Well Insulated House - Condensation

Pinky123

hello,

We built a really well insulated house in 2007/08 and have a lot of condensation on our windows. I am just wondering if this is a standard issue with high levels of insulation and if anyone here has experienced the same problems.
House is an ICF Reward build system, 400mm of standard attic insulation and Alu Clad double glazed windows.

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated.

MicktheMan

Need a bit more info:
How airtight is the house?
How is the house ventilated?
How is the house heated?

fclauson

Pinky123 wrote: »

We built a really well insulated house in 2007/08 and have a lot of condensation on our windows. .

Inside or outside (triple glazed are well know for having condesation on the outside

Do you have MHRV ?

liptonvillag

Pinky123 wrote: »

hello,

We built a really well insulated house in 2007/08 and have a lot of condensation on our windows. I am just wondering if this is a standard issue with high levels of insulation and if anyone here has experienced the same problems.
House is an ICF Reward build system, 400mm of standard attic insulation and Alu Clad double glazed windows.

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated.

My brother experienced this problem. Added to that, he was surprised when blackspot started forming forming on the walls in some of the bedrooms. It starting appearing about 4 years after he built the house. He was obsessed with insulation. He isulated absolutely everything. When it was been built he would go round with tubes of expanding foam to seal the smallest gap, crack or crevice. He got a friend out who was a civil engineer. My brother told him how great a job a job he done insulating everything and all the gaps and holes he blocked up. The civil engineer started laughing and told him that was his problem right there. He had over insulated the house to the point there was little or no ventilation. You need a certain amount of air circulating around the house. Have you the vents blocked up ? Are you getting areas of mildew and blackspot in different parts around the house ? If not, that's probally the next thing that will happen. Did you insulate the attic right across to the eaves. If you did then you need to pull back the insulation a bit and allow circulation in the attic. Ventilation in the attic is vital for a healthy house. If you blocked air vents in the rooms. If you dd you need to unblock them. Do you open windows for a while during the day to let air circulate. Even in hospitals they open the windows in the mornings to let fresh air circulate. Have you a radiator placed directly under a window ? If so, the warm air rising and meeting the colder surface of the window area will cause condensation. if you have kids in the house and they tend to come down with a lot of colds a little more then the norm then it's a sign of an unhealthy house environment. In over insulating (without ventialtion) to cause an environment for bugs and other bacteria to thrive. Plenty of insulation is advised but provided it's done correctly. Ventilation seems to be your problem.

BryanF

liptonvillag wrote: »

He had over insulated the house to the point there was little or no ventilation. You need a certain amount of air circulating around the house. Have you the vents blocked up ? Are you getting areas of mildew and blackspot in different parts around the house ? If not, that's probally the next thing that will happen. Did you insulate the attic right across to the eaves. If you did then you need to pull back the insulation a bit and allow circulation in the attic. Ventilation in the attic is vital for a healthy house. If you blocked air vents in the rooms. If you dd you need to unblock them. Do you open windows for a while during the day to let air circulate. Even in hospitals they open the windows in the mornings to let fresh air circulate. Have you a radiator placed directly under a window ? If so, the warm air rising and meeting the colder surface of the window area will cause condensation. if you have kids in the house and they tend to come down with a lot of colds a little more then the norm then it's a sign of an unhealthy house environment. In over insulating (without ventialtion) to cause an environment for bugs and other bacteria to thrive. Plenty of insulation is advised but provided it's done correctly. Ventilation seems to be your problem.

your dead right here, except for your use of the phrase: 'over insulate'. If he had 'over insulated' he would not have 'cold surfaces'. and there are alternatives to leaving gaping holes in the wall of a well insulated house:)

liptonvillag

BryanF wrote: »

your dead right here, except for your use of the phrase: 'over insulate'. If he had 'over insulated' he would not have 'cold surfaces'. and there are alternatives to leaving gaping holes in the wall of a well insulated house:)

Cold surfaces ?? He has condensation forming on his windows. A window is a cold surface. When warm air meets a cold surface like a window it can condense on it. You shouldn't really put a radiator under a window either as the warm air rising onto the glass pane (cold surface) will cause a lot of condensation. Over insulate is a lose term of saying he's sealed everything has no proper air circulation in the house

BryanF

liptonvillag wrote: »

Cold surfaces ?? He has condensation forming on his windows. A window is a cold surface.

no a poorly made, insulated and fitted window is a cold surface.
[/QUOTE]
Over insulate is a lose term of saying he's sealed everything has no proper air circulation in the house[/QUOTE]
'a loose term' this is just confusing..

liptonvillag

BryanF wrote: »

no a poorly made, insulated and fitted window is a cold surface.

Over insulate is a lose term of saying he's sealed everything has no proper air circulation in the house[/QUOTE]
'a loose term' this is just confusing..[/QUOTE]

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