Biggest damp problem I've seen, old cottage

[FoxEye]

I was round a relative's house for Christmas, and the place was not as I'd remembered it.

There was a huge amount of water clinging to the bedroom walls, condensation all over the windows, and mould growing everywhere :/ Not a place I'd consider living in.

According to the owner, it would cost "thousands" to fix, because it's a big granite farmhouse (1600s construction, amazingly thick walls). Apparently this would involve drilling ventilation holes through the granite blockwork.

There is secondary glazing behind the original wooden windows.

Now my question is, what can be done (if anything) to remediate this without spending a fortune? The windows do get opened so it isn't that simple.

It's been suggested that a dehumidifier would do the trick, but with the amount of water running down the walls I'm not 100% certain if a dehum could fix it by itself.

It's going to be my job to do something about the worst of it, and I'm not a DIY'er by any means. I was thinking of removing the wallpaper - it's mostly peeled off anyhow - and painting the place with kitchen/bathroom paint instead. But the walls are so wet I'm not even sure if the paint would dry

The house is heated by an oil boiler during the day and a wood/coal fire at night, both linked to radiators around the house.

It's quite likely that when the owners are no longer able to live in the house, it will be demolished in favour of building a housing estate on the land. It's for that reason that spending thousands on damp proofing is a last resort. That's assuming it isn't listed. I've never looked into it, since it's not my house

Any general advice ladies and gents?

 

[bloodiedathame]

Try and work out the source dampness. Is the damp course breached? Roofing ok? Water not running sils etc? Dehumidifiers would probably help. But sounds like they'd only be a temporary solution, and might not make a massive impact.

 

[the_r_sole]

Can they not install vents through the roof or eaves rather than the walls? Needs both heat and lots of it, and extractors on humidistats to dry out

 

[Trifid]

I would certainly get a dehumidifier running in the room where they sleep until the source of the problem is sorted. Dampness and mould will cause health problems.

 

[Orionaut]

Try and work out the source dampness....

This,

It will not have been damp like that for the last 400 years!

Something is causing the damp to accumulate. Find out what it is and fix it.

(Possible issues, either singly or in combination, leaking/inadequate gutters allowing water to run down the outside walls, poor ventilation as a result of the secondary glazing. Indoor sources of excessive humidity such as tumble dryers/indoor cloths drying, Or (quite likely) somebody has re-pointed the exterior masonry with cement rather than lime mortar)

 

[FoxEye]

This,

It will not have been damp like that for the last 400 years!

It wasn't even like that ten years ago when I visited - not that I remember (and I would have noticed it).

I'm not a builder tho, so when people say "check the damp proof course" I have no idea what language you guys are speaking... Guess I'd better find out, huh.

I think it should be easy enough to check the gutters, I can do that

I have no idea why/if they can't put vents through the roof. Or exactly how much the owner has really done to look into the issue themselves. (The person is not fully able to look after themself which is why I've been asked to sort it out).

I almost feel that due to the state of the place I ought to take a builder round and see what he makes of it.

 

[Mark A]

Do they open the windows? I'm guessing not if they have secondary glazing. That would be the first thing I would remedy to see if it helps.

By open the windows I mean every day for a few hours or permanently in areas where its very damp. Getting rid of the secondary glazing and installing trickle vents in the window would be a cheap fix.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

There is secondary glazing behind the original wooden windows.

That's a mistake in a house with no cavity walls.

Now my question is, what can be done (if anything) to remediate this without spending a fortune? The windows do get opened so it isn't that simple.

Remove the secondary glazing.

Have the interior walls been rendered/plastered? It should have been done with lime plaster. If it hasn't, then it's also another contributing factor for the dampness - remove the plaster/render.

Have the exteriors walls been rendered? Or have they been painted with acrylic/emulsion paints?

 

[Maccapacca]

Check all the disposal systems. Rainwater and foul water. Check incoming water for leaks. Check seals and closures. Check pointing. Consider forced ventilation like a drimaster. Consider dehumidifier.

