DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi everyone,

I inherited my dads house three years ago and ever since the damp (especially in my bedroom) has been getting worse and worse every year. I could not afford to have the heating on as much as he used to so the house is around 10-12 degrees all winter. His builder friends have said its condensation damp. How can i stop this it is so bad in the mornings there are circles of water (it comes in from where the blobs of glue-or whatever-on the plaster are). from the circles water is just running down the wall. I have used a dehumidifier which made no difference, we then painted the outside wall in thompsons silicon sealer which has made no difference, we have checked the newly fitted (three years ago) loft insulation isnt covering the vents in the roof. we painted the wall with damp paint, and a couple of months ago we put polystyrene wall paper up, but now the water and mould is just on the ceiling and on the carpet instead of the wall. On dry days i open the window in the hope this might work. If anyone has any ideas on how to stop this please could you let me know i will be very very grateful, thanks.

like everything else in the world the house needs to breathe,you need to ventilate the room by installing trickle vents in the windows and an airbrick in the wall with a sliding hit and miss vent on the inside.

Hi

Need to vent room continuously ,fit vents to head of windows, need to heat bedrooms and need to ensure that insulation that is in the loft is adequate need min 270mm laid in both directions to stop heat loss between timbers and insulation.

Keep the doors open in the house so natural ventitlation and heat can circulate throughout, may not be quick fix, but condensation occurs due to lack of heat and ventilation.

If the insulation to walls not great then the issue is almost like putting a boiling kettle to a window - windows steams and condensation forms, when hot air from inside is coming into contact with cold temperatures outside.

Hope this helps