Damp Problem; Advice needed...quickly!

With all of the torrential rain we have been experiencing, a hitherto un-noticed problem has come to light with our old village property.

The front wall of the house is of typical Spanish construction and faces the prevailing weather. Also our would be Brit. builder was supposed to have installed guttering for the roof as part of the renovation. However, his employees, sub contracted and also Brits, decided to install the upstairs air con unit so high up that it became impossible to install the guttering. It was one of the points of disillusionment that ultimately led to the row that resulted in our builder walking off the job, never to be seen again. The last three winters have been relatively cold and dry whereas this winter has been very wet.

The outcome is that the upstairs bedroom wall that faces out onto the street is extremely wet (it's only one brick thick) and we now have a serious damp problem with odd specks of black mould appearing. Clearly this is not a healthy environment.

We have a similar problem with the living room front wall but it's not quite so serious; it's two bricks thick faced with white cement

Obviously our first action must be to dry the walls out and to this end I propose buying a couple of Econoheat panels and fixing them to the affected walls.

Next action must be to get in touch with our local Spanish builder and get him to drop the aircon unit sufficiently to allow some guttering to be fitted along the roof line.

Thirdly and this is where you guys come in, short of drylining the walls concerned, is there any sort of preparation I can apply to the affected wall to make it damproof or prevent the damp from breaking through into the bedroom and living room in the future? I was thinking along the lines of a silicone based paint but frankly I wouldn't know what to ask for at my local Ferretaria or AKI / Brico Depot. In any case I cant  do anything until I can get the affected walls dry.

All of the other houses in the street have exterior decorative ceramic tiles on the outside wall, presumably this is a dual purpose solution to the damp problem we all experience to some degree. Ceramic tiles being non-porous would allow rain water to run off rather than soak through the walls.

This is all a bit like closing the stable door after the horse (or builder!) has bolted, but we desperately need an early summer...and a return to high temperatures.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. I'm off to AKI manana to buy the Econoheat panels...

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Hi Foxbat

I was reading about mould problems a couple of days ago here

Read (especially) the post by Cinuelica Sun Feb 14, 2010 11:15 am

More Hi,

Good to hear from you again!

Thanks for the link, have added to my AKI shopping list.

Going to have an expensive couple of days electrically with two new panel heaters mounted side by side and we'll give the aircon a bit of a work out.

Just realised that most of the problem isnt so much penetrative damp from the rain but condensation from not being able to have the window open because of all the rain we've been having.

Also found this product which might well prove useful to us (and maybe a few others I shouldnt wonder).Initial outlay is a bit high but once installed, as they say it's 'fit and forget'  A Brit that has a holiday home in the village has had one installed and seems well pleased with the results

If anyone else has any suggestions for a good external waterproofing compound or paint I'd be glad to hear from them.

Thanks again More...

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 http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/costaluz/3031/legal-tip-238-building-defects-part-iv-compulsory-insurances-for-building-defects.aspx

http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/costaluz/3006/legal-tip-237-warranty-period-and-claims-deadline-for-building-defects.aspx

Legal tip 238. Building defects Part IV. Compulsory Insurances for building defects 
23 February 2010 @ 07:38 

The system of guarantees for the building work is regulated in Article 19 of the General Building Act.  They are legally compulsory for the developer finisihing a development.

For one year:

Property damage or liability insurance to guarantee, for a year, compensation for material damage arising from construction defects affecting elements of termination or completion of the building,which may be substituted for the retention  of a 5% the amount of execution of the work. The insured sum insured will be of  5% of the final cost of the work, including professional fees.

 

For three years:

Property damage or liability insurance to guarantee, for three years, compensation for material damage due to defects or vices which affect the habitability of the building. The  insured sum is of  30% of the final cost of the work, including professional fees. 

For ten years:

Property damage or liability insurance to guarantee, for ten years, compensation for material damage from construction defects or defects that affect the foundation, supports, beams, floors, walls or other load-related  or building elements related to structural stability. The insured sum will be of 100% of the final cost of works, including professional fees. 

