Excesive moisture in old house

[Gareth Hughes]

The same as for appealing against the refusal of Planning Permission. A drawn-out process which will take at least six months. Much better dealing with it by negotiation and a resubmission of an acceptable scheme (if there is one) within a year - the "free go" - although LB applications are free anyway, for the moment.

 

[Model T]

Surely you should be trying to find the source of the excessive humidity first Poot? I have an old farmworkers cottage and had damp problems everywhere so systematically cured all the sources and now everywhere is dry, no need for a bathroom fans etc.

 

[JoceAndChris]

There's far too much washing going on. There's just no need for it. Why all this daily showering? Why not just a quick splish splosh of important bits in the sink?

Jeans only need washing every month or so. Jumpers same. The people of yore practised the same frugality by only regularly washing shifts.

Keep lids on pans when cooking. Never dry laundry inside -pick breezy dry days for wash loads and hang on a clothes horse if there is no space for a line. Steam Iron by an open window. On lovely days open all doors and windows for a drying out session.

Oh, and drinking wine avoids all that boiling up of the kettle.

Old houses + modern habits = damp

 

[Flyfisher]

Why not just a quick splish splosh of important bits in the sink?

:lol: :lol: :lol:
I have to stand on tip-toe to get my important bits in the sink . . . . besides cold porcelain is not flattering to the male, er, physique.

Old houses + modern habits = damp

I quite agree. There is a degree of adapation required for best results.

 

[Model T]

Why not just a quick splish splosh of important bits in the sink?

:lol: :lol: :lol:
I have to stand on tip-toe to get my important bits in the sink . . . . besides cold porcelain is not flattering to the male, er, physique.

Old houses + modern habits = damp

I quite agree. There is a degree of adapation required for best results.

Sorry but it's just not true, old houses just like old cars are totally 100% reliable if one has the knowledge to maintain them properly, it does require a degree of skill though so perhaps todays general lack of skill in the UK population is why these sort of misreprentations proliferate.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I'll qualify my flippant remarks then

house+ modern habits + inadequate ventilation = damp

Seen lots of damp in friends' new houses.

Lots of fragile surfaces here - damp has a more devastating effect on exposed brick (which shouldn't have been exposed) which is 200 + years old, than, say, compared to a new build.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I have to stand on tip-toe to get my important bits in the sink . . . .

I am so surprised to read that, FF. :wink:

 

[JoceAndChris]

http://www.spab.org.uk/advice/technical-qas/technical-qa-25-condensation/

"Simple lifestyle changes can produce dramatic improvements at little or no expense: ideally, generate less moisture. Place lids on pans while cooking, dry clothes outdoors, close kitchen and bathroom doors when in use and vent tumble driers to the outside if not of the condenser type."

 

[Model T]

http://www.spab.org.uk/advice/technical-qas/technical-qa-25-condensation/

"Simple lifestyle changes can produce dramatic improvements at little or no expense: ideally, generate less moisture. Place lids on pans while cooking, dry clothes outdoors, close kitchen and bathroom doors when in use and vent tumble driers to the outside if not of the condenser type."

I'll forgive your "flippant" remarks then seeing as you qualified them and I certainly now agree with this:- "house+ modern habits + inadequate ventilation = damp", but do people actually have to be told the above spad advice?

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: Unfortunately I think they do, especially the bright young things of today.

Two of my good friends (some of the brightest people I know in some ways) recently bemoaned the damp in their new Victorian house, and asked my opinion about it as they knew we've had damp problems here. When I went to visit them the windows were streaming with condensation and the bedding felt ever so slightly damp. Did they have the heating on? No, only very very little (saving money). Had they checked out whether or not the chimney could be swept and the old fire in the bedroom could be used? No, hadn't occured to them. Did they ever open a window? No, too cold. Did they shower every day and dry laundry inside? Yes.

From what I've seen it seems to be a normal attitude to blame the old house for the damp and never really to question what effect small changes in personal habits might make.

 

[robgil]

a lot of ventilation in old houses took place up the chimney , put in a log burner then never use it and all that ventilation is now gone , i have to agree with above posts though , you need to get to the cause of the damp rather than trying to deal with the effects.
if your car had a leaking roof would you drill a hole in the floor to fix the problem?

 

[JoceAndChris]

I agree with you. I suppose I'm fixated with dealing with effects of damp as the cause of mine isn't easy to fix, we're built into a hillside and the water flows underneath the house. Springs break out all over the hillside, and you see the ducks waddling round the garden. When it rains there are puddles in my underground kitchen.

 

[robgil]

can you not dig a drain all around the perimeter of the house to re-direct any surface water flow , a bit like a french drain crossed with a field drain ditch?

 

[JoceAndChris]

It's an excellent idea and kind people on here have talked to me about that in the past.

Here's the really troublesome section:

and down those stairs, and look at the state of the walls, crazily stripped of their protective lime plaster!

The concrete path needs digging up and the drain constructing, but, the whole area (where the broom is and the little solar lights) is a large, brick built underground Georgian (?) rainwater tank. That seems to leak into the underground kitchen too, as you see from the state of the walls. I think we could dig 2 feet down and we'd hit the roof of the rainwater tank. It may be better than not doing it however.

 

[stuart45]

French drains and a sump pump system are often used for problem basements, especially in the States where many houses have a cellar.
Positive systems are much better than negative ones for water penetration.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Hmm, I've often wondered if a sump pump would work at all. My (fairly limited) understanding of them is that a hole is dug in your basement and the pump is slotted in. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sumppumpinstall.com/images/Sump6.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.sumppumpinstall.com/sump-pump-installation/&usg=__ZgYwCBc3oHOE9saKdjlg35s_IUw=&h=354&w=393&sz=20&hl=en&start=3&sig2=2p4ZtcYoxJPSBkr3J0OWrA&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=827onScPjp6zYM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsump%2Bpumps%2Bfor%2Bbasements%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=EibjS6bfM4KzsAb8nbnqDw

But surely that's impossible in my basement, which has a sunken well whose water level is often nearly at the top?

You can see the wooden lid to the well on the left of the pic.

I wouldn't mind a few structural changes to this little bit of basement (though Chris is convinced that any kind of violent digging may pose serious risk to the well, which is our drinking water), but I really couldn't tolerate serious structural change (such as a pit with a large pump in it) to other areas of the vaulted undercroft, which in many ways is the most interesting part of the house.

 

[Flyfisher]

.

 

[yamin]

MacCavity is in ALL your pictures! is this because

1. He lends a certain feline gravitas to the setting
2. He is there to give scale to the surroundings or subject
3. He is a belicose old fellow who cannot stand not to be the main focus of your attention and thus photgraphic subject
4. He is woefully neglected and follows you around trying desperately to gain your attention by any means

:lol:

 

[yamin]

MacCavity is in ALL your pictures! is this because

1. He lends a certain feline gravitas to the setting
2. He is there to give scale to the surroundings or subject
3. He is a belicose old fellow who cannot stand not to be the main focus of your attention and thus photgraphic subject
4. He is woefully neglected and follows you around trying desperately to gain your attention by any means

:lol:

 

[yamin]

Oops, sorry for double post