Condensation in my loft

neutron

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I assume you have made every effort to stop the moist air getting into the loft in the first place.

Yes, fitted a replacement sealed loft hatch, checked that insulation is not blocking the eaves, replaced downlighters in bathrooms with surface mounting fittings, replaced extractor fans in bathrooms, opened trickle vents in all windows, used a dehumidifier to remove moisture from upstairs rooms. The LapVents have not solved the problem, I still have condensation dripping from the underside of the roof felt in the loft.

SIRT

Hi Neutron,

Are you sure you mean lapvent? The reason I ask this is because I have fitted hundreds of these now and I know that without exception they work brilliantly.

Your comments also lead me to believe that might be confusion over the product? I say this because lapvent are so confident of their product, they offer a full refund if it is proven not to work having been fitted correctly following their recommendations.

Have you contacted them with your complaint? and have they sent a surveyor to your house to inspect the installation? They will do, if they havent already as I said they are brilliant and this is why im finding these comments difficult to understand.

With the tile that you are suggesting you have the only way lapvent wouldn't work as effectively without increasing the number is if you had solar or pv panels on the outside of the roof restricting air movement. But this would have been identified at the quote stage.

Can you identify where abouts you are in the Country, it looks like Bucks from earlier blogs? and how long ago did you have ventilation installed? Did lapvent fit them?

As you can probably guess I am a bit of an anorak when it comes to condensation in roofs, but its because its so important that its dealt with properly otherwise your roof and contents are at risk.

I would really appreciate your feedback.

And hopefully if you havent contacted lapvent already, an email or phone call should sort the problem out for you.

The.Far.Tall.Knight

sidefx wrote: »

I noticed a dripping sound on the inside of the loft hatch today, so I had a look and the inside of the roof is covered in water/condensation? Which is now dripping. I have never noticed this before. There is an air vent in there and the loft is insulated. Is this anything to worry about and is there anything I can do about it??

Any thoughts and advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi, I too have a condensation problem in my loft, forgive the quick physics lesson, (and I am sure will will be aware) but when cold air meets warm air you get damp, on a larger scale as in the weather forecast when a cold front meets a warm front you get rain, the problem with the loft space is that your loft has to "breathe" and you probably don't have felt that is used these days which is breathable so the warm air that is getting into your loft has nowhere to go so you will need 4 vents near the top 2 front and 2 back the air brick you mention will not be enough. You will have to address this problem and resolve it soon or it will rot your roof. Best bet is to consult a trustworthy roofer and the best place from my experience to get one is from your local trading standards website or give them a ring as they will hold a list of vetted and accredited tradesman, (best not to take chances with roofers as you can get some right cowboys), get about three quotes. I hope this helps. Kindest regards

The.Far.Tall.Knight

Broomhead wrote: »

Hi, I've also had problems with condensation in the attic. I moved the insulation away from the eaves and whilst it's cut it down a bit, there's still a significant amount forming.

I spoke to a couple of roofers (one suggested moving the insulation) and one suggested having polyurethane foam sprayed on the inside of the roof. Has anyone tried this and did it solve the condensation problem?

Polyurethane foam spray on inside of the roof will be expensive and will probably not achieve much if anything at all apart from a large hole in your pocket (in my opinion) your loft needs to breathe and you need some decent vents 2 front 2 back

neutron

SIRT wrote: »

Hi Neutron,

Are you sure you mean lapvent? The reason I ask this is because I have fitted hundreds of these now and I know that without exception they work brilliantly.

Your comments also lead me to believe that might be confusion over the product? I say this because lapvent are so confident of their product, they offer a full refund if it is proven not to work having been fitted correctly following their recommendations.

Have you contacted them with your complaint? and have they sent a surveyor to your house to inspect the installation? They will do, if they havent already as I said they are brilliant and this is why im finding these comments difficult to understand.

With the tile that you are suggesting you have the only way lapvent wouldn't work as effectively without increasing the number is if you had solar or pv panels on the outside of the roof restricting air movement. But this would have been identified at the quote stage.

Can you identify where abouts you are in the Country, it looks like Bucks from earlier blogs? and how long ago did you have ventilation installed? Did lapvent fit them?

