Damp problem

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
VillaAntonioLanzarote
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Damp problem

Post by VillaAntonioLanzarote »

Hi
We continue to get damp in certain places in the villa despite installing ventilation grills etc

I have read the following as an option

Paint with an ‘impregnante hidrofugo’ clear treatment e.g. Sikaguard, is ideal for cutting down maintenance to walls and reducing damp penetration. It must be high enough (preferably 0.75m +) so as to cover the whole area most prone to damp

Has anyone tried this or has any other great ideas
Many thanks
Larry
Villa Antonio Lanzarote
a place to relax & unwind
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Grimmy
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Post by Grimmy »

We too have a damp issue - mostly brought on by people using the electric heaters and not ventilating the place properly so there is a build of of condensation!

We've used this product - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1 which is an additive for any paint. We used it last year and where we used to get damp patches showing there have been none so far. It's a bit pricey, but you can add it to any colour paint and it doesn't change the colour at all, meaning you can use this for areas where you need it and regular paint elsewhere.

Good luck
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Casscat
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Post by Casscat »

'Blocking' damp can make the problem far worse. Walls need to breathe in order to allow moisture to evaporate. All you should do is educate people about the need to adequately ventilate. I did get black mould in my bathroom in winter based on hot steam coming into contact with cold walls and the solution was simply to open a window.
VillaAntonioLanzarote
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Many thanks

Post by VillaAntonioLanzarote »

Hi

Will give it a try

Many thanks
Villa Antonio Lanzarote
a place to relax & unwind
www.villaantonio.co.uk
akwe-xavante
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Location: East Yorkshire

Post by akwe-xavante »

What is meant by Damp? Rising damp, damp around windows or in the top corners of rooms, mainly the bathroom / shower area.

CassCat is correct, masking, hiding or covering it only makes it worse and more expensive to put right in the future. Work out what's causing it and do whatever's required to put it right or somehow change your guests habits or install an extractor fan with humidity sensors in shower areas and or utility rooms. Ventilation vents / grilles only really work if you have two, one in one wall and another in the opposite wall. Air gets in through one and goes out the other. Having one vent / grille in a room doesn't work on its own.
VillaAntonioLanzarote
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Info

Post by VillaAntonioLanzarote »

Hi
The damp is in bedrooms, hallway, dining room areas

It happens more when there have been major downpours - house was repainted inside and out 6 months ago
Villa Antonio Lanzarote
a place to relax & unwind
www.villaantonio.co.uk
COYS
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Post by COYS »

Casscat wrote:'Blocking' damp can make the problem far worse. Walls need to breathe in order to allow moisture to evaporate.
Spot on.
IF you have a damp problem or water ingress you should be looking to solve rather than cover it up. I suspect if you have a fairly modern concrete framed building, your problem is more likely condensation & 'through' ventilation is your best friend.
We get white staining inside sometimes during winter if the house is not regularly aired & lightly heated occasionally.
This time next year Rodney, we'll be millionaires.
akwe-xavante
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Post by akwe-xavante »

The damp is in bedrooms, hallway, dining room areas

It happens more when there have been major downpours - house was repainted inside and out 6 months ago
Is the property a single storey?
Is the damp at floor level or ceiling?
How old is the building?
More info would be good.

For the damp to return after only 6 months of painting is not good at all. I would want to be there when it rains and up into the loft/roof space to see if I can see it coming in through the roof.
gardenboy
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Post by gardenboy »

Damp is 90% client driven, just air the place. Keep windows open on sunny side at opp ends of house. You need a flow through of dry air.

My last guests thought they were being helpful closing all the doors, after 3 weeks the room corners went black.
Nightowl
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Post by Nightowl »

In addition to what everyone else has said about ventilation - particularly for kitchens and areas near bathrooms, also consider whether you need guttering or not...

We used to have a severe damp problem in one of our downstairs bedrooms which had 2 outside walls.

My husband realised that it really kicked up a few days after heavy rain... and that because our house has no guttering, the rain was tracking down various parts of the walls and when heavy, it was bouncing back against the walls as it landed on patio tiles on the ground, creating low level damp on the inside walls.

He's put up guttering and proper drainpipes to channel the water onto the garden and grassed areas .

He also put guttering under the drainage holes of a balcony - at first this didn't quite work because the drainage holes channeled the water down the wall instead of it dropping into the guttering but he put a little L shaped drip guard under the drainage holes which diverts it now into the gutter and away.

Damp problems seem to have been resolved - we've had lots of very heavy rain since he did the guttering and no damp in that room.

Prevention better than cure... He did a lot of testing out how the water would channel out with the aid of a hosepipe on the roof in order to ensure that the guttering would do its job properly. I think it's important to check this. We have seen many houses on our estate which do have guttering installed - but ineffectively - complicated bends, water hoppers in the wrong place, wonkily installed so the rain just spills over the top, sloping the wrong way... etc, etc....
Nightowl
Forever going one step forwards and two
backwards......
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