Condensation & ventilation - lessons learned

shoegirl

Bought a house in August of last year and moved in in November after dealing with some urgent issues (aka damaged window hinges & locks, week growth, drain clearage, rodent & wasp infestations etc - yes I know). Anyway surveyor had noted a rotten skirting board beside patio door in living room (basically downstairs is a large open plan living room, kitched and tiny 1x1m hall. Spent months trying to figure out what was causing the issue. Surveyor reckoned it was a leak in patio window - window repair guy said he couldn't find any gaps or leaks when doing other repairs.

Anyway as it got cold over December, started seeing severe condensation throughout the house - mainly in the living room and main bedroom. Still couldn't quite figure it out. There was a board covering over the tunnel to a roof velux window that was supposed to light the hall which I left closed as when I opened it up the place was very cold - could see in the attic the shaft was entirely uninsulated (surveyor pointed this out and suggested light mould growth in 2nd bedroom wardrobe was a leak from it). Could not see any obvious leaking.

Anyway had my attic topped up to 300mm this week and tunnel fully insulated, so I could bring the velux tunnel back into use. From what I could see there was mild historical condensation in the tunnel which will need treatment, decided to have a look at my vents this week as noticed that really only 1 of them was carrying any air, since the extra insulation has already made the house around 3c warmer when heat is off.

Anyway what I discovered shocked me. Two of the vents were blocked - one entirely. One had old wiring and a chunk of polystyrene (which is flammable) inside it which I cleared out. The second, in a bedroom, had been entirely stuffed with rolled up newspaper. The newspaper was from a 1995 copy of the Evening Press which was curious in itself, but I could see it was definitely not safe to investigate further so it went straight to outdoor bin. Then it triggered my asthma, which almost never happens as I've been taking preventative medication for years. This stuff was absolutely fungus ridden I'd say. Anyway, there was absolutely no impact to the overall warmth, except that heating actually fills the room in the two rooms with blocked vents now, and thought I'd share it with you all.

There was also a "stuffy" smell in the house which disappeared within a couple of hours. This stuff was basically piping noxious air INTO the house.

10-10-20

Interesting feedback, always good to hear about success stories.

So what was the source of water to cause the rotten skirting board?

And what was the cause of the "noxious air", was it specifically the newspaper or polystyrene or another source, sorry not clear to me!

shoegirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120200395#Comment_120200395

The newspaper seems to have been the source of spores that was causing a slight smell.

The rotten skirting board is right beside a patio door. There was condensation dripping down the side panel of the door and dripping onto the skirting board. I haven't yet replaced it but suspect now the condensation issue is dealt with the replacement panel should survive.