Ground Floor Apartment - DAMP/Condensation/Mould

eddiem74

Myself and my wife own and rent out a ground floor apartment. It is around 10 years old, however we only purchased it towards the end of 2005. Our current tenant has been in there since late 2006, to date.

When we purchased the apartment in December 2005 we spent most of that Christmas/New Year doing it up, repainting, etc. and never noticed any DAMP type of issues.

Around Christmas last year when paying the tenant a visit to renew contracts we came to notice the damp/condensation/mould. The tenant informed us they had cleaned it and even done some minor paint touch-ups but it had come back around the windows, and porch ceiling/walls.

From doing a bit of research at the time, I purchased the tenant in January a dehumidifier and told them to run this, and see if that improved things. Never heard anymore from them.

Now just this week we were renewing contract again, and my wife asked how is the damp, and we were informed it is back since the colder weather has started.

Attached are some pictures of a window, the porch, and an outside vent of which there is one per room.

The living area where those window pics are from also has an open kitchen off of it, where there is a cooker, extractor, washing machine, and dryer, etc..

Both the wall in the porch and around the windows seems to be plasterboard, as when I tap it I can hear that hollow sound, however it still feels firm and in good nick. So not so bad that it is crumbling or anything like that.

So from a good look around today, it seems the main areas impacted are the windows, at the top, and obviously at the bottom where the water runs down. This is common in most rooms. And the Porch where there is no heating of any kind, which leads of off the living room/kitchen via a door which can be closed.

So what do you think ? Any easy fix ? Investigation needed by a pro ?

Our own gut feeling at this time is:

1) The dryer is most likely a contributary factor in the problem.
2) We are not 100% convinced how effectively the dehumidifier is being used.

Appreciate any tips or advice you can share.

Thanks !

sydthebeat

firstly.. Yes.. you should engage a professional to inspect the apartment.

No advice hereunder could or should be considered as comparitive or in lieu of profesional on-site inspction and advice.

a dehumifier is only a remedial course of action, its doesnt solve the issue.

I would think you have a major ventilation issue.

1. Check all the vents (the metal grills on the wall as in outside vent photo) make sure they are completely clear and open inside. Some tenants have a habit of clogging up or covering over vent openings. If these are clogged up, clear them. Make sure theres a vent for every room, including bathrooms utilities etc.

2. is there an extract pipe from the dryer?? if not there should be, it should exhaust to the open air. Does the cooker extract to teh open air... is there a filter, does it need replacing.

3. the porch.. is it a stand alone single storey type?? if so i would question the construction... (a) is the any / adequate insulation in the walls and roof (b) is there ventilation over this insulation in the roof?

4. the windows.... looks like it could be caused by condensation, but could also be cause by moisture ingress. Are the windows well sealed to the external?? Is there insulation in the jambs? etc

3.

eddiem74

sydthebeat wrote: »

firstly.. Yes.. you should engage a professional to inspect the apartment.

No advice hereunder could or should be considered as comparitive or in lieu of profesional on-site inspction and advice.

a dehumifier is only a remedial course of action, its doesnt solve the issue.

I would think you have a major ventilation issue.

1. Check all the vents (the metal grills on the wall as in outside vent photo) make sure they are completely clear and open inside. Some tenants have a habit of clogging up or covering over vent openings. If these are clogged up, clear them. Make sure theres a vent for every room, including bathrooms utilities etc.

2. is there an extract pipe from the dryer?? if not there should be, it should exhaust to the open air. Does the cooker extract to teh open air... is there a filter, does it need replacing.

3. the porch.. is it a stand alone single storey type?? if so i would question the construction... (a) is the any / adequate insulation in the walls and roof (b) is there ventilation over this insulation in the roof?

4. the windows.... looks like it could be caused by condensation, but could also be cause by moisture ingress. Are the windows well sealed to the external?? Is there insulation in the jambs? etc

1. Internal vents are clear, although the external ones, some were partially blocked a little due to a recent exterior repainting.

2. Dryer is a condenser type, there is no extract pipe. Cooker does have an extractor, not sure exactly where it goes though ?

3. Porch is below the upstairs apartments external entrance area. Not sure how to explain this, but basically when you go up the external stairs to the 2nd floor apartments there is a concrete slab on top of the downstairs porches which you walk on/across to enter the upstairs apartments. Basically a block of 4 apartments, 2 up, 2 down, with the up being accessed via an external stairs.

4. Windows seem to be sealed okay from my limited knowledge. No obvious gaps or holes around them, etc..

How much would a professional inspection cost ? Also any recommendations for someone on the North Side out past the Airport direction ?

Thanks again !

RKQ

In two words - cold bridge.

Moisture is condensating on cold surfaces, on uninsulated parts of the construction - porch conc ceiling, lintel to window head and reveal of window and door / cavity closer.

The walls look quite thick, so I assume its a cavity wall with 215mm internal leaf. (Subject to site survey)

A good Architectural Technician or Building Surveyor is required on site.

Ideally you may need to remove plaster around opes to fill any cavity closers with insulation. Find the extractor to the cooker. Insulate the ceiling in the porch etc.

A humidifier will remove the moisture but not the underlying cause.

MicktheMan

While I agree with the posts above the following should be looked into. It has been my experience as a landlord of 20+ years that damp problems tend to come and go as tenants do. A lot of the problems caused by dampness can be regulated in a large part by how the apartment is lived in.
Some of the things to find out are:
1. Is the condensing dryer actually being used to dry the clothes or are they being dried on the radiator?
2. Are the tenants opening windows on a regular basis to allow the stale moist air be refreshed?

When you have cooking, washing, drying and breathing all happening in a small apartment with windows rarely opened then you will always get a certain level of damp/mould. Add this then to a poorly designed / older building with a lot of thermal bridging and you have your problem.

One other point. Are you sure that there is no leak from the apartment upstairs? Even a very very very small drip leak can cause havoc to the apartment below it. I know, I've been there.

eddiem74

RKQ wrote: »

A good Architectural Technician or Building Surveyor is required on site.

Any recommendatons, and what would this cost ? Also, could a builder not just get in and do this ?

MicktheMan wrote: »

Some of the things to find out are:
1. Is the condensing dryer actually being used to dry the clothes or are they being dried on the radiator?
2. Are the tenants opening windows on a regular basis to allow the stale moist air be refreshed?

One other point. Are you sure that there is no leak from the apartment upstairs? Even a very very very small drip leak can cause havoc to the apartment below it. I know, I've been there.

I've been down a few times somewhat adhoc and windows have been opened, and in fact they always tell me they open them. However as with how devices are used, and what actually happens in reality is difficult to know without being there 24x7.

Not sure on the leak, I guess always a possibility, but this only seems to happen when the colder weather sets in, and given we get rain all year round, perhaps less likely?

RKQ

Recommendations:
Get 3 quotes from experienced individuals, in private practice with full Professional Indemnity insurance. Reputation or word of mouth can be useful.

Micktheman made some valid points. It difficult to know without being there 24 x 7 but drying clothes on rads will cause alot of these problems. If money is tight tenants may want to save esb - driers can be expensive.

A Builder could sort this and probably will be required to do so. But independent advice from a Technician will protect you from unnecessary works. A moisture metre etc could tell alot.