from the top and bottom of the window reveals and the top has remained constant whereas the bottom has rocketed.
I have noticed that the silicon sealant around the frames has shrunk back in the bottom 1/3 of the windows leaving a small gap. There are two new windows that don’t have the sealant shrunk back they also are the only two which don’t have damp reveals but they also are the only which are sheltered from the prevailing wind on the NE side . My thought is that water from the sills is being blown either under or around the frame and the window will need removing to reseal properly.
We are looking to replace all the single glazed units but I would rather get the damp issues on the existing windows sorted first.
When I raised the issue with the builder who fitted them he said that in no way could it be the frame seals leaking and trickle vents would solve it. I dont want to fit trickle vents, redo the window reveals and decorate to find that later the windows are still leaking.
sorry about the long post but wanted to include the detail
.
