Ikea blue zipped bags under bed on top of rug on timber floor - bottom of bags and carpet wet

youth_leader

I bought this three bedroom bungalow in March 2021. Two bedrooms at the front, a kitchen/lounge extension, bathroom, and bedroom at the back.  

In November 2021 I discovered the front bedroom floor was rotten with wet/dry rot and woodworm.  Upon investigation all of the other floors with the exception of the concrete floored kitchen/extension were soaking wet,  black sugar crystal like mould covered weyroc. 

The front bedrooms have a small window with trickle filters which I keep open.  I worry I'll forget to close the larger windows in the back of the bungalow, I admit I don't open them as often as I should.   I do have an extractor and use them in the bathroom and kitchen. 

There are two capped chimneys which face into the front/back bedroom and the kitchen, one of the breasts has a grille.

I had received a 25 year timber guarantee when I moved in.  My surveyor had said he suspected woodworm in the loft.  I tried to contact the timber company, unfortunately they had gone out of business in 2018.  I contacted the vendor as I'd invited her to stay if she returned to visit friends - she said in 2016 the firm had advised her to have all floors taken out and replaced.  She said she had left me the 'floor surveys'.  I told her I had not received them.  She gave me a number of a company she thought had done the floors and then blocked me.  When I rang the number they hadn't worked here.

I had an independent damp specialist round early 2022.  He said the bungalow was suffering with condensation.  He also said that his company had sprayed the loft here in the past, and he would arrange for another copy of the guarantee.  

I had all  the floors replaced with timber in August 2022. The men said they weren't surprised about the mould as the joists weren't tannalised.  They cleared all the airbricks thoroughly.

The front bedroom had both the floor and an internal wall skirting board replaced.  This skirting board developed mould months after the replacement.  The company said it was condensation and sent me information on 'dealing with condensation'.  

As autumn/winter progressed the windows were dripping with condensation.  I asked other neighbours and they said to get a Karcher window vac, which I did.  

In January 2023 I had a positive input ventilation unit put into the loft, and the windows no longer needed vacuuming.

I did wait until late summer to put a wool rug, no underlay,  under my bed.  A few weeks later I bagged up bedding in blue zipped bags, and stored them on the rug, under the bed.

I've not touched these bags for eight/nine months. 

I  pulled out some of these bags today and the bottom of the bags and the rug is wet.

I've pulled them all out and rolled the carpet back - the floorboards aren't wet.  

Is this just condensation due to a lack of airflow do you think?  

markin

My guess would be water coming up from the floor, more air bricks needed and drain survey, or the is a soak away clogged up to close to the house. Taping down clear plastic to the floor would show if its coming up.

EDIT: you even have a thread on it being wet.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6345631/water-under-my-bungalow#latest


Was any work done to fix the problem before replacing? If it is coming up from below at least it means it could have better air flow than the chipboard flooring.

 

ThisIsWeird

"They weren't surprised about the mould as the joists weren't tanalised". Hmm. As far as I am aware, traditional timber joists were never treated as it just wasn't required. It relied on a suitable DPC in place to guard against 'rising', and the void being fully ventilated to clear away excessive air-borne moisture (just the same as roof rafters in your loft - they are usually untreated, as they are thoroughly ventilated so kept dry.)

Put it this way - treating the timber is not the way to prevent it from rotting! You prevent it from rotting by not allowing it to become chronically damp in the first place. So, something is not right under there.

So, all that rot and mould suggests extremely damp conditions under your floor, I guess this could be due to a high water table, inadequate ventilation, and a non functioning DPC - or a combination of these.
Almost certainly the wetness under your poly bags has percolated up from under the floor void as well, and hasn't come from your bedroom air - Ie, it ain't normal, house-produced condensation. As Markin suggests, you can prove this by surround-taping a piece of thickish polythene down directly on to your bare floorboards.  If cond builds up under this sheet, the moisture has come from below. If it forms on top, then it's from the room.
It's a shame you didn't go for solid floors when you (or the previous owner) had all this repair work done, and I'd suggest it's still likely to be your best solution, adding in the recommended level of insulation at the same time - 4"? You should have a cosy and problem-free floor from then on.
But that's my guess at the cause - you'd need someone qualified to confirm (and hopefully not someone blaming a lack of tanalising...)

GDB2222

Really sorry to hear this. Perhaps you should get a chartered surveyor to have a look? 

youth_leader

Thank you for all your replies and advice, much appreciated.  When the floor replacement men came, they just said they had cleared the airbricks and the problem with the front bedroom woodworm was because the previous people had repaired the wooden floor and attached the repair to the existing woodwormed joists.  

I will try the plastic taped over the floorboards.  I do wish I had the funds to have had the floors concreted, thank you.

twopenny

I wonder if that would make the situation worse?
It's possibily the fact that while sleeping you are exhaling moisture in that area for 8hrs.  Also the warmth generated from filled bags on a cold floor.
Is there enough room to raise the bags on something like flower pot blocks that barely touch the floor so there is airflow around them?
You should be able to find something cheap in the shops that would do this. Cupboard plate racks or some such.

I'd give it a go first. And make a habit of taking them out from under the bed once a month at least.

youth_leader

Thank you @twopenny, as I snore like a train I'm sure I'm exhaling an enormous amount It was silly of me not to move the bags at all, I've been careful not to put furniture up against the walls.  Truly I think I just forgot about them.

I'm just back from taping the jumbo sized vacuum plastic bag under the bed, and I've also set up the dehumidifier, it's showing 55 at the moment.  I went outside and 'brushed' all the airbricks but they don't look cobwebby.  

No response from the damp company, but they are popular and very busy. The men that came to replace the floors did seem very experienced, but I was surprised no-one came to look at the finished result. 

markin

Presuming the are no vent under the concrete for cross ventilation adding a fan is probable a i wise move now.

youth_leader

Thank you, I am sorry it wasn't suggested at the time. 

The company does have a good reputation but I wasn't happy the man went home early on the first day and told me the wood would be arriving 'sometime' in the afternoon.  The driver came and said he wasn't going to be able to unload it alone and my 75 year old neighbour helped.  A year later he's had a heart attack, I am relieved it wasn't the stress of unloading the wood.