A few questions about having an open fireplace..

queenanne

So...I have a 3 bed end terrace house built in the 60's. I have the loft insulated and wall insulation, good ventilation...however, I also have damp and mould on nearly every wall, to the point of having to mop the ceiling so I can get a couple hours sleep before the dripping water starts again...and yes I've had the surveyor round who pretty much just says, these houses are not built for central heating, shoves a leaflet in my hand and leaves!:mad: I've followed all the advice (except keeping my windows open when it's -2 outside ) I've also tried pretty much every product, but it's just getting worse.
So I'm thinking about putting the house back as it was intended. With an open fire. Will it be cheaper than gas? And most importantly, will it help stop the black walls and indoor rain?
Thanks

queenanne

I'm a housing association tenant, so they are definitely not interested in spending out on repairs! The surveyor has inspected the house at least 4 times in the last 2 years yet still say there's nothing structural.
It was the latest surveyor who told me the house wasn't designed for gch. Didn't make a great deal of sense to me either!
The heating is on all winter. I keep the thermostat at about 18C, however it doesn't matter how hot I have the house the damp and mould is still there.
I'm considering opening up the coal fire as I'm wondering if this will dry out the house. Friends who have an identical house have an open fire and minimal damp.
My main concern for getting it done are my 5 month old twins who have to sleep in a small room, 5 kids all together and this is the only room available and I'm in there too, with water running down the walls, paint (anti-mould paint) peeling off the ceiling and growing black patches.
I think I'll give them a ring though and ask for these things to be checked, won't hold my breath though!

andyrpsmith

As an interim measure (always better to solve the cause) would be a qood quality dehumidifier. I use one in my 400yr old house and it is very effective, do not buy any of the small inexpensive types (ie anything below £150) as they tend to be ineffective.

lolarentt

Dehumidifier is a good idea for the odd damp room, and an open fire will certainly keep the walls adjacent to the chimney breast drier, BUT if the whole house is dripping wet as you say there must be another reason for the mega-problem. Do the damp readings vary much around the house?

daveyjp

"How can a house not be suitable for CH ???"

Quite easily - my mum-in- laws 1970s flat had central heating installed and there is damp in the second bedroom. This is caused by the construction - concrete frame and single skin brickwork infill panels with no internal insulation. Cold walls, warm air = damp. The fact clothes are dried indoors doesn't help either.

The OP mentions loft insulation and wall insulation - great for keeping heat in, bad for letting moisture out.

muckybutt

How much ventilation of fresh air into the house do you have, black mould is nearly always a ventilation problem.

It sounds like the house is to air tight and the stale damp air has nowhere to go thus its condensing on the cooler brick / plastered walls.

I would go down the route of opening a few windows in each room preferably, not much just enough to allow a trickle of fresh air into the room. Couple that with a dehumidifier.

If the problem persists then your LL has a duty of care to you and should act on it, have words with environmental health at your local council.

Russ123_2

I've posted on this matter previously and i am certain our damp issue within our 1860s single brick cottage was cured by the reopening of our openfire.

The previous owners were hell bent on sealing everything up and as a result they had issues, particularly in the living room.

With the opening up and the regular use of the openfire we have never (touch wood) had any damp.

I even switch on the dehumidifier occasionally and the moisture collected is minimal.

The facts are you need ventilation in a home, especially houses that do not have cavity walling

queenanne

*update*
I've had the house surveyed (again) and the damp issues are so bad that it's being referred to the 'boss'. Apparently my house is the worst he's seen!
I will probably have a fan fitted in the loft to take the moisture out and pour warm air into the bedrooms and may also have the fireplace re-opened. I really hope this works as it will be bliss to put items by window walls without them going mouldy!
However, the reason for the amount of damp is yet to be discovered. There is a possibilty it was caused or made worse by the wall insulation and the fire being closed up.

grahamc2003

In your opening post, you said you have good ventilation - are you sure about that? If you have, and you have the degree of dampness you describe, it certaoinly looks like you have water getting into the house from the outside somehow, but if you have, I'm surprised the surveyor hasn't spotted it. (I assume you don't dry clothes inside, or otherise put loads of moisture into the air, like having baths or showers twice a day with no ventilation). Have you checked for leaking gutters, roof, traced all internal water pipes for a joint which is leaking (it only has to drip very slowly to cause problems).

An open fire would certainly improve the situation - simply because you'd constantly be forcing the moist internal air up the chimney and replacing it with fresh outside air. But that probably wouldn't cure it if there's leaking water somewhere.

I'd say mould is a health hazzard, and that council health people should get involved if it's really bad, especially if kids/vulnerable people live there. In the meantime, I'd say a dessicant dehumidifier would help (costs about £155, and about 8p/hour to run, but heats a little as well as taking the water out), but it would take several days or weeks to dry everything out to stop mould, and that assumes any leaks are stopped.

Not sure how forced venting of the loft space will blow warm air into your bedroom in winter, unless they are talking about fitting a heatpump or something.