No public deed of new work will enter the Land Registry if it does not prove the constitution of the above guarantees (Art. 20 of the General Building Act).

 

 

Barcelona beach by alobos iphotos at Flickr.com

We had a similar problem where we live and I remedied the issue by purchasing a product from LeRoy Merlin (although I suspect the product can be bought in any decent hardware store).  The product is also by SISTA and is a clear liquid.  The tin has a product code called RUBSON IN2210 and states that it is "Invisible impermeablizante fachadas y tejados".  It can be applied by spraying / brushing into the exterior brickwork and it does what it says on the tin.  Very good for deterring penetrating rain.  I suppose its very similar to the "Thompsons" stuff that one can purchase in B&Q in the UK.

Good luck.

I've used 'pintura anti humedad' made by 'Jafep'. It's an impermeable coating that sticks well to the walls and prevents the ingress of moisture. Best with more than one coat but it does dry quickly. One thing you could do before using any of these specialist products is to buy some 'cola blanca'  (It's a 'pegamento' glue here, same as  english woodworking glue ) comes in 1kg. tubs mainly. Mixing the whole tub with 5 litres of water creates a stabilising solution that prevents moisture penetration. roller it on & keep mixing as it has a tendency to settle out. Takes a while to dry but does an excellent job & it's cheap. Then if you go over the whole lot with antihumedad the problem should be solved for many years.

Hi All,

The use of a moisture deterrant is ok if the walls to be protected are in a dry and stable condition,but the problems you could have is, by using these products you can then seal moisture content within the walls so it is usefull if you can dry the walls out with a humidifier before hand, not easy with this weather but in the long run will be benificial.As for the black spots clean with a good neat bleach to kill bacteria and it should not come back.

I would get some dehumidifiers we have a damp room and are taking 2 gallons of water out a day at the moment.

Hi Cazzy do you know any good dehumidifiers? We need something to collect the water too, we have lots of condensation in our property especially this winter. It has now resulted in mould in the lounge and our bedroom. We have had mould in the spare bedroom for the last 2 years, but the builder sorted it and it hasn't come back in that room. It is because that room is always cold and unused and now we have moved to the other bedroom the problem has started again!

Thankyou Morerosado, I have written that product down and will give it a go.

Foxbat I hope you get your problem sorted, I agree it is due to condensation more than damp/rot. As you cannot keep opening the doors/windows when it is cold/raining outside. We never have problems in the summer, its every winter! 

Thanks all

IF you can get THIS dehumidifier in Spain EBAC2650e I would recommend you do. We have had one in our conservatory here in the UK for years. It actually covers up to four bedrooms I understand. It is SUPERB! You would not BELIEVE the amount of water it initially extracted then it removes when necessary & you just empty the container periodically when the red light comes on & it stops. There's a facility to run a hose to a drain (like a shower base ?) so, you can leave it running when you, if a non resident, returnsto the UK or wherever.

Morerosado

Where did you buy it from? Thanks for the product code. We live here so I wouldn't have to worry about the hose. I can keep checking it.

Regards

I bought it from Ebac, I gave you the link in blue in my post, I realise you may not realise it is a direct link, just click on blue  here EBAC2650e

Check out http://www.ebacdirect.com/pdf/2000uknew.pdf
 

Hi

No I didn't realise it's a direct link, I will try to purchase one online.

Regards

To everyone who has replied directly through this thread, and to Jaqui and JPD for the p.m's

Thank you all so much for the suggestions.

I've bought the gunk suggested by Morerosado and a couple of the Econoheat wall heaters; they should hopefully dry the bedroom wall out pretty quickly, especially since I've got the aircon running now on its de-humifify setting...

If there is a moral here I suppose it has to be don't shift wardrobes...you never know what lurking behind them...lol!

Thanks again folks!

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Morerosado...

Bano-Sano Anti Moho...brilliant stuff...tried it on the bedroom wall; mould all gone.

