Is it OK to leave heating off when house is not lived in? Will this make damp worse?

karenhalsey

I'm doing up my Victorian terraced house over the winter, but only go there at weekends (sometimes just for a day)

I've had problems with damp in the past - but I'm not sure whether to heat the house over the winter. Because I don't live there, air moisture is likely to be low i.e. no cooking, no baths, no drying of clothes.

I would only want to heat the house if I thought it would prevent further damp - is it worth it????

ariba10

I would put a Dehumidifier on a timer in there and have it come on for about 6/12 hrs a day.

If it is full of water after the first day I would up the time it is on for, if very low reduce the time.

leveller2911

Houses need living in Karen.If only to stop pipes freezing up I would put the heating on tick over.

If you have open fire hearths and you don't light a fire fairly regular then you will more than likely see damp patches on the chimney breasts.

When my gran died and we put her house on the market ,it was amazing how much the fabric of the house declined in 4 months over a winter period with no one living in it.

Its not worth taking the risk in my opinion. That said you would still need to check the house regularly .......PS many victorian houses didnt have proper a cavity between the brickwork. Lots of them had "Rat Bond" brickwork, which basically was part cavity and part solid wall(Bricks criss crossed across the cavity) and as such are susceptable to damp/moisture...This was held at bay by a "fire in the hearth"..

mikey72

If you don't put the heating on, a frost stat is a good idea, at least to stop the pipes freezing.

dampdaveski

Karen,
bit of a difficult one, easiest answer and avoiding the fact that i'm not paying for it is to say leave it on, there are definate benefits to it.
If the place is a bomb site as you are doing it up , I would be tempted to only consider putting the heating on when you're ready to start putting it all back together.
I survey a lot of empty houses that have been empty for months on end, some suffer badly, some fare no worse than if they were heated continously.
So to get off the fence leave it off for a week and see how you get on
Hope this helps
DD

David_Aldred

Hi,
Main concern over winter will be to ensure you have adequate protection against freeze / thaw damage especially to plumbing installation. Returning to the property only to find a pipe burst has been running all week won't exactly make you or your neighbours christmas.

If you decide to not heat entirely at your own risk then ensure everything and I do mean everything is drained down and signed off by a Gas Safe (formerly CORGI) registered plumber so they take the liability for this issue which looks better on any insurance claim at a later date.

To a property that is closed up for security reasons try and provide as much background ventilation as possible where you can and take a hygrometer to site that will do max and min readings along with a thermometer that will do the same so you can keep a log of things and see if things are going critical. Drop the hygrometer (not literally) under the suspended timber ground floor and take readings and also stick it in the rooms and take readings. Buy yourself an old Protimeter damp meter off e-bay or wherever for little money and check the timbers are under the threshold of decay (20-22%) If the sub floor is reading wet then get some good ventilation to sub floor voids throughout going even if only on a temporary basis this means cutting a few traps in rooms making sure they are guarded safe / meshed over so you don't loose friends and family along with next doors cat. Inspect sub floor voids and roof voids regularly to ensure nothing is degrading at an alarming rate.

If your running above 74%RH mould is going to flourish and at around 85%RH the timbers in the place will feel wet. If you cannot get enough background ventilation in to keep it under say 65%RH (which is unlikley if you are doing a lot of wet trades such as plastering) then de-humidifier of industrial size on weekly / monthly hire remembering to empty container regularly and ensure the temp (which it should be if working) is such that the discharge container doesn't freeze. - little DIY de-humidifers waste of time other than a single room they are in. If flues are servicable ensure fireplaces are open and you will get 2-5 air changers per hour with no risk of a burglar getting in other than santa claus coming down the stack Leave loft traps open on a temprary basis if not heating and ensure adequate cross ventiulation of roof void. Leave contact numbers with neighbours you can trust to call you in emergencies if possible or dodgy ones if you want them to help themselves to everything you leave there. Having timer light sockets and usual security measures applies. If mid terrace then either side if occupied may help keep yours from going critical and make sure you smile at them as you come and go as they are paying for heating your place to some extent. The best that can be hoped for when naturally drying a building down once moisture sources have been resolved is around 25mm wall thickness per calender month so bear this in mind when you are wanting to return the place to its former glory.

Not exhaustive by any means but hope this helps - David Aldred Independent dampness and timber surveyor

karenhalsey

Dear all

Hadn't thought about freezing pipes! - but yes, that's now a very obvious consideration. When it does get really chilly, heating would no doubt be a good idea to avoid burst pipes.

The house is a mid terrace so does benefit from the neighbours heating. I've taken steps to improve the ventilation (which I suspect exacerbated the damp problem originally). A dehumidifier would be tricky - because I wouldn't be there enough to empty it. We have't had the heating on so far and it seems OK. However, when temperatures drop further then I'll probably get a little heat going.

Thanks for your comments everyone
K