Slugs getting into house

dbas

Hi all. I've an A2 rated house that we moved into last year.

A2 on paper only as the build quality is terrible.

Anyway, found slugs in one corner of ground floor kitchen near a window and they are getting in through a gap (that I cannot see) which is under the window, where the wall meets the floor.

Can anyone recommend a product to seal that junction. I've only about 10mm between window and wooden floor to aim this product through. Was thinking a mastic but that would be too thick and might just sit on the floor rather than falling into the crack of you know what I mean.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

10-10-20

"Anyway, found slugs in one corner of ground floor kitchen near a window and they are getting in through a gap (that I cannot see) which is under the window, where the wall meets the floor." Is the junction which you are describing internal or external? Sounds like the slugs might be in the cavity (often nice and damp at the bottom there), so I'm thinking that you also need to address the external portion too.

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120062058#Comment_120062058

Thanks for the reply. It's a timber frame house with rendered block outer skin. It's at the back of the house. It's internal. When I lie on the floor and see the 10mm gap between top of floorboards and bottom of glazed unit, I saw a slug coming out of the floor, between the edge of the boards and the wall.

I checked outside for any gaps or holes but I didn't see any.

I'll check again tomorrow

10-10-20

Ah! I'd propose a mastic type filler for windows & doors. They bond well and last.

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120062866#Comment_120062866

I'll have a look around the shops today.

Thanks

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120063130#Comment_120063130

Yes. Silicone Mastic should prevent the slugs from getting in.

There must also be Draughts getting in through the gaps. So muck for the Air Tightness in an A2 rated house.

Also seal around the wastepipe of the kitchen sink where it passes out through the slab on the timberframe.

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065092#Comment_120065092

Airtightness was 6.5 for a timber frame house. Absolutely appaling figure in this day and age. It's an A2 to the older regs. Still compliant. I would have expected timber frame to be airtight (correct membranes to control moisture) to protect the timber

There is a draught coming through alright, but didn't think a hole would be big enough for slugs to get in.

I'm worried that mastic won't fill the gaps. I might need a runnier product to use first, before I put mastic down. I was thinking blowerproof liquid but the tubs of that are massive and expensive. Great product though.

Waste pipe is on a kitchen island so penetration is below ground. It's a leaky house in general. You'd feel draughts around the new munster joinery windows with a mild breeze outside.

Some builders are appaling

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065314#Comment_120065314

Too many "not my jobbers" on the site. All falls at the foreman's feet then.

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065531#Comment_120065531

They went through a different Foreman every 6 months and make very little progress on site. F*ck up after f*ck up and charge 500k for the houses today. Over 100k more then we paid 14 months ago.

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065314#Comment_120065314

Correct - some builders are cowboys and the guys working for them are Plonkers.

These errors will give Timberframe houses very bad publicity.

Timberframe manufacturers should provide full supervision for the erection of the Timberframe on site.

I would still use clear Silicone Mastic. You will need to build it up bit by bit each day - until it’s sealed.

If there are draughts under the cill boards - you could seal it with a small bead of mastic.

To check for the draughts in this area - wet your finger with saliva (Draught Detector) - hold it under the cill board and you will feel the cold stream of air from the draught if there is an air leak.

EarWig

Put coffee grounds below the window. Starbucks used to give bags of them for free.

I did this and it worked.

C. Eastwood

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065648#Comment_120065648

Talcum Powder is also useful for detecting draughts

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065642#Comment_120065642

I didn't even need to wet my finger. Proper breeze coming through it. Raging I didn't notice this before the flooring went in. I'd have went around the whole ground floor with mastic/ blowerproof.

In a few years I'll renovate it hopefully and bring that airtightness down to 1 if possible. Likely be about ten years realistically

ILIKEFOOD

This is my life at the moment and I've no idea how the feckers are getting in..

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120066057#Comment_120066057

They like food too

Furze99

Expanding foam for larger gaps.

Dangee4050

can you post a picture of the area?

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120066104#Comment_120066104

My first thought but my second thought was what would foam be f%^ing up if it filled the gap up and the cavity behind it. If however its under a window maybe the window should have been sealed all around with foam? If foam is the answer then it will need cutting back when dry and then the final finish done with some form of mastic or silicon.

