Condensation on Walls

by AtlantisDamp | Sep 21, 2020

Do I have condensation on my walls?

Most of us will have seen condensation appear on windows or glass after an activity like showering or cooking that releases a lot of moisture into the air. However, when condensation then starts to appear on the walls this can be an sign that it has developed from a nuisance into a problem.

If you begin to notice the appearance of damp patches on walls or wallpaper beginning to peel from the wall, this could be a sign of condensation on your walls. This can sometimes be accompanied by an unpleasant damp, musty smell around the room. If left untreated, condensation on your walls can create a perfect environment for various types of mould to begin to germinate. It is recommended that if you see black mould beginning to form on your walls then you should take action.

Why is condensation on my walls?

Condensation can appear on any wall in your property if the air ventilation in the building is not adequate enough. Warm humid air is created through everyday activities such as cooking and bathing. This warm air is then trapped in the atmosphere and ends up finding its way onto the walls and wallpaper. It releases water droplets that can ultimately damage paint, plaster or wallpaper and lead to potential health hazards.

Ventilation of your property is key to preventing condensation in the property and making its way onto your walls.

As we’ve explained, condensation occurs when conditions are humid. A build up of excessive humidity and moisture is exacerbated by a lack of air ventilation in the building.

Modern living standards, such as double glazing and insulation, can also exacerbate the problem as moisture laden air can not escape your home. They may keep us warm, but they can also seal humid, damp air inside a property. Ventilating your home provides a way for the moisture in the air to escape from your home.

What is Condensation?

Condensation is the change of water from its gaseous form (water vapor) into liquid water.

It mostly occurs in the atmosphere when warm air rises, cools, and loses its capacity to hold water vapour, therefore releasing it into the atmosphere.

It usually appears in the home as droplets of water on the inside of windows or on walls after, for example, you’ve had a hot shower, boiled the kettle or been cooking.

The reason this happens is that warm air, which is full of moisture, comes into contact with a wall or window that is colder. Because the warm air is unable to retain the same amount of moisture, the water is released onto the cold surface.

This can also happen when warm and cold air meet, causing condensation which is visibly formed (think of the puff of cloudy breath that forms when you exhale in freezing temperatures).

Sometimes condensation can be more easily dealt with by removing the sources of moisture or through ventilating the property. However, if it is forming regularly it can develop into damp problems such as black mould, which is a health hazard.

The signs of condensation will usually worsen during cold weather and when you have the heating on in your home and windows closed, whereas other types of damp tend to worsen during wet weather and heavy rainfall.

Six causes of condensation appearing on your wall

Boiling a kettle
Cooking
Taking a hot shower or bath
Washing or drying laundry
Using an unvented tumble dryer
Heating like paraffin and gas heaters

You’ll notice if you’re doing the washing, taking a shower, or making a cup of tea, that the atmosphere may become more humid.

That is because moisture is being released into the home.

However, as the room air temperature drops, the ability for air to hold moisture reduces.

At this point, the air becomes too saturated, leading to water droplets (condensation) forming on cold surfaces, including the wall and ceilings of your home. This is why you will be more likely to see mould forming on cold external walls. It can also commonly occur at the wall to ceiling junction where insulation isn’t present in the roof space

Problems caused by condensation

If you have problems caused by recurring condensation, you’ll eventually know about them as the signs are pretty easy to spot.

They can include:

Damp walls and peeling wallpaper
Water droplets on windows or walls
Black mould on walls, soft furnishings, bathroom tiles and window sills
Decaying wooden window frames, particularly stained and wet corners
Musty smells
Mildew on furnishings
Water droplets on felt and timber in the loft, possibly leading to rot

Can condensation make you ill?

Condensation in itself is harmless, but if left untreated over a period it can cause the kind of damp problems that will have serious consequences on health.

Issues such as damp, moisture and mould are said to not only trigger asthma, but may also cause other respiratory problems such as allergies, bronchitis and even lung disease.

This happens after mould spores enter your nose, which can cause allergy symptoms such as sneezing and coughing.

If they enter your lungs, it can trigger asthma.

Some people may develop a more serious illness known as allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis – this is when someone has both an allergic and inflammatory response to mould spores. The symptoms are similar to that of asthma including wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath.

How can I improve my home’s ventilation to prevent condensation on my wall?

In some cases, this can be by simply opening a window.

However, there are instances where this may not be enough to resolve the issue.

In that case, advice should be sought from specialists to find out where the root of the problem lies and how the ventilation of your home can be improved.

Opening windows

Often, simply leaving the windows ajar in the rooms where condensation is a problem can help the humid air to escape and prevent condensation from causing damage.

If you don’t want to leave the windows open all the time, try opening them when you’re performing activities that produce a lot of water vapour, like boiling the kettle, showering, or cooking.

When performing these activities, remember to also close the doors to the rest of the house to prevent the humid air from escaping and spreading around your home.

Ventilation systems

If opening windows isn’t enough, or you’re looking for a much more permanent solution to your condensation problem, get in touch with our team of experts here at Atlantis to find out more about our cost-effective ventilation systems.

Just some of the ventilation solutions that may help to rid your property of condensation include:

Air bricks – Bricks with holes through them which are installed in outside walls to improve ventilation.
Extractor fans – Typically installed in the bathroom and kitchen. Extractor fans are turned on when cooking or showering to remove the steam and humidity from the air.
Sleeved wall vents – vents in the wall that improve airflow to ventilate the property with little or no heat loss.
Window vents – Vents that are added at the top of window frames to improve ventilation and reduce condensation.
Positive Input Ventilation systems – this whole house solution utilised the positive pressure in your roof space, to fore humidity from your home before condensation has time to form.

