First time owning a house - basic questions about looking after it

zzzt

I've just bought my first house. I lived in a house growing up, but being a child and an oblivious adolescent, had no idea how a house was "run".

Since leaving home at 18 I have only lived in maintained apartments. These have generally been on a high floor. They receive residual heat from surrounding apartments and get no insects at all and were generally quite dry. I hardly ever had the heating on, even in winter.

My new house feels damp, although this is subjective and I could be wrong. But the floors and walls feel cold, even though it's summer. I keep finding dead woodlice on the floor. I don't know where they're coming from. The wooden floor on the ground floor is lumpy and tattered. The carpet upstairs is lumpy and smells musty.

Am I expected to have the heating on in summer, just to prevent damp? I am someone who doesn't tolerate heat very well. If I could, I would almost never have the heating on and just wear a jumper when it's cold. This was fine when I lived in apartments, but I understand that you have to have the heating on in houses to protect the house and stop mould?

Also, I have been leaving the windows open to air the place out. Is this a good idea or a bad idea?

Anyone have any general tips for maintaining a house, no matter how obvious - just assume I'm incompetent. I don't want to discover how not to do things by trial and error.

agrinnall

What sort of a house is it? And how old is it? I've never needed to have the heating on in the summer to keep damp and mould at bay in any of the houses I've lived in, even in the Highlands in the horrible summer (to use the term loosely) of 2013, although I did have to turn it on for heat a bit more often that year.

Before you bought the house what sort of survey did you have done? Did it indicate any issue with damp? I think you probably need to have somebody in to look at it, just make sure it's not someone with a vested interest in doing expensive remedial work.

david1951

Damp is not just 'feeling cold' - you would see a wet patch on the wall that is discoloured relative to the rest of it.

It's difficult to diagnose without being there, but there might be a source of moisture that hasn't penetrated the house to cause 'damp', but attracts woodlice (that sometimes wonder into the house) and causes a bit of mold on the carpets.

This is likely to disappear once you have lived in it for a while. I wouldn't worry too much. Opening windows will help in summer, and the heating will ceratinly help in winter. The musty smell does take a while to go away (I've been through a similar process) so if you want to speed things up you could buy a dehumidifier, or get new carpets fitted.

Lumpy wooden floors are what some people call "character". Again probably harmless.

spadoosh

I only have the heating on maybe 2 months a year, if its particularly cold.

If the property has been empty for a while it could just be a case of needing a good airing.

Leaving the windows open is a good idea. Most houses have insufficient air circulation in them which ends up giving you damp spots. Check behind your radiator and exterior walls to see if there are any vents in the building. If not keep your windows open most of the time.

Know where your isolators are (gas water and electric) and make sure you can get access in a hurry. Try them occasionally to make sure they arent stuck.

Keep a small toolbox handy and a few thigns like guick fix leak repair putty, fuses, drain unblocker etc.

Think its collins who do a diy manual, worth having something like that around if you dont know much about DIY.

Check gutters, downspouts and roof fairly regular for signs of leaking/blockages, they can cause damage fast.

chelseablue

You sound just like me. I grew up in a house so good old mum and dad looked after it, then I went to live in a top floor flat.


Moved into my house this year, and don't really like central heating and quite happy to put a jumper on (wish my partner would agree!)


Anyway, how old is the house? We have wooden floor downstairs but its not lumpy, is it the bare floorboards you have or is there something over those like laminate, engineered wood?


Was the house empty before you bought it? If it was empty a while and windows closed that might account for the smell, keep giving it a good airing.

AdrianC

Sounds like your first action should be to get those manky floors up and binned. What you find underneath them may well dictate your next action.

"Damp" comes from somewhere - the source is usually obvious with a bit of thought. Poor ventilation, in places you can't see - under wooden floors and in the roof; high ground levels breaching the damp-proof course; damaged or blocked rainwater goods - gutters, downpipes; previous bodges.

