Check for Condensation before renting

Davesnave

dragonsoup wrote: »

I'm the only one in the world who dislikes wood burners! Getting dry wood for them is a real problem up here. With an excellent oil fired boiler they are more of a nuisance than an asset which is why I'd be happy to lose them.

Accumulating dry wood for a wood burner is dead easy; it's waiting for it to dry and storing it which is hard!

seven-day-weekend

Innys1 wrote: »

A dehumidifier extracts moisture from the ambient air and pumps out the dried air.

An air recirculation system has not been mentioned. A positive air system has, which I suspect is what you are referring to.

A positive air system is, essentially, a low pressure fan which pumps fresh air into a property. It does nothing specific in relation to moisture extraction, though has the side effect in forcing some moist air out when fresh air is pumped in.

As for which is better, they are both options for reducing condensation - neither is better as they both do different things. In a small house, a single dehumidifer is probably enough. In a larger house, more than one dehumidifier is best, possibly used with a positive air system.

Thanks, looks like my husband was right then ..I showed him the link for the air system and he said a dehumidifier would be enough. We have one in our bungalow, it is brilliant, but I was thinking of the air system for the investment flat we are shortly going to take possession of. Having said that, it is only two years ols, so hopefully mould and condensation won't be a problem.

My husband does like the idea, however, that someone mentioned,about taking the fronts off the trickle vents so that they could not be closed and is going to do this in the flat. Our own, in our bungalow, are permanently open.

Thanks for the reply

princeofpounds

we take the brunt of the weather on one side. That's the side I'm thinking of the insulated plasterboard for.

You might get a good result from wood cladding too, preferably with insulation and/or air gap too. It can look rather attractive if it suits your property.


If you insulate the stone wall itself enough so it can act as a heat sink rather than a cold sink, could be quite useful.


Or the internal solution could work if it keeps moist air away from a cold surface.

FBaby

The reality is that many houses will have issues with condensation, not just those rented. We own our house and we used to have a real problem with it in the bathroom, but hey ho, no landlord to expect to take on costly building work to make it all better and as we can't afford it, we started doing what most owners do, ie. open the window fully every time we are home and do a deep clean of the walls/windows every week and sure enough, it is controlling it.

British people seem to have an aversion of open windows. In many other European countries, it is a formality to open all the windows of a house for at least an hour in the morning, if not every day, a few times a week.

Doozergirl

Davesnave wrote: »

It's a mix. I think this is obvious.

As Doozer says, modern building materials can and do alleviate problems, and given enough investment, just about any house can be improved in this context.

But it's not likely that such investment will be made to most rentals, so the imperfect houses will respond differently with the behaviours of different tenants, which is what I suggested.

My own property must have had problems, or the previous owners wouldn't have gone to the bother of boring holes in the outside walls to install after market ventilators in every one of 5 bedrooms. I've taken all of them + one chimney away. This morning, the humidity in my office is 51%... and outside it's peeing down.

A genuine thank-you for being able to utilise common sense.

If people behave differently, a house isn't going to behave the same with every tenant.

Every house will have a threshold. Some much lower than others, some problems will be more cheaply rectified than others and some problems will be much more severe than others.

My point is that always pointing fingers at tenants is unfair. These issues seem to arise on this board instead of the DIY board (especially where tenants are asking for advice), but the regular posters are building professionals and much more pragmatic. If there are people on this thread asking for specific help, I would take it to a new thread over there where the advice is likely to be more tailored. Changing habits is not always going to solve problems and treading on proverbial eggshells around one's own home is unacceptable, in my view.

Doozergirl

HappyMJ wrote: »

Can you open a window and lock them slightly open which would have the same effect as trickle vents?

When the wood burner is alight it will draw fresh air from the slightly open window and into the room and pull it into the fire and up the chimney. Opening the window slightly will refresh the air from outside rather than from another room.

There is moisture outside. The dew point (100% humidity) is about 7 degrees C. Increase the temperature of the air and the Relative Humidity (RH) figure falls as warmer air can carry more moisture. Get the room to 21 degrees and you should at least get the RH down to 60%.

