damp

paulmallon

i have a client whose house has a damp/mould problem.
When I checked the floor make-up,it seems as if the ground floor is made of timber joists with chipboard/plywood flooring.
I suspect that there is no d.p.m./plastic sheeting fitted.
Below the flooring is a void down to ground level.
If bonded bead insulation were pumped into the void,filling the space between ground and timber floor,would this help to eliminate the mould growth? Or would the beads carry dampness up from ground level?

ttm

paulmallon wrote: »

i have a client whose house has a damp/mould problem.
When I checked the floor make-up,it seems as if the ground floor is made of timber joists with chipboard/plywood flooring.
I suspect that there is no d.p.m./plastic sheeting fitted.
Below the flooring is a void down to ground level.
If bonded bead insulation were pumped into the void,filling the space between ground and timber floor,would this help to eliminate the mould growth? Or would the beads carry dampness up from ground level?

Why would you need a dpm under a suspended floor? What you need is ventilation.

Poor Uncle Tom

Filling up the space will compound the problem. As ttm said, you need ventilation. You also need a sealed floor to prevent drafts.

When was the house built?
Is there brick vents in the walls just covered up?
Is there DPC's in the walls and under the wall plates on the dwarf walls?
Is the outside ground level within 150mm from floor level or above it?

Asuming DPC's are in place, and the ground level is correct, I would:
Open up or put in wall vents,
Remove the floor covering,
Put a good coating of lime over the bottom ground area,
Replace any rotten joists or wall plating,
Tack chicken wire to the underside of the floor joists,
Fill between the joists with fibre wool insulation,
Serew fix WBP or OSB to the joists,
Finish with floorboarding.

No6

Or remove the timber floor, fill the void with hardcore and blinding, lay a dpm, pour concrete slab, insulate and finish with screed. Suspended timber floors are a disaster particurly over here in the very wet west!!

ttm

No6 wrote: »

Suspended timber floors are a disaster particurly over here in the very wet west!!

When people block up the vents because it keeps the house warmer.

So if the wet is the problem why don't the roof timbers get damp and rot in the very wet west, could it be that they get ..... ventilation?

MicktheMan

paulmallon wrote: »

i have a client whose house has a damp/mould problem.

Where is the damp/mould showing and in which rooms?