Ventilation in older houses was usually designed to take single-glazed draughty windows and uninsulated lofts into account. Start insulating, start blocking off draughts, and you need to increase ventilation elsewhere to compensate.

If it's a more recent-built property, it might just be badly built.

Do you have a mate who you can borrow, who will have a better clue?
Post some pics.

hazyjo

Do you dry your washing indoors? All of the water from that washing has to go somewhere. Always open windows if you're drying clothes. If outside, no probs.


Always open a window when in shower/bath too.


The windows may have vents. Make sure these are open. You might also find you can lock your windows (if double glazed) but still have them open a cm or two to help with ventilation.


The house probably just needs a really good airing due to previous tenants/residents.


I'm guessing the underlay has rotted over the years. It might be that you strip the lot and have floorboards until you can replace the carpet. The floorboards downstairs might just need a good sanding - hard to say without seeing them.


Look at them closely for tiny holes - a sign of woodworm.


Did you have a survey done? Homebuyers or full structural (or just a valuation)?


Jx
PS if there are chimney breasts, there should be vents in them. They're quite often just bricked up with no form of ventilation.

Elsewhere

Without knowing more about the house it's hard to say what any problems could be.

For instance, if the house is built into a hillside and facing north it's going to get little sunshine and could be cold and gloomy even in summer. If it's very old it may have solid walls and no damp course, which would make the walls feel cold and clammy.

Opening the windows in dry weather is always going to be a good idea to prevent damp, also having an extractor over the stove to get rid of steam in the kitchen.

We get a fair number of woodlice in the house, AFAIK they don't do any harm and are probably due to my love of houseplants. If the previous owners had houseplants and you don't I expect the woodlice will disappear after a while.

Lumpy carpets and laminate flooring probably means they were laid by an amateur or on the cheap without adequate underlay. I'd pull it all up and start again, or make do with bare boards with a rug or two if you can't afford to replace it immediately. That will get rid of the musty smell too and enable you to see whether there's any sign of woodworm.

nb. If the woodworm is active there may be wood dust around the holes, so that would definitely need action.

G_M

Lots of good tips above, but ultimatly impossible to diagnose without seeing.

Get yourself a DIY manual. Mine is 35 years old and has been invaluable over the years. Birthday present?

Utube has to some extent replaced the DIY book, with easy-to-follow videos of various maintenance jobs (use google), but the book is still worth having.

A basic tool kit will serve you well too. Screwdrivers, pliers etc. I still have an electric drill my sister bought me 35 years ago and that too has been invaluable

Sounds to me like you may need to replace the carpets - are they old? Manky? If so, replace the underlay beneath them too - and use good quality underlay if you plan to stay longer than a year or two.

Lumpy floor? Again, in older properties it's common for floorboards to have moved/loosened a bit. If it worries you, pay £3000 to have all your floorboards replaced. If not, live with lumpy floors! If the floorboards are actually loose (squeak/move when you walk on them) lift the carpet and screw them down (see utube or a DIY manual)

No, heating should not be required, yes, opening windows is good.

Damp air /steam must escape - via open windows or extractor fans, so do this when drying clothes indoors, cooking, showering or anything else that creates damp air.

Woodlice may just be part of living on the ground floor in an older property. I get beetles, centepedes and field mice but live in the countryside in a 150 year old house with lots of little access holes for creepy crawleys!

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Has the house been vacant during the sales process? It may just need a good airing. I'd prioritise replacing the manky carpets.

Check all the windows for any signs of leaks, and have the gutters cleaned. House maintenance mainly means spending money on little jobs before they become big expensive jobs.

G_M

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Has the house been vacant during the sales process? It may just need a good airing. I'd prioritise replacing the manky carpets.

Check all the windows for any signs of leaks, and have the gutters cleaned. House maintenance mainly means spending money or doing DIY on little jobs before they become big expensive jobs.

:T :beer: