ᐅ Excess Moisture in a Single-Family Home After Installing the Screed? Risk of Mold?
Created on: 1 Jan 2022 18:33
D
Der_Hansi1968
Hello dear forum members,
On December 13th/14th, the screed was installed in our detached house/KfW55/controlled ventilation/gas heating/1.5 stories/185sqm (1990 sqft). We have been ventilating as instructed until today. When I took a closer look today, I unfortunately noticed that
- there are water droplets on the ceiling of the ground floor at some spots,
- some wooden rafters are slowly absorbing moisture again,
- quite a few already dry wall surfaces appear wet or damp again, and
- the foil in the upper floor/attic is damp in most places.
The hygrometer has shown humidity levels between 85-95% in recent days, especially higher in the attic, of course.
On January 10th, the gas heating will be connected to start drying the screed. So far, we have not used any construction dryers or similar equipment.
Questions:
1.) Is this amount of moisture in the house normal at this stage of construction and at this time of year?
2.) If not, in your opinion, is there already a risk of mold? Or is it more likely that after the heating phase by the end of January everything will dry out and be resolved?
3.) Would you recommend setting up construction dryers temporarily as an additional measure?
I am a layperson and have no idea if this is "normal" or if we are heading toward a serious mold problem. My builder won’t be back from vacation until next week, and I want to be prepared with your assessments/comments. Otherwise, all the moisture might be sealed behind drywall quickly, and we could face big problems later. Attached are some photos. By the way, my builder is really great and very cooperative, but as mentioned not currently available.
Thank you for your input and Happy New Year 2022!
On December 13th/14th, the screed was installed in our detached house/KfW55/controlled ventilation/gas heating/1.5 stories/185sqm (1990 sqft). We have been ventilating as instructed until today. When I took a closer look today, I unfortunately noticed that
- there are water droplets on the ceiling of the ground floor at some spots,
- some wooden rafters are slowly absorbing moisture again,
- quite a few already dry wall surfaces appear wet or damp again, and
- the foil in the upper floor/attic is damp in most places.
The hygrometer has shown humidity levels between 85-95% in recent days, especially higher in the attic, of course.
On January 10th, the gas heating will be connected to start drying the screed. So far, we have not used any construction dryers or similar equipment.
Questions:
1.) Is this amount of moisture in the house normal at this stage of construction and at this time of year?
2.) If not, in your opinion, is there already a risk of mold? Or is it more likely that after the heating phase by the end of January everything will dry out and be resolved?
3.) Would you recommend setting up construction dryers temporarily as an additional measure?
I am a layperson and have no idea if this is "normal" or if we are heading toward a serious mold problem. My builder won’t be back from vacation until next week, and I want to be prepared with your assessments/comments. Otherwise, all the moisture might be sealed behind drywall quickly, and we could face big problems later. Attached are some photos. By the way, my builder is really great and very cooperative, but as mentioned not currently available.
Thank you for your input and Happy New Year 2022!
Prager91 schrieb:
We are exactly at this point!
Honestly: What is the easiest and best way to clean the ceilings? Constantly climbing the ladder and drying with towels... I end up spending 45 minutes every day on this 😀
Does anyone have tips/tricks for the "tropical screed drying period"? xDYes, air out cross-ventilation three times a day for 15 minutes each and use a proper construction dryerPrager91 schrieb:
Does it make sense at the current temperatures (light sunshine with about 10°C (50°F) outside temperature) to keep the windows open for 3-4 hours around midday while the underfloor heating is working hard? Sure, a lot of energy is lost this way, but it really helps to dry out the building!
Better to spend an extra 100-200€ on drying than to have issues with moisture.
TmMike_2 schrieb:
Sure, a lot of energy is lost, but it really dries the building out!
Better to spend an extra 100-200€ on drying than to have moisture problems.We completely agree – that’s why we also left the building open today with the great weather.
We will definitely do this more often after lunch breaks when the weather is this good – it surely helps the drying process.
Thanks for your reply!
TmMike_2 schrieb:
You can quickly get two inexpensive hygrometers on Amazon. Then you can clearly see what’s happening inside the building and get a feel for it.We have been using them constantly since the beginning of the drying phase. You can clearly see that even after 10 minutes, the humidity drops from 99% to 65%.
However, as someone without a physics background, I have no idea whether it makes sense to keep it open longer, since the necessary air exchange may already have taken place. But I think that with suitable weather, it is certainly beneficial.