If you need help resolving a condensation problem in your property, you can give our experts a call on 0800 0988 277.

Y is for… Years of Expert Experience

by AtlantisDamp | Mar 1, 2019

In this episode of the A-Z of Atlantis Damp Proofing, Y is for … Years of Expert Experience

Why should you use Atlantis for all your remedial treatment needs?

When you get in contact with us, you know you’re dealing with the best. We are proud to soon to be entering our 10th year as a family-run business supporting Cheshire based clients. Our expert, extensive, experience helps us to offer you the honest advice that you deserve. (more…)

B is for… Builders Beware

by AtlantisDamp | Sep 24, 2020

In this episode of The A-Z of Damp from Atlantis Damp & Timber Proofing Specialists, B is for…..Builders Beware.

Our Property Survey

Atlantis Damp Proofing recently sent our expert surveyor to survey a local property near Knutsford, Cheshire. The property was a beautifully renovated cottage, which had obviously had a lot of investment put into it. Unfortunately, there were signs of decorative spoiling on the walls, suggesting that a damp issue was present. (more…)

Do I Need A Wall Tie Survey?

by AtlantisDamp | Jan 18, 2021

If you are looking to buy a new home, you might come across a recommendation that you need a wall tie surveys and be left wondering what it actually means. This is also something that might need to be considered when selling a property or if you are living in a house that is built after 1920’s. This is when cavity wall construction became more prevalent in the UK. If you aren’t sure what any of this means, then you have come to the right place. We will explain everything that you need to know about wall tie surveys here in this article to give you a better understanding of what it is all about.

When the walls of a house start to age, there can be complications that may arise due to damaged structures or those that need updating. This is to make sure that everything is safe and that nothing bad is going to happen. Often when looking at the walls of an older property, a wall tie survey will be carried out, and this will tell you whether or not your wall ties need replacing. To find out more about wall ties and surveys, just keep reading.

What is a Wall Tie?

A wall tie is actually the part that ties the two leaves of masonry together within a cavity wall. It will also allow them to move independently and to be able to transmit live and static loads across the structure without unpredictable movement. The wall ties that are used in this instance are a vital part of the structure that helps to keep it safe. Wall ties are not often picked up during home buyer surveys, and this is because they are typically quite expensive to repair, which will only add to the overall costs.

Wall ties being installed by Altantis Northwich Cheshire

What is a Wall Tie Survey?

A wall tie survey is a specialist survey that will be carried out by a trained survey specialist that has experience with wall tie surveys. They will be the one that assesses whether or not the wall ties are still doing an efficient job within the structure and if they need to be replaced or not. The wall ties need to be adequately tying the two leaves of masonry together, and if they aren’t, then they need to be worked on.

Throughout a wall tie survey, the surveyor will be looking at the grade of corrosion to find out if any action needs to be taken. They will determine the severity of the condition of the structure of the wall and decide what needs to be done about it.

They may find that the wall ties need to be replaced in some cases, and in others, they might not. This is a visual inspection that may require more surveying if the wall ties are not functioning as they should. If this is the case, then another type of inspection will be followed. This is to further assess the condition of the structure itself. If the wall ties are found to be inadequate, or they have started to break down, then it is likely that a replacement will be recommended.

Types of Wall Tie Surveys

There are two different types of surveys that can take place during a wall tie survey. These two types of surveys are intrusive and non-intrusive wall tie surveys. Typically, the surveyor will begin a non-intrusive survey if they can see inside the cavity using a thermal camera or endoscope. They will then be able to locate the wall ties and assess the condition of them.

An intrusive survey is typically carried out when either the cavity cannot be exposed, meaning that the wall ties cannot be inspected, or the wall ties are found to be inefficient during the first survey. This is usually necessary when the wall ties are covered or not visible using the proposed methods. This type of survey will require that the bricks be removed from the wall in order to expose the wall tie. This will allow for a visual inspection to be carried out thoroughly.

In both of these surveys, each panel will be inspected, allowing the surveyor to locate all of the ties within the wall. They will be able to look at them and determine whether or not they need to be replaced.

Do I Need a Wall Tie Survey?

You might find that you need a wall tie survey when you are buying a new house, especially if it was built a long time ago. This is to ensure that everything is safe and structurally sound. In older houses, certain types of metal ties are more susceptible to rust and will start to degrade, which causes them to no longer be able to do their job properly. More often than not, the survey is nothing more than a precautionary measure that is in place to double-check that everything is safe and secure. However, in some circumstances, there may be defects that could cause a problem. This would mean that the wall ties would need to be replaced. The survey itself shouldn’t take any longer than around an hour.

What if My Wall Tiles Need to be Replaced?

There are a variety of reasons why your wall ties might need to be replaced, but it is commonly due to them being badly placed when they were first put in. It is not unheard of them to have been misplaced, causing them to become inadequate over time. If you are living in a coastal area, you are more likely to need to have your wall ties replaced. This is due to the fact that in coastal areas, the corrosion of the wall ties is more likely, and therefore is more important to be inspected.

The failure of wall ties, which can leave structures unsafe and at a high risk of collapsing. For these things to be avoided, inspection is necessary. If you are told that your wall ties are not correctly doing their job, then they will need to be replaced. You should only ever go to a reliable professional if you need to get your wall ties replaced.

Contact Us

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want/need a wall tie survey. Sometimes it’s obvious your cavity wall ties need replacing, but sometimes it’s best just to get a professional’s opinion for peace of mind.

C is for…… Condensation