External wall insulation..

Dave_Fowler

shazza71 wrote: »

Thanx Martin,
I`m thankful for any help on this because its a nightmare to live with. I`m just a housewife/mother so havent a clue about insulation etc, the only thing i can say is our upstairs ceilings have slanted bits where the roof goes down(i`m sure theres a name for them) thats where all the condensation and mold is, reading what jim says i`m wondering if theres no roof insulation in them bits of the loft.
i know there is a lot of it up there but dont know if it goes to the slanty bits. Thanx for info.

shaz

I think you've hit the nail on the head here.

Within any house there will be a certain amount of moisture generated - cooking and breathing (I believe breathing creates over 1 litre per day per person). Before the insulation was applied, the walls would have been colder than they are now. Proportionally most of this moisture would have been attracted to the colder surface of the walls. With the large surface area of the walls, the amount of moisture would have been absorbed without causing any great increase in dampness and would have passed through or re-evaporated into the inside air when the air inside the house was drier. Now, with warmer walls, the moisture has only one place to go - to the cold 'slanted' bits.

In my house, I have some 'slanted' bits. The roof tiles are immediately above the wooden rafters and the plasterboard attached just below. There's only a 4" - 5" gap between the plasterboard ceiling and the 'outside world'. Even if the gap is stuffed with insulation it is nowhere near as effective an insulation as the 10 inches or so in the loft.

Dave F

jamesingram

'slanted bits' scaled ceiling or skielings

Dave correct, this will probably be uninsulated and is therefore the 'cold spot' where all the moisture condenses , which will be especially bad in the bathroom

Get on to the LHA and tell them that this oversite/gap in thier insulation improvements
has caused a mold problem. It needs to be sorted ( insulated ) or you'll always get the problem

simple solution is to internally insulate by fixing insulated plasterboard over this area , you'll lose a little space ( 60-70mm) but this will remove this cold spot and stop the mold .

http://www.greenspec.co.uk/ventilated-roof-insulation.php

shazza71_2

ok thanx everyone, i`ll get on the phone tomorrow and see what they say, its getting worse everyday so it needs to be sorted asap,

shaz

shazza71_2

Just put a pic of the ceiling on my facebook and already 3 of my neighbours have said they have the same problem, and worse is 2 of them have had the LHA out and have been told its not mold its condensation, 1 was told to open all the upstairs windows to let the air circulate..

Looks like nothing will be done

Martyn1981

shazza71 wrote: »

Just put a pic of the ceiling on my facebook and already 3 of my neighbours have said they have the same problem, and worse is 2 of them have had the LHA out and have been told its not mold its condensation, 1 was told to open all the upstairs windows to let the air circulate..

Looks like nothing will be done

Shazza, hope this doesn't come over as condescending, but remember the insulation hasn't caused the problem. The problem always existed due to the high moisture levels that the house could 'leak' out before.

Your house is now better, but can no longer get rid of the high moisture being created in the house, not by the house. I spoke to a plumber friend this morning, who told me how his sister-in-law asked him to find a damp problem in her house. When he went round she showed how damp was forming on the bed frame, and lower sheets.

He pointed out that she dries clothes in the house, but had recently had double glazing fitted, so the condensation has to go somewhere. Not damp, but condensation.

He listed all the points James said earlier, especially about drying clothes, tumble dryer venting into house, pan lids, and extractor fans. On a similar point, he recently replaced conservatory doors with double glazing, and has noticed that he can now hear next door's telly (just). He thinks it due to his room being quieter, and him now being more sensitive to 'additional' sounds.

The skeilings are a problem, but in essence don't get too upset, you do now have a better house, but will have to adapt to it.

Hope I'm not being rude. Best of luck with all of it.

shazza71_2

Haha Martyn,
You`re not being rude just honest. I think what i`m trying to get across is the fact that the LHA installed this insulation about 5 months ago and now my bathroom ceiling is black and i have condensation running down the walls upstairs, downstairs is fine.
We are on a very low income so cant have the heating on much so opening windows is a no-no, and theres no way we could afford to redecorate every few weeks.Just come off the phone to the LHA and they have agreed to send a joiner out to check the insulation where the skeilings are, so will see what happens then.

shaz

Ken68

Thank you Shazza...had this offered a couple of years ago, at a cost of £15,000 all but £5k was grantable.
Declined because the insulation was only 40mm thick and all the surface detail was covered, brick slips optional extra.
Would have looked like a giant sugar cube. And the five yearly repainting would have cancelled out the savings.
Seemed to me at the time as an experiment and also a way of keeping a few council officials busy.

shazza71_2

Haha Ken lucky you, we didnt have a choice and if the council wont help with the problems the house will have fall apart, if we follow their advice on how to control it, it means spending over half of our income

whasup

Increased condensation is common with EWI. Your external walls used to evaporate moisture to the outside but the EWI prevents that so now it can only evaporate to the internal. The walls will eventually balance out but it will take several months and really a summer season. Next winter should be fine. The increased internal moisture is also responsible for you feeling cooler. Blow on the back of your hand - then lick the back of your hand and blow again. Feel the difference. When the internal environment balances fully you will definitely get the benefit. Just be patient.

shazza71_2

youre right whasup, in bed i am really warm, pj `s sticking to me but when i get out of bed its absolutely freezing, the house does actually feel colder and tlking to neighbours/friends in the area are saying the same..but i am being told to open windows and theres no way i can open more than 1..its already costing me £50-70 a week on gas and leccy, when considering our income is £120 a week. we cannot afford to put the heating on to make up for the cold that comes through the open window so its a no win situation imo