Hello,
we have discovered that our attic is damp and there is some light mold growing on the wood.
Our house was plastered in December and the screed was installed in early January.
We have an uninsulated roof; the insulation will be installed on the concrete ceiling.
So far, only the insulation along the outer edge has been laid because the roof is so flat that there is no other way to access it. The rest of the insulation is still packaged and lying in the attic.
The hatch to the attic has not been installed yet.
As a result, all the moisture has risen upwards and settled inside on the roof structure and the vapor barrier.
Now the vapor barrier is damp in some areas and some light mold has formed on the wood.
The insulation at the edge is partially damp as well.
What would you do now?
Is it enough to remove the mold (if yes, how) and then let everything dry?
Does the damp insulation need to be replaced?
What about the attic hatch? If we install it now, the moisture will be trapped inside. But if we leave it open, the moisture will continue to rise upwards.
And how can I best ventilate to get rid of the moisture? The heating is not finished yet but should be operational by midweek at the latest.
It would be great if someone could share some advice with us.
In hindsight, it was obviously a mistake to leave the hatch open to the attic. Unfortunately, due to personal issues (illness, surgery, etc.), things have been quite chaotic over the past few weeks...
we have discovered that our attic is damp and there is some light mold growing on the wood.
Our house was plastered in December and the screed was installed in early January.
We have an uninsulated roof; the insulation will be installed on the concrete ceiling.
So far, only the insulation along the outer edge has been laid because the roof is so flat that there is no other way to access it. The rest of the insulation is still packaged and lying in the attic.
The hatch to the attic has not been installed yet.
As a result, all the moisture has risen upwards and settled inside on the roof structure and the vapor barrier.
Now the vapor barrier is damp in some areas and some light mold has formed on the wood.
The insulation at the edge is partially damp as well.
What would you do now?
Is it enough to remove the mold (if yes, how) and then let everything dry?
Does the damp insulation need to be replaced?
What about the attic hatch? If we install it now, the moisture will be trapped inside. But if we leave it open, the moisture will continue to rise upwards.
And how can I best ventilate to get rid of the moisture? The heating is not finished yet but should be operational by midweek at the latest.
It would be great if someone could share some advice with us.
In hindsight, it was obviously a mistake to leave the hatch open to the attic. Unfortunately, due to personal issues (illness, surgery, etc.), things have been quite chaotic over the past few weeks...
D
DragonyxXL30 Jan 2017 16:12Why is the moisture in the attic no longer dissipating? Aren't there any ventilation strips or something like that?
B
Bieber081530 Jan 2017 16:38Lile08 schrieb:
What would you do now? 1. Address the root cause,
2. Repair.
(This may sound obvious, but having a clear structure always helps ...).
Lile08 schrieb:
Does the damp insulation need to be replaced? If in doubt, yes; first consult the manufacturer (read the data sheet, then contact technical support).Lile08 schrieb:
What about the roof hatch now? If we install it now, the moisture will be trapped inside. But if we leave it open, the moisture will continue to rise. Close the roof hatch (to stop new moisture from entering), then ventilate/dry the roof by temporarily removing some tiles (pay attention to the weather). This is a rough suggestion without knowledge of the actual situation on site.Additionally: Are you building on your own, working with an architect in separate contracts, or is there a general contractor? Depending on this, further advice might be possible.
Thanks in advance!
We are building on our own. The architect was only responsible up to the construction drawings. Our site manager (a good friend of ours) had to step away unexpectedly for a few weeks...
@Bieber0815:
Do you mean by tackling the cause to get rid of the moisture?
And by renovating, removing the mold?
For now, we will definitely close the hatch first and try to get everything dry in the attic.
It also already seems much drier now that we are allowed to ventilate the construction (which was not possible before because of the screed).
We have the vapor barrier under the roof, which lets moisture out from the inside but not from the outside (I can’t remember the name right now).
Would you only treat the wood where mold is visible with an anti-mold agent, or would you treat all the wood as a precaution?
The mold is mainly in the area above the hatch and only in some spots there.
We are building on our own. The architect was only responsible up to the construction drawings. Our site manager (a good friend of ours) had to step away unexpectedly for a few weeks...
@Bieber0815:
Do you mean by tackling the cause to get rid of the moisture?
And by renovating, removing the mold?
For now, we will definitely close the hatch first and try to get everything dry in the attic.
It also already seems much drier now that we are allowed to ventilate the construction (which was not possible before because of the screed).
We have the vapor barrier under the roof, which lets moisture out from the inside but not from the outside (I can’t remember the name right now).
Would you only treat the wood where mold is visible with an anti-mold agent, or would you treat all the wood as a precaution?
The mold is mainly in the area above the hatch and only in some spots there.
Lile08 schrieb:
Thanks already!
We are building it ourselves. The architect was only responsible up to the execution plans. Our construction manager (a good friend of ours) was suddenly unavailable for a few weeks...
@Bieber0815:
Do you mean by addressing the cause to get rid of the moisture?
And by renovating, removing the mold?
For now, we will definitely close the hatch and try to get everything in the attic dry.
It also seems much drier now that we are allowed to ventilate the construction (which wasn’t possible before because of the screed).
We have the membrane under the roof that lets moisture pass from the inside but not from the outside (I can’t remember the exact name right now).
And would you only treat the wood that currently shows mold with an anti-mold agent, or would you treat all the wood as a precaution?
It is mainly in the area above the hatch, and only in some spots there. Why should it not be possible to ventilate with the screed? That’s exactly where it needs to be ventilated.
And you don’t have a construction manager; otherwise, this definitely wouldn’t have happened.
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