ᐅ Is Using a Construction Dryer Useful After Handover, or Is Window Ventilation Enough?

Hello everyone,

We are considering investing some money in purchasing a construction dryer. For us, the building handover is already complete. The person who conducted the blower door test mentioned that there is still a lot of moisture in the house. You can also notice it when entering the house or ventilating thoroughly.

We are wondering if a construction dryer is still useful when the painting work is already fully finished? Or is it counterproductive because the paint might lose moisture or something like that?

Or is ventilation alone enough? Regarding ventilation, we take turns with my parents-in-law since we basically travel between three locations. One day I go early before work and ventilate all open windows for 15 minutes. Then in the evening, the same again for 15 minutes. The next day, my parents-in-law ventilate once for 15 minutes. The following day, I do it again, and so on. On weekends, we ventilate more frequently when we are there, about 3 to 4 times.

Or does a combination of both bring the best results?

Thank you very much for your help.

After painting, the air is always a bit more humid. But I have never heard of anyone setting up a dehumidifier just because of that.

The paints are designed to lose their water content. They are mostly acrylic dispersions; the water acts as a solvent, and once dried, only the acrylic resin remains.
If you haven’t moved in yet... after painting, we borrowed two professional drying machines from the building supplier for seven days before moving in, which really made a difference. We felt like we were moving into a relatively dry house. Of course, there is still some moisture inside, but it’s not a serious issue anymore. However, drying cracks caused by shrinkage can never be completely avoided. Karsten

Moisture will be an issue during the first year, even if you don’t notice it. In the past, buildings were left to dry naturally for about six months or were lived in while dry (not earlier 😉 ).
That’s also why floors can settle by up to one centimeter (0.4 inches).
But why buy a dehumidifier? Rent a good one for 3-4 days, that’s enough.

ypg schrieb:
Moisture will be an issue throughout the first year, even if you don’t notice it. In the past, builders would let the construction dry naturally for six months or live in a dry space (not earlier 😉 ).
That’s also why the floor can settle by up to one centimeter (0.4 inches).
But why buy a dehumidifier? Rent a good one for 3-4 days, that’s enough.

You think 3-4 days is enough? Before the handover, several dehumidifiers were running, and it wasn’t just for a few days. I can’t say exactly, but I estimate they were operating for around two weeks. The underfloor heating has actually been on even longer. Yet, the guy doing the blower door test said there was still a lot of moisture inside.

Well, I was considering buying one because in the end, it costs about the same. If I rent another one for 2-3 weeks, with pickup or delivery, it comes out to roughly the same price as buying one for about 350 EUR.

How does this affect the floor when there’s still so much moisture in the house? Can I already start installing the flooring (vinyl click system)? Or is that not really relevant regarding the moisture inside? Hope you understand what I mean 🙂

And one more thing about settling: does the floor settle evenly, or does it sink more in some places than others? Will I end up with an uneven floor?

Nordlys schrieb:
The paints are supposed to lose their water content. They are mostly acrylic dispersions; the water acts only as a solvent, and once dried, only the acrylic resin remains.
If you haven’t moved in yet... after painting, we borrowed two professional dehumidifiers from the building supplier for seven days, and that really made a difference. We had the impression of moving into a relatively dry house. Of course, there is still some moisture inside, but it’s no longer a big issue. Drying cracks due to shrinkage can never be completely avoided, though. Karsten

Thanks, Karsten. That helped me a lot. So it seems using a dehumidifier afterwards is definitely doable.
But does that also apply to vinyl flooring? Or can it still warp or buckle, causing the vinyl to lift or deform?
The click-lock vinyl doesn’t have those wood-based underlay panels inside.

My questions might seem a bit odd, but they mainly come from my wife, who has made me a bit uncertain about it 🙁