Any ideas why my house is so wet?

[muddyjames]

every morning my windows are dripping wet from condensation to the point the water flows off onto my window cill. Also I have just been into my loft and you can hear condensation dripping off the roofing felt onto the insulation and the wood up there is quiet damp too.

I have double glazing, cavity wall insulation and tripple insulation above the 2 bedrooms but squashed single insulation above the hall/bathroom area as it is boarded out.

Should I be worried as I don't want the roof to rot away obviously but do lofts get this wet and how do I stop it in my bedrooms etc?

I wouldn't class my house as being cold but it isnt the warmest in the world either. Thermostat ticks over at about 16degrees for the central heating.

Any help grately appreciated.

[dxmedia]

You sure it's condensation and not a leak tracking down the walls?

[muddyjames]

walls in the house are bone dry and once i wipe the water off in the morning, it stays off until night time again.

I was wondering if having the washing drying in the house would up the humidity and hence why so much water on the windows?

[Frankie-Boy]

Hi James,

I'd say drying the washing indoors could well be a factor also you might have a problem with bad ventilation not allowing air to circulate properly, this will cause mould to form so get it sorted as soon as possible.

Check to see if the Air bricks have been blocked with cavity wall insulation material and maybe invest in a condenser type tumble dryer.

Good luck.

[lambert]

your house needs to breath. older houses were not designed to be super insulated, hence the problems encountered when they have cavity wall air gaps filled or the loft stuffed to the rafters with wool.

[muddyjames]

my house is only 15 years old ish. Not a grade 2 listed house by any means! lol

I dont remember seeing any airbricks at all to be honest. Will lok tomorrow. I havent blocked the air gaps in the loft where the roof joins the walls. I left those clear.

[lambert]

15 is plenty old enough, they were befor climate change, built when cost to the developer was more important than cost to the planet. cheap to build not cheap to run.

god i sound like a tree hugger!

[aaron]

Check your'e loft insulation isn't pushed tight up against the roof felt, as this will stop the flow of air into your roof space via the eves and make your loft sweat. You could also try fitting vent tiles in your roof or putting some extra vents in your soffit board, this will help the circulate around your loft. 

[thediscodude]

not sure if any help but ours was the same, weve just put an air circulation (eco-ventalation) thing in the loft, looks like something out of a spaceship lol cost around

[T30CDB]

As mentioned before houses need to breath. Look on the out side of your house for air bricks at roughly 2 metres above the the ground and in the brick work below your roof. If their are none consider having some put in the brickwork . These should be lined through the cavity and have open and closable vents on the inside. Depending on what style windows you have consider having trickle vents installed by a window firm. these again have open and closable vents. If your roof is dripping wet this shows that heat is getting through your insulation and condensing on the back of the roof felt. Check if you have vents in the soffit of your roof under the gutter. If you do check that the air flow in and out of these through your roof space is not blocked by the insulation in your loft. Installing a dehumidifier will help to remove the condensation cost a lot of money but wont help rectify the problem that you are still creating condensation through poor ventilation

[muddyjames]

I did an experiment last night and left the bedroom door open and this morning I had bone dry windows.

Strange how heat is getting through my insulation but I guess under the floor boards which are about a 3rd of my loft space the insulation is only rafter thick. Me thinks I may need to take the floor up at some point and lay more joists over the top to increase the thickness and also check the insulation again at the join from the roof to walls.