Adam W.
A Major Clanger
Yes, and I'm using the properties of single glazing to condense humidity, to dry a newly plastered room out.
Mould and damp
- Thread starter Stevekane
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Jacob
New Luddism. Wake up and resist.
Same thing. Floors don't "breathe" - you are talking about damp being allowed to evaporate from an uncovered floor, which will also be cold.
Agent_zed
Established Member
I guess we could go on arguing ad infinitum as clearly we aren't going to agree. Pretty much all building material 'breathe' and it's a pretty common term to use. It's the reason we now use 'breathable' membranes and paints. Lime mortar is also a 'breathable' material and one of the problems with old houses is they have been rendered in cement when it was the fashion, which if water gets down behind can't get out. Remove the render and the walls can 'breathe' and generally regulate themselves.
There is a massive difference between slum landlords allowing water ingress into a property (as per the dailymail shock stories) and one that doesn't want to replace a perfectly good floor to install underfloor heating because 1 tenant complained 4 years ago after doing something without asking and no one has had a problem since. 100x more water comes in when a tenant dries their clothes or takes a shower and doesn't want to run the extractor or leaves a towel to dry on the radiator, or leaves their wet coat on the hook, or cooks and doesn't use the extractor.
It's only likely to get worse for some people as they won't want to run extractors and won't vent the house. There is not a lot you can do as a landlord if they don't do basic things like this.
Even in my own house where I installed underfloor heating and have double glazing, filled cavity walls and 30cm of loft insulation and a high rate bathroom fan, I still get condensation on the windows which we have to wipe every day in cold weather.
We live in a maritime climate which is predominately wet coupled with cost of living/energy prices and a general lack of understanding, in a lot of cases (not all) there is no reason for mould to build up even if it is damp, it comes down to not wiping the surface regularly.
There is a massive difference between slum landlords allowing water ingress into a property (as per the dailymail shock stories) and one that doesn't want to replace a perfectly good floor to install underfloor heating because 1 tenant complained 4 years ago after doing something without asking and no one has had a problem since. 100x more water comes in when a tenant dries their clothes or takes a shower and doesn't want to run the extractor or leaves a towel to dry on the radiator, or leaves their wet coat on the hook, or cooks and doesn't use the extractor.
It's only likely to get worse for some people as they won't want to run extractors and won't vent the house. There is not a lot you can do as a landlord if they don't do basic things like this.
Even in my own house where I installed underfloor heating and have double glazing, filled cavity walls and 30cm of loft insulation and a high rate bathroom fan, I still get condensation on the windows which we have to wipe every day in cold weather.
We live in a maritime climate which is predominately wet coupled with cost of living/energy prices and a general lack of understanding, in a lot of cases (not all) there is no reason for mould to build up even if it is damp, it comes down to not wiping the surface regularly.
Stevekane
Established Member
At Christmas we had our granddaughter and husband visit us from Wales where they live in a brand new house which has a PIV fitted, they were grumbleing about a cold draught from the vent on the landing when we visited earlier in the year and now they have turned it off entirely because of this! They dont have kids and maybe they will get away with it but they are living in a sealed house with virtually no ventilation because in the colder weather they dont want very cold air blowing down on them and in the summer it would be warm air! So as an idea I can see that PiV is a clever solution to damp/ mould but in practice people would probably switch them off or cover them over like they did with the old ventilation air bricks. Maybe the real answer to mould is very cheap heating?
Steve.
Steve.
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
I have to disagree with Jacob on this. Yes, there are probably some irresponsible landlords around, but damp is not always "an easy fix", and the problem will almost certainly be exacerbated by the cost of heating.
I do, however, frequently rant about building firms, who in my opinion should have been required to build ultra energy efficient dwellings for decades. We couldn't have predicted the war in Ukraine, but we all knew that fossil fuels were not sustainable.
I do, however, frequently rant about building firms, who in my opinion should have been required to build ultra energy efficient dwellings for decades. We couldn't have predicted the war in Ukraine, but we all knew that fossil fuels were not sustainable.
Jacob
New Luddism. Wake up and resist.
Thats OK. Your windows acting as dehumidifiers. Better there than condensation on plaster walls and other places.
It always amuses me the armchair landlords who pontificate on the social justice of renting, providing their deep insights into the issues. They have never rented a property, or have any idea about the interesting people who rent them. They also often prevaricate about all sorts of social injustice and how everyone should be paying more tax, whilst at the same time having empty rooms that they could use to house needy which they don’t and don’t voluntarily contribute more tax. Yes, the arm chair socalists are a very insightful bunch.