Cold spots in houses will have condensation issues which is why the advice is to move furniture away from outside walls so that air can flow around it preventing a cold spot behind the furniture hopefully preventing the wall getting condensation on it.

Rooms with woodburners require an airbrick to meet building regulations. It would be interesting to know if there is one in the affected rooms! Trickle vents are also required for building regs, usually, depending on the installation.

Cold spots are not prevented by moving furniture away from walls. They are still there, just as likely to attract condensation. Moving furniture away gives some chance for air to circulate and the spot to dry when it can, rather than stay damp and grow mould.

Yours is well meant advice, but doesnt solve an underlying problem where the poster understands their specific causes; your suggestions may reduce symptoms of that problem, but other suggested solutions may cure it altogether.

The decision is based on how much the problem restricts quality of life.

Doozergirl

FBaby wrote: »

The reality is that many houses will have issues with condensation, not just those rented. We own our house and we used to have a real problem with it in the bathroom, but hey ho, no landlord to expect to take on costly building work to make it all better and as we can't afford it, we started doing what most owners do, ie. open the window fully every time we are home and do a deep clean of the walls/windows every week and sure enough, it is controlling it.

British people seem to have an aversion of open windows. In many other European countries, it is a formality to open all the windows of a house for at least an hour in the morning, if not every day, a few times a week.

In a passive house, opening windows would completely disrupt the managed system of heating and ventilation. Opening windows in a normal house and reducing the air and wall temperatures in a room can cause condensation in itself.

Opening windows is not a solution, as you seem to understand yourself, if you are having to deep clean walls and windows on a weekly basis. You are managing the problem - it isn't a serious one, perhaps, or the cost of doing it is anathema and the effort you make pays off. That is your situation, but let's not pretend that the house is coping as well as it could do.

You cannot lump everyone into the same boat. Prince of pounds gives a comprehensive list of situations where horrible problems are inevitable. There are many situations between yours and those, all deserving of a bit of research and a considered approach.

undetterred

Doozergirl wrote: »

I own an award winning building firm specialising in older buildings. Of course there are some situations where people cause the problem. If you run a regular dryer in a room without an extraction pipe then any building will struggle to cope but in the vast majority of cases there is something inadequate in the fabric of the building. There is always something practical - not symptom based - that can be done to help, yet the ongoing 'advice' on these boards is that it is lifestyle based and the occupier's fault.

In the vast majority of cases, it is absolutely reasonable to expect your house to be able to perform to modern lifestyle expectations - because the majority of us can do all of that list of things without problems. That should be an entitlement for all - tenants in particular.

It's very easy for landlords to blame tenants and avoid spending money. Older houses, in particular, were built for one way of life, are now expected to cope with another and then we make alterations/modernisations on top that send things further awry. The key is maintaining the balance when considering renovations, upgrading appropriately and treating building fabric senstively.

What does owning 'an award winning building company' have to do with it?

carefullycautious

My father used to shave/strip wash each morning with the bathroom window wide open we lived in an old post war semi. No showers and bathroom was off the kitchen. No double glazing or central heating. One gas fire in living room. Loo outside brrrr


Makes me wonder why we have double glazing if it causes all these problems.


My bungalow has taken some getting used to as we had condensation mould even though I am one of the open all windows and air the place peeps. However, we do seem to be getting on top of the problems this year.


The problem we have is that there is no extraction fans so we leave the windows on their latches to allow more air in as the trickle vents are useless. Luckily it has been milder this year so not too cold. I dread doing this in harsher weather

Pete9501

Doozergirl wrote: »

Rooms with woodburners require an airbrick to meet building regulations. It would be interesting to know if there is one in the affected rooms! .

Not true, only required for wood burners over 5kw which would be huge in a small house. Ours does a grand job of drying and warming the house.

Turning the heating up, ventilating and cutting down those trees is the answer.

Pete