Survey was fine but having problems with damp in new flat

pagetta

We recently moved into a ground floor flat in a converted semi detached 1920s house. We had a homebuyers survey conducted, which all came back 100% fine, however now we are in the property, we are noticing problems with damp.

We have been in for 3 weeks, and there is mould and mildew forming between the tiles in the bathroom, although this may be due to bad ventilation in the room, and we want to get an extractor fan fitted.

In the dining room, at the bottom of all of the walls (both exterior and interior) is what looks like staining - it looks like someone has painted over previous damp patches (can see mottled discolouration) and now in the bedroom there are light brown patches of what i can only assume are mould or mildew forming on the bedroom ceiling.

The bedroom concerns me most as we don't dry clothes in there, there's no excess moisture in there from anything, we don't even spend that much time in there, so why the mouldy spots?!

what i want to know is why a survey wouldn't have picked up at least SOME of this damp problem, and do we have a leg to stand on legally to get it treated by either the surveyors, or the previous owners?

Advice welcome!

thnx

mr_fishbulb

pagetta wrote: »

The bedroom concerns me most as we don't dry clothes in there, there's no excess moisture in there from anything, we don't even spend that much time in there, so why the mouldy spots?!

Where do you sleep then

Got no idea about the comeback for the survey, but in the meantime a dehumidifier worked wonders in my mouldy flat.

pagetta

Ha ha i wrote that in a bit of a hurry! Yes we sleep in there (doh!) but we don't spend time in there apart from sleeping.

We lock all of the windows open ajar so there is constant air flow....will have to bite the bullet fork out for a dehumidifier i think.

hostman

Maybe the previous owner painted over the bad patches before selling ...

A home buyers reports (valuation and basic survey) wouldn't spot it if its painted over.

Fire_Fox

Where is your tumble dryer vented to? Do you cook with a lid on the pan? Don't underestimate the amount of moisture two people produce simply by breathing for eight hours every night. We have terrible condensation in the winter; I noticed a massive difference when Mr. Fire Fox moved in. I open my windows every day all year round.

Vincenzo

It does sound like a condensation problem to me, caused by solid brickwork walls (I presume on a 1920s build - 9" thick?). Although it is unusual to have the problem on internal walls. I believe this can be caused by cold bridging. Are the external walls much worse than the internal ones?

If it is condenation there are numerous things you can do to reduce the amount of moisture in the flat (refer to earlier comment - bedrooms are normally the worst affected rooms after bathrooms and kitchen). A quick Google search will provide mountains of advice.

A dehumidifier will help but it does not solve the problem and can be expensive to run. The best way to combat condensation is to eliminate the cold surfaces (insulate the walls). Unfortunately with solid brick walls this means internal/external insulation.

Have a look here:

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Home-improvements/Home-insulation-glazing/Solid-wall-insulation

I put a positive input ventilation system into a rented property which has helped too (but not eliminated).

See here:

http://www.nuaire.co.uk/product/piv

But this was what solved the problem in the end:

http://www.insulation.kingspan.com/uk/k17.htm

My advice would be to get a damp expert in to survey the property and advise before you spend any money. Someone like Kenwood, although preferably a local firm.

Having re-read your post...before you do anything call the Surveyor that undertook your Homebuyers Report and ask them to come and have a look. It is possible you could have a claim against them, dependent upon the cause of the problem and the caveats/advice in the report.

Doozergirl

When you say new flat, do you mean that you've just moved in rather than it being newly converted?

Are there any fireplaces in the property, open? Or are the chimney breasts sealed? We had companies selling us one of those positive input systems but the problem was solved by reopening the fireplace.

Make sure that there is a really good extractor in the bathroom as well and that it will stay on for a while after you've left the room. Keep the door closed all the time as well but it sounds too like you need to keep it warm if it has solid walls. If they aren't solid and have some kind of cavity, then cavity wall insulation will really help too.

It is about getting air moving inside the place. Opening the fireplace and changing the extractor worked entirely for us. Mildew would be black - if it's brown then it sounds more like water leaching through. Damp blocking paint just totally traps it in the wall, it's pointless.

If the air is stagnatng in parts, you;ll get mould there too so watch out - under beds, behind furniture etc.

Vincenzo

As Doozergirl points out ventilation is extremely important. The problem is often worse in older properties that have been modernised. Double glazing and uPVC front doors etc all restrict air movement. That coupled with cold solid walls is an ideal environment for condensation.

The positive input systems are designed to displace moisture laden air with fresh air. For it to work properly you need vents in the property. These systems can be expensive and as Doozergirl points out not normally necessary. I had tried the following before the positive input system:

Latent vents on double glazing
Latent vents in bedroom and lounge
Humidistat controlled extractor fan in bathroom
Kitchen extractor
Low level background heating 24hrs a day in winter
Dehumidifier on humidistat in worst affected room
Removing all furniture from outside walls to allow circulation of air

However as I said in the earlier post none of this eliminated the problem.

Condensation forms when moisture laden air (warm air holds more moisture) makes contact with a cold surface. I insulated the external walls (internally) and the problem was solved.

Each property is different as is the extent of the probelm and trial and error is the order of the day. The simpler cheaper fixes are of course worth trying first.

sashman

Vincenzo wrote: »

I insulated the external walls (internally) and the problem was solved.

.

Wrong answer. this condensation is not been solved, its moved to the next coldest surface.

If condensation exists it exists, as you say condensing onto the coldest surface. The only way to remove it is to ventilate the rooms better (try opening a window for 5 mins) and increasing the room temperature, warm air holds more water vapour.

sashman

Vincenzo

sashman wrote: »

Wrong answer. this condensation is not been solved, its moved to the next coldest surface.

If condensation exists it exists, as you say condensing onto the coldest surface. The only way to remove it is to ventilate the rooms better (try opening a window for 5 mins) and increasing the room temperature, warm air holds more water vapour.

sashman

As I explained I had already addressed the ventilation issues. In order to solve the problem in this particular property by simply ventilating would have resulted in a very cold flat.

The condensation probelm was solved by insulating the external walls. This both removed the coldest surfaces (the next coldest surfaces were much warmer and therefore the rate at which the mositure laden air needed to be displaced before condensation ocurred was reduced) and also warmed the whole flat (as you say increasing the room temperatures).

Fire_Fox

Stop spamming the forums: reported.