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120066754#Comment_120066754

Ill try explain these pictures.

The slugs are getting in under the right hand window to the right of the double door set. One picture shows the gap under this door.

You don't even need to wet your fingers to feel a breeze, it's right there.

The gap available doesn't make me think mastic alone would do it. I may be wrong, as I've never done this before.

I was thinking I would need something runnier than mastic in a gun with a long nozzle. Failing that, an aerosol.

I'd like to first, stop the slugs. Second, make it airtight and thirdly, insulate if possible

I'd probably put the length of fingers under that window so gap depth is maybe 80-100mm in from internal edge of window, if that makes sense.

There are breezes coming in all along the underneath of this door set so I may end up going along the whole thing.

I hate bluffer builders

If this is an A2 house, it must be quite new - I'd be getting the builders back...

I'd also be talking to whomever put in your floor as there's a huge gap under the skirting under the radiator! Is the floor level?? It seems to bow

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067908#Comment_120067908

Cameras do that, can't trust a photo for alignment.

OP, if you can't get the builder back to fix that I'd nearly suggest that you insert a wooden lat to fill most of the gap and then mastic it afterwards. Woodies and such do a selection of them in various sizes.

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067908#Comment_120067908

I hired guys in to do the laminate flooring. They didn't remark on the floor being uneven, and some flooring guys did note uneven floors in my neighbours houses.

That's my only evidence for the floor being even.

Builder's are pure crap. Some neighbours are suing them. I may do myself too, but it's hard to find the motivation to engage these guys again. They are beyond useless. Indescribably useless

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067938#Comment_120067938

I'll look into that on Saturday. Thanks.

Skirting is still tacked on downstairs. I think I may end up going around the 3 exposed sides of the ground floor altogether. (semi detached house)

Slugs and draughts are bad, but next it'll be ants in the summer.

Does anyone know who might be able to check the integrity of a timber frame house? Thermal /moisture integrity - hopefully non destructive. I've heard timber rots quick enough if moisture is present

Girl Geraldine

If the house was so **** then why did you buy it off them?

cnocbui

If the gap is 10mm, I'd cut a 12mm wide strip from an EVA foam camping mat and then push that into the gap. That sould be enough so long as you don't leave so much as a 2mm gap anywhere, because big fat slugs manage to squeeze through the small 2mm or so drainage holes in the channel at the bottom of some Al doors i have.

An alternative to the mat would be to get a length of water pipe foam insulation and cut a fillet from that. Somewhere on the planet there is probably a foam pipe insulation with an OD of 12mm, which would be the most perfect thing for the job I can think of.

You shouldn't need it, but once a gap has been filled with such a foam, you can then skin it with silicone as it provides a physical framework.

You can discourage slugs from a path by putting some bare copper wire or a slate mushroom across it. Sort of like an electric fence for slugs.

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068001#Comment_120068001

Didn't realise it at the time, and no real option in the current market. Had to buy a house as prices are gone mad.

My snagger didn't pick up any of this. I only got paperwork on the house from wicklow county council 6 the after purchase, and they seem toothless to fix issues or pressure the builder to rectify anything

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068028#Comment_120068028

Thanks for that. I'll look into that on Saturday

MicktheMan

If you want to do a decent job with this, do it once and do it right, I would advise you to

1. draw a pencil line where your skirting board meets the floor
2. take off the skirting
3. apply air tightness tape to the wall to floor junction according to manufacturer's instructions ensuring to stay inside the pencil line and don't cut the corner (nice 90 degree angle)
4. re-fit the skirting board.

Job done.

At the door, perhaps introduce a saddle board to hide the taping work.

deirdremf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068435#Comment_120068435

Maybe you should start by getting onto the snagger, it sounds like they cut corners.

Dangee4050

You could try some compriband in that gap and then mastic

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068858#Comment_120068858

Thanks for that. The skirting sits on the wooden floor and is tacked on, so I could remove the skirting handy enough and either use airtight tape or paint on it and put the skirting back on