As you can probably guess I am a bit of an anorak when it comes to condensation in roofs, but its because its so important that its dealt with properly otherwise your roof and contents are at risk.

I would really appreciate your feedback.

And hopefully if you havent contacted lapvent already, an email or phone call should sort the problem out for you.

Q1) Are you sure you mean lapvent?
Answer - YES

Q2) Have you contacted them with your complaint?
Answer - emailed (today), awaiting response.

Q3) With the tile that you are suggesting you have the only way lapvent wouldn't work as effectively without increasing the number is if you had solar or pv panels on the outside of the roof restricting air movement.
Answer - No panels fitted. Most certainly would not consider adding more LapVents - not throwing good money after bad etc

Q4) Can you identify where abouts you are in the Country, it looks like Bucks from earlier blogs?
Answer - correct

Q5) how long ago did you have ventilation installed?
Answer - April 2010

Q6) Did lapvent fit them?
Answer - No, why should that make a difference? LapVent promote the simplicity of DIY fitting.

paidinchickens

Same problem here. North facing roof only

john-306

I've had this problem for the last few years, water literally dripping from the felt, this is with 4 soffit vents each side of the loft.
I invested in a dehumidifer which does clear it up totally, but obviously isn't a cure, I just have to try to catch the time it starts to appear and switch the dehumidifer on.

A.Penny.Saved

If you have a problem with condensation then as a temporary measure, try turning down your heating to your upstairs if you can. With thermostatic radiator valves that would be easy, otherwise it will affect the whole house which won't be easy to do without wearing more clothes. Think about your heating bills and those rising energy prices as an incentive

I'm certainly no expert on this and I have been a bit concerned by it myself for quite a long time. Now after uprating the upstairs radiators, I could find myself with the same problems as many other people. TRV's should help in the short term until a more complete solution can be worked out with ventilation which does need improving IMO.

I will have to try and improve the ventilation in the loft when I can and seal up a few small holes where pipes and cables go into the loft. The roof pitch is another problem as it gives very little space at the eaves, so ventilation won't be too effective from there.

Tile vents seem a bit risky to me due to wind forces and possible insect infestation. Wasps are a big problem in my area because many houses have holes in fascias which wasps use to access the loft to setup nests. Tile vents are something which I am very reluctant to fit unless I can see they won't be a problem.

I had some fascia replaced when I moved in 6 years ago which probably won't of helped, the previous wood had numerous holes in it providing some added ventilation and encouraged wasps as there were a couple of old wasps nests in the loft.

I have noticed in the past signs of water marks in the loft space such as on the plasterboard ceiling and bits of plastic sheeting which had been put down. The previous owner must of had the house a lot warmer than me because there hasn't been a problem with condensation up until now. However the larger upstairs radiators could very well change that.

This thread has been an interesting read.......trying to spot the advertisers and newly signed up praisers of different devices has been a bit of a laugh.

travellerboy

TheGiggsLady wrote: »

Hi, If you've got condensation in your loft you can cure this by cross ventilating the roof space with soffit disc vents. These are approx 65mm diameter discs which fit into your soffit at approx 500mm centres apart. This will allow air to flow across the top of the insulation removing trapped moisture. You can fit these yourself by simply drilling holes in the soffit and screwing them in. You can buy them for a few pence each from most diy or builders merchants. Hope this helps.
TheGiggsLady!!!

Soffit vents/ eaves vent are the ideal answer to the problem. (good ones have mesh built-in to avoid insects/wasps, etc.)

Critical importance - make sure that the roof insulation stops short and maintain at least a 2" gap at the eaves for air flow/circulation

jandy

I have had condensation in my loft for many winters, but this year it is bone dry,and this is what I have done diffrently- Due to also having condensation on the bedroom windows, I would leave the fanlight windows slightly ajar throughout winter to aid circulation,this however never seemed to make much diffrence to the condensation. This year I decided to keep the windows closed,condensation on the windows is much the same, but the loft dry for the first time in years.I am guessing the moist air from the bedrooms was leaving the windows and being sucked into the loft through the soffit vents.