Dry lining and Insuation

stephybef

Hi all I have an old cottage house connected to another. In august I had all the exterior walls insulated and dry lined (as it was never done before) since the black spotted mould
Has appeared along the window edges (the are double glazed uPVC) in our bedroom particularly. I also had new vents put in as there wasn't before. So i am at a loss as to what it could be.
Oh I also had a stove installed that runs off new radiators (which again the house had had for years)
Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated as I am so annoyed about it.

Ronin247

Make sure you have a carbon monoxide alarm fitted .

The black mold on the window ledge is most likely caused by the moisture in the air condensating on the window which is usually a sign of poor ventilation .
The new stove will need plenty of air coming into the room and so again make sure there is adequate ventilation.

Most importantly make sure you have a Carbon Monoxide alarm

Rabbo

In any house there is usually a lot of moisture in the air caused by cooking, showering, washing, drying and breathing. Moisture condenses on cold surfaces so previously it condensed mainly on the cold surface of your unisulated walls. This was a large area so it condensed and dissipated and was probably not noticeable. Now, as presumably you didn't upgrade your windows, there is more moisture condensing on the smaller surface of your window frames and it is much more noticeable. Older windows, even with double glazing, can have poorly insulated frames.

You should also note that if there was any wet construction works going on in your house, like plastering, blockwork, etc it will take a while for it to completely dry out and that could be the source of some of the moisture. Otherwise, you need to restrict the amount of moisture that is being generated- use extract fans when cooking, showering and limit drying of clothes inside. You also may need to increase ventilation or check if your existing ventilation is working properly.

stephybef

Even though ive had new air vents put in and are always open?
I understand the house is very old and wasn't fully looked after, but I was assured having the walls dry lined and insulated would make the house warm again along with the stove and i cannot complain that way. It's fantastic to have a warm house but now this has happened and I am worried its gonna be an even bigger problem than thought.

Right2Write

stephybef wrote: »

... but I was assured having the walls dry lined and insulated would make the house warm again along with the stove and i cannot complain that way. It's fantastic to have a warm house but now this has happened and I am worried its gonna be an even bigger problem than thought.

Sales talk. All these things are a trade off. You've improved the insulation of the walls but as Rabbo says above, the moisture will condense on next colder surface unless it's expelled before it condenses. There was a chap on the Marion Finucane show on Sat morning last and he gave a very good explanation. Just everyday living in a house creates a lot of moisture.

Try to cut down on major sources of moisture - ventilate for bathrooms, cooking and avoid drying clothes where possible indoors. After that, wipe off any mould spots that form, very mild bleach solution seems to work well.

MicktheMan

stephybef wrote: »

I am worried its gonna be an even bigger problem than thought.

Yeah, and I'd also be concerned about what may be (and might be in the future) going on behind the drylining / insulation.