More damp questions! (for a DIY novice)

Kooli

Hi all,

I've read a lot of the damp threads, but I don't think any of them quite apply to me.

Many of the rooms in my house (bungalow, mid-terrace cottage) are showing a lot of signs of damp - black mould/mildew spots on the ceiling, dark patches on the walls and in the corners, damp smell, and some of the shoes in my wardrobe actually developing mould on them (eeeeeewww!!!).

Now each room has a vent to the outdoors. We open windows as much as we comfortably can in cold weather (it's a bloody cold house). We have recently had the roof fixed (which I think will improve damp in one of the rooms, but not the ones on the other side of the house). We have a dehumidifier. We don't dry clothes on the radiators.

So my question is about what needs to be done, but not necessarily in terms of DIY (because I'm so useless at that stuff I probably wouldn't really understand your answers let alone be able to implement them), but about what type of professional I would need to invite to have a look at the place and sort it out. What could the problem be, given what I've said? And I'll try to answer any further questions people have about the situation if I can.

Thanks folks!

RKQ

[quote=Kooli;57979909
Now each room has a vent to the outdoors. We open windows as much as we comfortably can in cold weather (it's a bloody cold house). We have recently had the roof fixed (which I think will improve damp in one of the rooms, but not the ones on the other side of the house). We have a dehumidifier. We don't dry clothes on the radiators.

So my question is about what needs to be done, /quote]

Insulate the walls!
Cold uninsulated wall meets hot moist air = condensation (especially visible on ceilings and wall corners).
Dryline the walls and ensure adequate insulation to attic.:)

Kooli

Great, thanks a million!!

So how do I do that? (or probably a better question is who do I get to do that for me?)

Kooli

Oh and some extra information in case it's relevant:

We have that wire thingy running around the base of the walls that is supposed to get rid of damp, dunno if that's a gimmick or what.

And the corners where there is damp is on external walls in one of the rooms, but not in others.

copper12

Don’t know if this will help I agree with RKO
In the last couple of years the council have renovated quite a large number of red brick houses
Small cottages you could call them
They had no damp coerce; these were built in the 1890,s having been in and out of these houses’ numerous times’ I let you know how they went about renovating them maybe this will help
They took out the old floors and replaced them with insulated floors; concrete over insulation and damp proof membrane
On all walls they used some kind of plastic mesh; the only way I can describe it’ is it looked like bubble rap
Speaking to one of the plasterers’ and he explained that they put this membrane up; and it overlaid the damp proof membrane’ from the floor’ to the ceiling’ this allowed the free passage of air inside’ this helped to eliminate’ or the deal with dampness
They insulated all outside walls; with insulated slab on top of this membrane
Some of these houses’ were renovated as much as ten years ago’ and I haven’t seen any dampness’ in the ones I get an opportunity to enter; in the coarse of my work
Hope this helps

Kooli

copper12 wrote: »

Don’t know if this will help I agree with RKO
In the last couple of years the council have renovated quite a large number of red brick houses
Small cottages you could call them
They had no damp coerce; these were built in the 1890,s having been in and out of these houses’ numerous times’ I let you know how they went about renovating them maybe this will help
They took out the old floors and replaced them with insulated floors; concrete over insulation and damp proof membrane
On all walls they used some kind of plastic mesh; the only way I can describe it’ is it looked like bubble rap
Speaking to one of the plasterers’ and he explained that they put this membrane up; and it overlaid the damp proof membrane’ from the floor’ to the ceiling’ this allowed the free passage of air inside’ this helped to eliminate’ or the deal with dampness
They insulated all outside walls; with insulated slab on top of this membrane
Some of these houses’ were renovated as much as ten years ago’ and I haven’t seen any dampness’ in the ones I get an opportunity to enter; in the coarse of my work
Hope this helps

Yeah thanks that's really helpful.
However, it seems like a really big job and presumably a really time-consuming and expensive one? It might be something to think about for a couple of years down the line when I have a saved up a bit.
Is there anything simpler I could do in the meantime?
And when I do decide to get the above done, who do I get in contact with to start the ball rolling? (i.e. is it a builder I should talk to?)

copper12

Kooli wrote: »

Oh , dunno if that's a gimmick or what.
.

like you said gimmicks dont work

emmemm

you say it's a cold house so perhaps you are not heating it adequately.

bit worried about insulating inside walls and trapping all that damp and mould. in europe they insulate outside.

RKQ

Condensation is commonly mistaken as damp.
Interesting that the problem is only on the external wall (cold wall!)

Dryling isn't that expensive as you'll only be doing the external walls ie in a terrace =the front wall and the rear wall. How many sheets of 8 x 4ft would it take?

It could be done as a diy project but I'm recommend you get an experienced Plasterer to skim the walls.

Mould is not good for your health - which price good health?:)

willbur

Kooli wrote: »

Hi all,

I've read a lot of the damp threads, but I don't think any of them quite apply to me.

Many of the rooms in my house (bungalow, mid-terrace cottage) are showing a lot of signs of damp - black mould/mildew spots on the ceiling, dark patches on the walls and in the corners, damp smell, and some of the shoes in my wardrobe actually developing mould on them (eeeeeewww!!!).

Now each room has a vent to the outdoors. We open windows as much as we comfortably can in cold weather (it's a bloody cold house). We have recently had the roof fixed (which I think will improve damp in one of the rooms, but not the ones on the other side of the house). We have a dehumidifier. We don't dry clothes on the radiators.

So my question is about what needs to be done, but not necessarily in terms of DIY (because I'm so useless at that stuff I probably wouldn't really understand your answers let alone be able to implement them), but about what type of professional I would need to invite to have a look at the place and sort it out. What could the problem be, given what I've said? And I'll try to answer any further questions people have about the situation if I can.

Thanks folks!

HI THERE A ALOT OF REASONS FOR YOUR DAMP AND AGE OF THE HOUSE CAVITY WALL OR BLOCK, VENT ON WALLS COULD BE BLOCKED, LACK OF DAMP PROOFING ON THE BASE OF THE WALL AND ON THE FLOOR, IS THE FLOOR WOODEN OR CONCRETE, IF YOU LIVE IN DUBLIN I COULD GO AND SEE THE HOUSE AND TELL YOU WHAT CAN BE DONE ,AS I RENOVATE HOUSE,S AS PART OF MY JOB

Kooli

Sorry for the confusion - the damp is NOT just on the external walls. In one of the rooms it is, but that's the room where there was a leak in the roof. In my bedroom it's the wall that joins my neighbours house, and then mainly the ceiling.

The floors are wood. Big gaps under the floorboards.

Dunno about the walls.

I've cleaned all the damp off the ceiling, I'll see if it comes back now that the roof has been fixed and I've the dehumidifier going.

Otherwise I'll be in touch, thanks!!