| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| dottyspots |
DampI wasn't really sure where to put this.We have damp. It's not pleasant, mould growing up the walls, can't decorate, aware of the health implications 
I'm really worried about getting the house damp-proofed. Apparently it was done before we moved in (we had a guarantee which was apparently invalidated because the last owners used the 'wrong plaster' or something - which sounded rather balls at them time, but I've had a huge amount to deal with the past couple of years). Is the only way forward to get the house damp-proofed again? I'm worried that's some pretty nasty chemicals going into the walls (erm, but then, mould also definetly not good for health either!) I have a dehumdifier, but again, not exactly good to have that constantly running in the winter (and of course can only run it in one room at a time). I'd really like to start trying to get the house organised and looking 'nice', but I think it's pretty pointless painting or anything if mould is just going to carry on growing up the walls (I have bare patches where I have been swabbing the walls with a bleach solution to kill the mould - again not ideal and definetely not an enjoyable job). Is there anyway of dealing with this that doesn't involve lots of chemicals? |
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| Gervase |
Short answer, yes there certainly is.
Most chemical damp-proofing is a complete waste of money, and the best solutions are usually cheaper and simpler. Is the house brick or stone? How thick are the walls? What are your gutters and drainpipes like? Do you have soil banked against the walls outside, or concrete right up to the wall? What's your drainage like? Black mould on the inside is often a symptom of condensation caused by a damp atmopshere rather than damp in the walls themselves. What sort of windows do you have, and what's the ventilation like? Do you use a tumble-dryer venting inside the house, for example? |
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| Cathryn |
Listen to Gervase.
We don't have damp (fingers crossed) but the house smelt of it and felt damp when I moved in. I opened all the windows I could and all the doors. The fireplaces are being opened up and come Autumn they will have roaring fires lit in them. Condensation and poor air circulation was the main problem. There has been a huge difference already. |
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| dottyspots |
I think it is standard brick built (we live in an end of terrace). The walls are about 27cm thick (just measured them with a ruler  )
There isn't soil banked up against the walls, but there is concrete on three sides by the house. Not sure what you mean by what's the drainage like (erm, I do know what drainage *is*, just not sure what you're asking). I haven't looked at the gutters and drains because they're so high-up (ladder, shudder). We have double-glazing, although it's a bit crap. I've mould growing on the window seals as well *sigh* I think the ventilation here is probably pretty useless. I've been keeping windows upstairs open on a crack all year round in an effort to help a bit. There is a ventilation vent in the kitchen/dining room which was obscured by ivy (which I've chopped at as it was invading everything). It's low to the ground and I can't possibly see that it is of any help in the kitchen at all. There's also a vent in the hallway by the front door towards the floor (where the damp is pretty bad, even into the ceilings, as it is in the bathroom too) and the bathroom. I think there's one in my bedroom. That's it. The damp is worst in the hallway, bathroom and 3 corners of the kitchen/dining room, but mould is still present in every other room. I've been really concerned about damp-proofing and would much prefer to spend the money on other practical things that would help stop the mould growth. I don't own (and probably never will own) a tumble dryer
I have a fireplace in my living room and have been wondering whether I could use it if I got the chimney sorted out. I'm a bit clueless on this sort of thing - hardly the poor weak female, but my husband used to deal with this sort of thing, or rather he said he would, but never got around to it, so it's a bit of a steep learning curve for me, although I *will* learn and I'm determined to get the house sorted as soon as is possible - so there's no damp, I can *hopefully* have some sort of fire or wood burner (I'm really paranoid about the fact that I have an electric cooker/hob - I lived in villages as a child and remember days of no electric, I really don't like having to be entirely reliant on it... my mother has a mixture of all sorts of things so when they get a power cut - and they invariably do - it's not the end of the world, plus she has a cellar for when they get cut off from the shops, not a problem where I live, but I have a bit of a *thing* about being prepared)
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
I don't have Gervases expertise, and I would take his advice over any other; but for what it's worth the damp in the old house was substantially reduced by digging a french drain along one side of the house (end of terrace victorian), ensuring that the chimneys were unblocked (one was regularly used) and keeping the windows on vent.
A structural engineer told us that one persistent spot of dampness was probably due to building debris being thrown down the small cavity in the walls at the time of building; thereby making that patch effectively single skin and prone to condensate...he could offer no other solution other than to replaster periodically with a moisure resistant plaster... |
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| Helen_A |
We seem (touch wood) to have solved the damp issues here (was one room for us though, and in part due to condensation) by keeping the windows open in that room... in our case the double glazing is UPVC (last owners put it in - badly!! grrr) and we have no cash to replace it, the house being orignally built with a mixture of wooden and metal framed windows...
