Conference Call on Internal Moisture and Ventilation – 2 Dec

[Sally Blackwell]

Hi guys

 

I’m really pleased to let you know that we are going to be holding a Hub conference call focussed on Moisture Management on 2 December at 9:30am.

 

You’re all invited to attend, but places are limited by the number we can fit on Skype, so please let me know if you’d like to attend ASAP.

 

The purpose of the call is to:

 

·       Provide an opportunity for peer learning through the Hub on this important (and sometimes vexed) issue, and

 

·       Capture practitioners’ needs and knowledge/experience/insights on this issue to help us develop a decision framework for advisors dealing with Moisture Management,

 

Lois Easton from Beacon Pathway will be on the call and we may rustle up some other experts to be part of the conversation too.

 

We’d really like to hear from you about this so we can develop something useful. Ahead of the call please have a think about the questions below (and feel free to post responses here too – that will help us prepare for the call).

 

1.     What are the biggest challenges you face when dealing with with moisture management problems with a client,

 

2.     How do you approach the problem and what are the gaps in knowledge and resources available to advisors, and

 

3.     What is the most useful thing we could produce for advisors, drawing on the collective knowledge in the Hub (and given our limited budget and resources!)

 

Hope to speak to many of you on the 2^nd.

 

Please RSVP to me directly

Sally

 

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[Jo Wills]

This was a recent post on the CEN forum in response to the question below, I thought it was relevant in light of the first Hub conference call coming up 2nd Dec:

‘There is a lot of condensation in my house – the window sills are covered in water every morning. How can I get rid of it?’

Richard, November 20th, 2013 on 2:30 pm
We have waged a similar battle against internal moisture and window condensation since buying a 1960s Rotorua bungalow in 2007. Previously had geothermally heated wall radiators and in common with other houses of its generation, had no underfloor or wall insulation, nor a ground vapour barrier. In winter condensation puddles on the window sills would overflow onto the floor, and I recently discovered rot in the sills and frames of a number of windows. We installed underfloor insulation, wall-insulated 2 bedrooms, upped the ceiling insulation, installed a heat pump for better space heating, and draught-stopped the doors and windows. All this made the house warmer, but the condensation remained in spite of us diligently opening windows, isolating bathroom moisture, and drying windows each morning with a scraper – through a series of drier/wetter/colder/milder winters.

Finally last summer I got around to installing a PVC sheet moisture barrier under the house. This winter the window condensation was considerably reduced – less effort to dry in the mornings, and the sill puddles were greatly reduced in size. In retrospect I would have tackled the ground moisture barrier first: it would also have made installing the underfloor insulation a more pleasant task!

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[Vicki Cowan]

Hi Jo

Good post

I think that that highlights the issue for many houses that often there is a “tipping point” beyond which condensation is a real problem and that if you can eliminate moisture sources you can “tip back” the house to where it is minor or not a problem.

So, as was outlined in the training – and in the manual, there is a hierarchy of dealing with moisture problems – and getting rid of moisture sources should always be the first.  People really underestimate how much moisture comes off even an apparently dry underfloor.  I’ve rarely seen a house that I wouldn’t recommend a ground vapour barrier as being a priority intervention – pole houses being pretty much the exception.  When you add up the sources of moisture in an average house, the ground can often be contributing 30-50% – a big whack.

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[Paul Hansen]

Hi People, there would be a few things I would like to know the answers to from Richards 1960’s Rotorua bungalow in relation to its construction.

What is the roof cladding?
Is there a roof underlay membrane (between roof and trusses/rafters)?
Does it have a wall cavity between cladding and framing?
Are there down lights in the house?

So where is Richard, can he answer these questions.

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[Jo Wills]

Hi Paul
the post came through the CEN forum so I do have his email if you would like me to contact him directly however the initial question didn’t come from him, he just responded to that question on the forum. Hope that makes sense, sorry to have caused confusion.

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[Sally Blackwell]

Hi guys – thanks for these comments.

A remind to anyone who wants to participate in the call to contact me. I will post details of how to connect to the call later this week.

Also see my original post. Any thoughts/comments please add them here.

Cheers

Sally

 

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[Gleb Speranski]

Hi all,

I agree with Lois- the only house (apart from a poll house) that does not require a ground vapour barrier is the one that already got it. 🙂

However, Rotorua presents some additional challenges due to a higher vapour content in the porous pumice soil. I can only guess that geothermal activity in the ground may cause some immense vapour transport into houses above. My idea of a custom designed floor system for such areas would have a totally impermeable membrane (preferably rigid) to the bottom of floor joists. Subsequently, the subfloor area would have to be exposed to provide as much ventilation to it as possible.

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[Sally Blackwell]

Lucky Last opportunity…. If you’d like to be part of a conference call with other Hub practitioners to talk through issues related to internal moisture and ventilation in houses please let me know. We will be talking on Skype at 9:30am on Monday 2nd December. Please email me before midday tomorrow if you would like to be participate in what will no doubt be an interesting discussion with a bunch of knowledgeable and passionate people!

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