Jacob
New Luddism. Wake up and resist.
The damp floor above is an easy fix, but not cheap. I'd suggest lower rent as an interim compromise.
Agree. But the current climate (pro brexit) is against "regulation". I say bring it on!
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Jacob
New Luddism. Wake up and resist.
Not everybody - only the better off!
Often they do. We have families of Ukrainians being put up in the village.
Spare rooms it is not the answer to the housing problem; but spare buildings yes!
Tax should be compulsory, but many people contribute voluntarily to charities etc - but never enough to run a country
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I’m a bit bemused by the PiV to be honest. I understand the concept of bringing in fresh air, but if it’s not heated then you’ll be increasing your heating bill. You’re effectively just increasing the air changes per hour in your property. I’ve been trying to reduce mine as my house is so draughty it drives up my heating bills.
Anyhow I’ve been looking into MVHR which seems a much more sensible solution. Ideally you duct in and out the fresh/stale air all over the property, but I don’t see why you can’t just use an MVHR unit rather than a PiV unit. Then at least the air you are bringing into the house is not outside temperature.
Agent_zed
Established Member
yep very easy, the lino the tenant installed without permission was removed and there hasn't been an issue since. Rent is already cheaper than local market value.
If you think that all tenants are lovely people who are being downtrodden by the ruthless landlords then you are sorely mistaken. Some are nice, some are downright horrid. we've had tenants who can't even be bothered to go and get their benefit check to pay the rent. You might say, why don't you get the council to pay the rent directly? Because if it turns out the tenant was fiddling the system they can recall all of the rent directly from the landlord, because they know the tenant is never going to pay it back.
We had someone come to buy an old hot water tank and it turned out he was also a landlord. The reason he needed the tank was because the tenant had stripped out the entire house copper plumbing before disappearing!
as @deema says if you haven't rented out houses you don't know the half of it.
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
It may increase the heating bills.
However, in my case having the PIV has allowed us to turn the heating off in unoccupied rooms, which prior to PIV was causing real mould problems.
The manufacturers claim that the cold air mixes with the warm air that accumulates at the top of the house. They also reckon that drier air feels warmer. I can't confirm either if these claims, but they sound plausible.
I agree that MHRV would be better, but almost impossible to retrofit here, and way more expensive. My PIV set me back £267.
I was also starting to worry about the health implications of black mould, and the long term effect on our biggest investment.
Jacob
New Luddism. Wake up and resist.
There are some rotten tenants, there are some appalling landlords. It's a jungle! But the tenants usually have no choice other than to be tenants.
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Our current rental property is a Victorian mid terrace. It suffers from a bit of damp commensurate with it's age and construction. However it is managed well and does not cause mould or damp. We have had a few incidents over the years with water problems, torn roofing felt, blocked gutters etc. The latest gutter incident last month resulted in me having to pay £800 to get the neighbours gutters replaced He has the down pipe but his gutters were sagging towards our house resulting in the water from four roofs pouring down our wall and accross a bedroom window. We were getting some ingress around the external window cill. In general we have not done much beyond good property management and routine repairs when they are needed.
On the other hand our own house, built in the 90's, needs mould treatment every year. It has very pretty bath stone mullions but they of course are a permanent cold bridge between the double glazed windows. They go black over the course of the Autum/Winter and we generaly have to treat them every January. We just did it this week.
Our previous tenants were in the house for four years and we never had a problem with them. In fact they even go the shower curtain rail replaced when they pulled it off the wall. We did do an annual inspection so that any problems could be caught (like the need for redecoration or dripping taps type stuff). Our current tenant is far more demanding and asking for a new kitchen and bathroom, but she is my daughter so will get it anyway ;-)
On the other hand our own house, built in the 90's, needs mould treatment every year. It has very pretty bath stone mullions but they of course are a permanent cold bridge between the double glazed windows. They go black over the course of the Autum/Winter and we generaly have to treat them every January. We just did it this week.
Our previous tenants were in the house for four years and we never had a problem with them. In fact they even go the shower curtain rail replaced when they pulled it off the wall. We did do an annual inspection so that any problems could be caught (like the need for redecoration or dripping taps type stuff). Our current tenant is far more demanding and asking for a new kitchen and bathroom, but she is my daughter so will get it anyway ;-)
