ventilation in timber frame house??

darrenon

Hi all,

My mother is having terrible trouble with a house she bought 4 years ago..

There is damp all through the house.We called the builder out but he was of no use what so ever. There is no vents from any of the rooms, apart from those small vents in the window. So the builder told her to keep the blinds up fully to allow air to circulate. He also told her not to dry clothes inside the house????

Both seem a bit extreme to me?? Surely everyone has blinds and dry,s clothes inside?? She lives alone and its not a laundrette so there,s not a lot of clothes to dry??

Anyway my question is should there be vents through the outer walls and is it just a case of drilling straight through and covering with vent covers???

Thanks for reading and any advice you can offer:D:D:D

Carlow52

How is house heated?

What is energy source for cooking?

Is there an extractor fan in kitchen and bathroom?

Are the window trickle vents open or closed or stuffed with paper?

I suspect she has no vents open at all, the heating is low or non existant so the house gets damp just through normal living.

You have to raise the dew point in the house by either reducing the water content in the air by selective use of a dehumidifier or increase the base air temp and at the same time have controlled ventilation and remove any water laden air from kitchen and bathrooms as it occurs.
HTH
ps: the other issue is that, perhaps, the insulation in the outer-walls has sagged, there is anecdotal evidence of this happening in TF houses...

the problem gets compounded if the insulation gets damp

darrenon

Thanks for replying,

The heating is electric as is the cooking but she also uses a calor gas fire for heating.

There is an extractor fan over the cooker but none in the bathroom or en suite.Should the builder have installed one???

Window vents are open at all times but you are right the house does get cold, the electric heating is very poor.

Where would be the place to get a dehumidifier???

THANKS for the help..
Really she needs to sort the heating problem!!

Carlow52

Glad to give some ideas.
A dehumidifier can either be rented or bought in most places that sell white goods.
They need to be used with care in a TF house as if u over do it the TF will warp etc.
The better ones have an adjustable RH preset so u can take it slowly.

The calor gas fire I presume is an open fire, IMO get a glass fronted one as this is burning $$$'s at a rate of notes! a good glass fronted one will be 70% + efficient and will stop a lot of heat going up chimney: open fire place is c 20% efficient

darrenon

No the fire is one of those heaters with the gas canister in the back!!

I had a look argos are selling a small dehumidifier for 37.99 it holds 3.5 liters.This would probably be enough to help in the bath room!!

I was thinking of a stove burner. I see they do some kind of system with pipes in the attic that distribute the hot air????

I wonder would this be any good!!!!!


Thanks again
:)

Carlow52

darrenon wrote: »

No the fire is one of those heaters with the gas canister in the back!!

I had a look argos are selling a small dehumidifier for 37.99 it holds 3.5 liters.This would probably be enough to help in the bath room!!

I was thinking of a stove burner. I see they do some kind of system with pipes in the attic that distribute the hot air????

I wonder would this be any good!!!!!


Thanks again
:)

No the fire is one of those heaters with the gas canister in the back!!

there the problem/ source of condensation right there!
get rid of this and then progress from there

send link re stove, however if ur mother lives alone and is older than you then u need to think automation.
Is there a fire place in house?

holdfast

the house is too airtight i would think. the builder was right on drying clothes. windows need to be opened more to ensure enough air is present to remove unwanted moisture. you could go for a hrv system, but after an air tightness test only. this is common with tf house as the sheeting on the outside of the fame, makes the house fairly aritight. can speak on weather the ventilation meet the requirements as i have not seen the house. but they are two problems now the health issues of living in a house like that and possible damage to the frame itself.

you can get a professional in to test the house or open the windows enough.

muffler

darrenon wrote: »

There is an extractor fan over the cooker but none in the bathroom or en suite.Should the builder have installed one???

Just picking up on this point. You say the house was bought 4 years ago and assuming it was new then the 2002 building regs would have been applicable with regards to ventilation. This extract is worth noting

Bathrooms and Sanitary Accommodation
1.8 In a bathroom (with or without a WC), the
following provision for ventilation should be
adequate:
(a) a ventilation opening suitable for rapid
ventilation having a total area of at least 1/20th
of the floor area, and
(b) (i) mechanical extract ventilation capable of
extracting at a rate of 15 litres per
second, or
(ii) passive stack ventilation (PSV) designed
and installed in accordance with BRE IP
13/94 and incorporating an automatic
humidity sensitive ventilation inlet
control grille.

darrenon wrote: »

Really she needs to sort the heating problem!!

She does. A good heating system combined with adequate ventilation should help immensely with the damp problems.

AMG86

If funds permit it might be worthwhile looking at a heat recovery ventilation system. It most likely would solve the problem. A balance of insulation, heating and ventilation is what is required. She could dry clothes inside with less serious consequences than what she has now

gman2k

Carlow52 wrote: »

there the problem/ source of condensation right there!
get rid of this and then progress from there

+1 I'll bet when she stops using the 'Superser' there will no longer be an issue!

They pump out a phenomenal amount of moisture into the air - AFAIK most of the weight of the fuel in the cylinder is actually water!

There's no need whatsoever to look at putting in a MHRV if she sorts out the above.

sydthebeat

AMG86 wrote: »

If funds permit it might be worthwhile looking at a heat recovery ventilation system. It most likely would solve the problem. A balance of insulation, heating and ventilation is what is required. She could dry clothes inside with less serious consequences than what she has now

judging by the description of the house, it doesnt sound to me like a suitable property for HRV. Electric heating and no bathroom vents??? sounds like ever kind of corner was cut from the spec, so i doubt air tightness was high on their priorities.