These types of properties are all okay when they are what they were meant to be. Draughty and heated by fire forcing ventilation however modern glazing and our incessant need to seal everything means it traps all the moisture in.

Check for rising and any failed dpc. If any.

 

[FoxEye]

By open the windows I mean every day for a few hours or permanently in areas where its very damp. Getting rid of the secondary glazing and installing trickle vents in the window would be a cheap fix.

That's a mistake in a house with no cavity walls.

Remove the secondary glazing.

Now that I think about it, it was never this damp before they had that secondary glazing installed.

Won't it make the house significantly colder tho? The occupant is 70+. It's going to be a hard sell, given that it must have been installed less than 10 years ago, and probably cost a fair bit to install :/

Again it's not my house, so I can't just waltz in there and rip it out.

And every single window in the house has had secondary glazing installed.

OK, assuming this is a significant contributing factor (makes sense to me), how much better could I make the place /without/ taking out the 2nd'ry glazing? Assuming I suggest this and get rebuffed (likely).

 

[Orionaut]

Now that I think about it, it was never this damp before they had that secondary glazing installed.

Won't it make the house significantly colder tho?

I remember having a similar conversation with somebody nearly 30 years ago.

(Who was complaining that their 400 year old timbers were splitting after they had installed central heating. I advised them to switch off the heating and wear jumpers)

You are living in a 400 year old house. You have to live like people did 400 years ago!

 

[FoxEye]

Dehumidifiers can pull a ridiculous quantity of water out of the air in a relatively short period of time. I'd at least try one and see what impact it has... the worst case scenario is you then have a dehumidifier for when you want to dry stuff inside .

OK. I'm not au fait with dehums, anyone like to recommend a good one, below £20,000?

 

[koolpc]

Couple of dehumidifiers will be a massive help until you can solve the issues of dampness etc.

http://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p_dd122fw-simple_ecoair-dd122fwsimple-dehumidifier/version.asp

 

[Hedge]

Id be paying a specialist to give me somewhere to start from.

 

[Orionaut]

Have the interior walls been rendered/plastered? It should have been done with lime plaster. If it hasn't, then it's also another contributing factor for the dampness - remove the plaster/render.

This is really important

It is the #1 problem with old buildings.

Any building more than 100 years old (even less) must be investigated for the need for lime mortar.

Cement over lime will cause catastrophic damage

 

[Mark A]

Won't it make the house significantly colder tho? The occupant is 70+. It's going to be a hard sell, given that it must have been installed less than 10 years ago, and probably cost a fair bit to install :/

I didn't realise they were old, probably not a good idea to remove it if the house is too cold. I'd look at other ways of introducing some background ventilation. Or like I said cracking a window for a few hours a day to help it air out can help.

I have seen this a lot in houses where the owner never opens a window. One house the windows had been glossed shut with like 5 layers of paint. Then they wonder why all their paper is hanging off with black mould all over it.

 

[bloodiedathame]

Id be paying a specialist to give me somewhere to start from.

I'd say give it a shot yourself first, from my limited experience they'll hard sell stuff that really won't make the slightest bit of difference, or moves the problem somewhere else.

I've been in a property with expensive vents that circulate air from room to room, which ended up moving most of the condensation into the loft, where it would literally rain. The most recent house I bought had 2 heat exchangers fitted through external walls, which would push out hot humid air and bring in cold air (which was warmed before being pumped into the house). These can't have worked because the amount of mould on the walls was ridiculous.

 

[roadie]

Old buildings are very different to modern. They are almost living things, with walls that breath. As other users have pointed out, removing this ability is a recipe for damp.

Employing a specialist may well be the best first step.

 

[koolpc]

Would agree that a specialist is a good move as in the end you will probably end up saving money by employing one.

 

[George Hincapie]

You are living in a 400 year old house. You have to live like people did 400 years ago!

Or just knock it down and build a proper house in it's place.