Terrible Condensation

[Vicki29]

Sorry guys, I’ve no idea where to post this but I’m praying for some advice.

I have the worst condensation on all of the windows in my house. Upstairs and downstairs.

I’ve done everything that it recommends online like not drying clothes inside and opening windows and I’ve got windows and an extractor in the bathroom but at night and in the morning all of the windows are absolutely soaking and I’m having to Karcher them all every single day.

I’ve got a new roof so there’s no leaks and I’m at a total loss. I really can’t afford to be running dehumidifiers in every room and I honestly can’t get to the bottom of where on Earth all this moisture is coming from.

it’s also a very cold house. The loft has new insulation in but for some reason the house doesn’t hold the heat at all and it gets so cold on a night that no matter how low I set the thermostat the boiler is running continuously and costing me a fortune. Not sure whether that’s relevant or not.

are there any companies out there that can advise me?

 

[JohnD]

Perhaps you have a water leak. It might be a hot-water leak, or a radiator pipe. How old is the house?

Look at your gas meter readings. How many cubic metres of gas do you use per day, and does it vary, day or night?

Does your boiler have a pressure gauge?

Do you have a hot-water cylinder?

Do you know where your outside stopcock is?

Have you got a water meter?

 

[Vicki29]

Hi, thank you so much for replying.

it’s a 1968 semi. The poorly made and thrown up type.

Do you know how I would go about trying to find a leak from pipes? There’s no visible signs anywhere.

I haven’t checked the gas but will do that.

The boiler does have a pressure gage and I don’t have a hot water cylinder.

I don’t know where the outside stopcock is but I could check in the bundle of paperwork I received from the solicitor when I bought the house.

 

[Vicki29]

Do you think the white rubber sealant around the outside of the windows could be adding to the problem? It looks like it could do with replacing.

 

[BlueLoo]

When you say "all windows" what do you mean?

Every window in the house or just the rooms with people sleeping

 

[Vicki29]

Every window in the house except the kitchen and utility.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Are you getting condensation on the walls as well, especially behind wardrobes, curtains etc. What are the windows- single glazed, double glazed, old, new? Any insulation in the walls? (survey should indicate method of construction but it might be a guess)? How thick is the loft insulation?
EDIT Presumably you're new to this house- did the previous owners supply you with old utility bills? Does your energy use tally with theirs? What type of place were you living in before this house?- flat, terrace- have you moved North?
EDIT 2 Water meter...do you have one? If so, read it before going to bed and again in the morning, see if there's any unexplained flow going on.

 

[BlueLoo]

Every window in the house except the kitchen and utility.

Ok, because that rules out people as the only source of condensation.

It's quite normal to have condensation on windows if you sleep in a room with no ventilation.

Humidity must be coming from somewhere. The new roof is the obvious 1st place to look.

I'd get a chartered surveyor/Building Engineer to come and survey the house and the roof to see what, if, anything may be amiss.
Expensive, but not more so than going through stupid botches from builders who wouldn't have a clue.

 

[Vicki29]

I think it’s timber frame. We had the condensation on the windows before the new roof and new loft insulation but it’s even worse now.

the loft insulation is 100mm base layer and 200mm top layer.

I bought the house October 2019 and prior to that it had been empty for 3 years as the old lady went into a nursing home and then her kids sold it when she died so I didn’t get any utility bills from her. The only place that there seems to be issues other than the panes of glass are obviously the wood window sills and the plasterboard where the windowsills meet the walls in the recess. We have had a couple of what look like grease patches on internal bedroom walls upstairs but not a lot.

the windows are double glazed but there doesn’t appear to be any water between the panes of glass. I think they’re quite old, prob around 2005 the neighbours think, but apparently new windows wouldn’t solve my issue.

we don’t have a water meter.

 

[JohnD]

The boiler does have a pressure gage and I don’t have a hot water cylinder.

I don’t know where the outside stopcock is but I could check in the bundle of paperwork I received from the solicitor when I bought the house.

Walk round the house looking for an iron lid about 8 inches square in the paving or ground.

Typically in a straight line from where the kitchen was when the house was built, to the road. Often beside where the front gate used to be when the house was built.

Does the boiler pressure ever change?

 

[BlueLoo]

If it's timber frame, you can't take the condensation lightly. You need your building to be working properly.

Get a survey done. Anything else is just guesswork.

A scenario: the new roof is built with a breathable membrane which isnt doing its job properly. The condensation building up in the loft is running down the roof into the timber frame structure and you have internal damp which is then wicking back into the house through the walls.

Probably utter fiction but something is happening. That water isn't coming from nowhere.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

You mentioned white rubber seals round the windows- any pics? One fairly cheap experiment you could try is replace the glass in one window (and renew the wedge gaskets if they're that type) and see what happens.

 

[BlueLoo]

You mentioned white rubber seals round the windows- any pics? One fairly cheap experiment you could try is replace the glass in one window (and renew the wedge gaskets if they're that type) and see what happens.

Only an issue if it's rainwater, no?

 

[Vicki29]

Ok I will look for that. The pressure is usually just over one but sometimes drops below that

 

[Vicki29]

There doesn’t seem to be any condensation in the loft itself. The reason I ask about the white seal around the windows is because it looks damp on the inside. I’ll post a pic