White spot mould and condensation in loft - plan of action

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14 Jan 2013
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Nottinghamshire
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United Kingdom
Hi,

I have some CONDENSATION in my loft and MOULD on the RAFTERS.

Searched and read lots of threads. I have a plan, want to know what you guys think:

The mould looks just like this (linking to a photo from another post):
//media.diynot.com/199000_198740_55290_87571615_thumb.jpg
Additionally some areas of the felt are covered in condensation.

The area of the loft that is worse is around the hatch, which is also the part of the loft with the central heating F&E tank.

The house is a late 50s detached, roof is pitched on all sides; no gables.

Here are my thoughts:

CAUSES: House was occupied for last 10 years by a single lady. Shower didn't work; central heating not that great; house draughty due to poor fitting windows etc. We have fixed all these problems. Now use the shower a lot, there are now 3 of us, cook more etc. We also have no exhausts in either the bathroom or kitchen. Further, new'ish looking loft insulation and cavity wall insulation, fitted in last 5 years I would guess. When you enter the loft and close the hatch there is no outside light visible near the eves (or anywhere, loft insulation is NOT pushed right to the edges though). There are no visible vents on either the fascia or soffits from the outside either. Soffits are plastic cladding on the the old wooden ones, maybe 15 years old.

SO there appears to be no ventilation to the loft, it's cold and we are making the house more humid.

Here is my planned solutions.

SOLUTION:
Get the house less humid, and stop humid air getting to the loft;
Initially open windows more.
Seal up any obvious holes to the loft (for example in the airing cupboard).
Put lid on the DHW storage tank in the airing cupboard.
Fix loose fitting lid on the F&E tank in the loft.
Fit a few 70mm soffit vents. - Don't have a ladder, so can only do a few above windows, where I can reach from inside.
Next summer have sufficient soffit vents fitted. Have exhaust fans to bathroom and kitchen fitted.
Make sure loft hatch is sealed.
Avoid going into loft - opening hatch making it worse.

QUESTIONS:

Does this plan sound reasonable?
Will we do any damage to the rafters, not getting it immediately sorted by a professional?
Anything I missed?

My main concern is: can 1 winter of mould and condensation cause long term problems?
cheers,

Chris
 
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