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Condensation quote

I rent out a flat and the tenant reported damp. I instructed a company to carry out a survey. I got the report today. They are suggesting 2 vents are fitted in my flat. One in the hallway and one in the kitchen. Total cost £1900. Does this sound reasonable and will this solve my problem of mould on the walls and round windows?

Comments

  • Sounds really expensive for fitting a couple of vents but given I've no idea how your property is laid out it is impossible to tell.

    Condensation is often caused by lifestyle - showers, leaving wet washing around, not opening windows etc can all contribute.

    Do the company giving you the quote offer any guarantees? I guess they probably won't but will be happy to extract a lot of money for their "services". If you now know what needs doing I suggest you get a couple of other quotes, I bet a builder would not be anywhere near as expensive.
    Thinking critically since 1996....
  • cattie
    cattie Posts: 8,841 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Sounds an awful lot & vents don't always take away the problem completely. It would be far cheaper for you to buy a dehumidifier to give to your tenants to use. I don't have one myself, but have seen many, many posts on mse recommending them for homes suffering from damp &/or condensation.
    The bigger the bargain, the better I feel.

    I should mention that there's only one of me, don't confuse me with others of the same name.
  • jcb208
    jcb208 Posts: 754 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
    If it is 2 normal vents ,supply and fit should get change from £150
  • WestonDave
    WestonDave Posts: 5,154 Forumite
    Rampant Recycler
    It might be worth paying that if they are offering a cast iron guarantee that it will solve the problem, but in reality its a very expensive way of doing what telling the tenant to leave a window open will do just as effectively. Obviously I've not seen your flat or the symptoms but I'd suspect lifestyle as a major cause (hence the vents to prevent the house being sealed up tightly) and what you are likely to get next is the tenant complaining the vents let in cold air (which is what they are meant to do!) and make the heating bills go up. £200 on a dehumidifier might be a better option.
    Adventure before Dementia!

  • Condensation is often caused by lifestyle - showers, leaving wet washing around, not opening windows etc can all contribute.
    Very true i would tell your tenents to use the central heating on all day but lower the temp so that the flat stays at a regular temp instead of up and down ie heat flat from 6am off at 9 on at 4 off at 11 .I also rent houses out and one tenent would do just as mentioned before but would leave bedroom windows open all day letting cold damp air in with no heating on when the heating was on it was heating this cold air up .Another thing you could do is have trickle vents in windows much cheaper than youve been quoted that is way ott
    if you think peoples advice is helpfull please take the time to clicking the thank you button it gives great satisfaction
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