The chap next door spent a lot of time (apparently) digging up concrete from from and back when he first moved in and that dealt with his issues... |
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| dottyspots |
Hmmmmmm. I have a little bit of money coming from the sale of my grandmother's house (two bereavements in the space of a couple of months last year, on top of everything else - definetely had the worst 2 years ever  ) and I am eyeing up my garden as the fence needs sorting (can't patch it up anymore as am patching up patched up bits that are falling apart and if I get the fence sorted I could consider having ducks) and was thinking about doing something about the concrete out back as I want to create a patio sort of thing with salad and herb beds (well, not me, I'm going to have to get someone in to do the hard work for me, but I'll enjoy the planning and planting), perhaps I should be looking at getting the concrete removed and then there being some sort of gap between the start of the patio and the house, because it was looking like I'd have to use the money to do something about the damp as a priority and well, if getting rid of the concrete would help, then as far as I'm concerned I'd prefer to that!
I'm not sure what a French drain is? THe windows here are UPVC, with gaps on the seals and all sorts. Can't see me stretching to get them replaced for a while though as I've just had to add the oven to the list of things that need sorting as it's packing up and I need to have a really good think as I don't want to get another electric oven, so I'm wondering what my options are (there is the possibility of gas, but the point is the other side of the kitchen from the built in oven and hob. |
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
This might help to explain it - I hadn't heard of one before it was done either.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_drain |
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| alice |
We cured one of those - I use the royal 'we' in these situations - by drilling a brick out at floor level, cleaning out the debris from the cavity and replacing the brick.
We've dealt with all sorts of damp problems, in cavity walls and stone walls and never resorted to chemicals. There are dozens of physical reasons for it but the one that trumps everything is poor ventilation and a solid fuel fire will move air through a building at a phenomenal rate. |
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| sean |
It's also worth checking that the previous owners of your house haven't gone 'It's a bit damp, what we'll do is fill up the backs of all the air bricks with cement.'
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| dottyspots |
LOL! Not quite, that had already occured and they were blocked, but not with cement. The vent in the hallway is now a hole in the wall (going out) and ditto for the one in the dining room. This is making my house sound really awful, it isn't, honest  but it's amazing we haven't got rodents in the house, although I realise they can crawl through the tiniest holes and if a rabbit could climb a decent sized one could fit through these holes (it's amazing one of the cats haven't tried) - mind you, for all I know rabbits can climb a bit, my only experience with them is in cooking them or dealing with the ones that weren't fast enough to disappear when Gilbert (big fat Korat) is close by (which also might explain the lack of rodents...)
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| Gervase |
It does sound as though ventilation is an issue. A lot of uPVC windows effectively seal a room, making it very prone to condensation. If you've got mould in the corners that's a sure-fire sign of condensation. If the windows don't have trickle vents (now a legal requirement on newer uPBC windows), keep them open a fraction, and make sure your chimneys aren't blocked. As others have suggested, an open fire will make a huge difference.
Do your airbricks lead under a timber floor? If they do, unblock them as a priority, as your floor will be extremely vulnerable to rot if the joists are surrounded by damp, still air. The walls sound thick enough to be cavity walls, so you shouldn't have a problem with penetrating damp, unless the blokes that built the place were incredibly messy and dropped a load of muck down the cavity which would act as a moisture and temperature bridge. It's worth making a visual check outside next time it rains, though, just to make sure that your gutters and downpipes are up to the job and not dumping water onto the wall or making it puddle at the bottom. Have a good look at the bottom, where you might be getting splashes up from the concrete onto the wall. Getting rid of the concrete and making sure the outside ground level is a good 4 to 6 inches below the inside floor level would be a big help with that. Whatever you do, make sure the damp-proof course - if you have one; often made of slate on older brick houses - isn't bridged by soil or concrete). All of which can be done by yourself, and cheaply, too. Don't waste your money on chemical damp-proofing. Don't expect instant results, though. The average wall will dry out at a rate of an inch a month, so allowing for four inches of damp brick on each face, you're looking at at least four months before the fabric is properly dry. The condensation issue should resolve itself more quickly, though. Sadly the waterproof tanking plaster most damp-proofers use on interior walls is notorious for attracting condensation and trapping damp behind it, but I imagine you won't want to be replastering. One solution (once all sources of exterior damp are sorted) is to remove the skirtings and take off three inches of the damp-proofing plaster at the bottom to allow the wall to breath. You can then replace the skirting, allowing a quarter-inch gap between the skirting and floor. How old is the house, as a matter of interest? |
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| dottyspots |
That's really helpful information, thank you Gervase. There aren't any vents on the windows. I've got the ones upstairs all open a crack on lock, I can't really open them further unattended as I have small children who climb THis has certainly helped the with the mould upstairs, although it still is there, although hardly a surprise it's worse in the bathroom - I keep having to tell my teens that the window STAYS open in the bathroom.
I don't think it's a timber floor here. As eventually I want to decorate anyway, taking off skirting and doing as you've suggested is what I imagine to be quite an easy job and atleast I don't have to worry about the decor
I'm going to have to google what airbricks are... The valuer's report says the house is around 75 years old, so not old by any account. |