One teeny weenie problem; being bleach based, the area treated is now a wonderful snow white just as it was when originally painted.

Someone once told me that the three best things in life are a drink before and a smoke after...looks like I'm going to have to redecorate...or maybe put the wardrobe back where it was...

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Beware sealing the outside, as said in earlier post, as that will trap the moisture in. Then the only way it can get out of the wall is into the room.  Bad if its rising damp or coming down through the wall from above. Also the seal is bound to crack or peel off the wall eventually and so rainwater will get behind it.  Better to treat the inside of the walls.If condensation is the problem, its because the wall is cold with poor insulation and, as you say, poor ventilation.

1. Try putting gutters and downpipe on the outside, which will keep the roof water off the wall and away from the base of the wall.

2. DONT use free standing gas heaters. They create gallons of water which goes into the air and will cause condensation and mould.

3. Try and ventlate the room for some time of the day, even for a few minutes - consider putting in permanent vents.

4. Keep the ouside of the walls well painted and that will throw off most of the moisture.

5. Decorate the inside walls with some form of insulating wall paper to stop it being so cold.

6. If its really bad, consider building a second internal wall with insulation between it and the outside one.

7. Make sure there is a good damp-proof course to stop rising damp.

Hi All,

I had major problems with damp and mould in my ground floor apartment for many years and this will be our third year damp/mould free.

We had the mould killed with a bleach solution, painted the walls with an anti-fungicide treatment and then painted them with a pourous paint. Do not use any plastic paint etc as it just bubbles and lifts off the wall.

We now always leave a dehumidifier (Delonghi) on whilst we are away draining into the shower tray, The dehumidifier was purchased from Worten/Boulanger.

Ensure that the dehumidifier is a model with a humidistat, this detects the level of humidity and turns on and off as the humidity levels increase or decrease.

If I was buying a dehumidifier now I would buy a model with a pump built in so that the water was pumped from the machine into the shower tray. My dehumidifer drains only by gravity and if the fall on the drain pipe is not correct, the water collects into the tank and turns itself off when the tank is full.

In reagrds to the compulsory guarantee from the developers, would anybody know who is responsible for holding this? We look after houses on a few developments that are all suffering the same damp problem (caused by building defects), owners are asking us to help, but if developers have 'dissapeared' where could we get hold of this guarantee?

Many Thanks

 HI Foxbat, re your damp problem.

I had a specialist exterior wall treatment business in the uk for many years.In fact tried to kick it off out here but have to say most

clients reluctant to pay the prices. The base material is about 6 times more expensive than rubbish spanish paint

The 2 key products were; Vapour permeable paint ( it breathes, doesnt flake and blister and you can apply it to wet surfaces)

2) A transparent waterproofer. Its a chemical compound based on  aluminium oxide but don't use silicone as it globulises like mercury ( ie pools together and forms pockets of high and low coverage)

First ting you need to do is dry it out, then clean it with Sodium Hoperchloride ( old formula Domestos)

then go for your transparent waterproofer.You cant readily get it in Spain so I have imported it from time to time 

Where are you Foxbat . . If youre anyway Mijas way CDS, I,ll gladly try and help you with a bit of advice.

Andy Harris

 HI Foxbat, re your damp problem.

I had a specialist exterior wall treatment business in the uk for many years.In fact tried to kick it off out here but have to say most

clients reluctant to pay the prices. The base material is about 6 times more expensive than rubbish spanish paint

The 2 key products were; Vapour permeable paint ( it breathes, doesnt flake and blister and you can apply it to wet surfaces)

2) A transparent waterproofer. Its a chemical compound based on  aluminium oxide but don't use silicone as it globulises like mercury ( ie pools together and forms pockets of high and low coverage)

First ting you need to do is dry it out, then clean it with Sodium Hoperchloride ( old formula Domestos)

then go for your transparent waterproofer.You cant readily get it in Spain so I have imported it from time to time 

Where are you Foxbat . . If youre anyway Mijas way CDS, I,ll gladly try and help you with a bit of advice.

Andy Harris