ᐅ Mold on Attic Hatch 5 Months After Moving In

Hello everyone, we moved into our newly built bungalow last September. After only 5 months, we have discovered mold on the folding attic stairs/lid. The roof is a cold roof. The lid is damp on the side facing the roof, and the veneer is starting to come off slightly – mold is visible underneath.

We are now a bit unsure how to proceed.

a) How can mold occur here? Is this something we have to accept with a cold roof and take care of insulation or something similar ourselves?
b) Should we hire an expert to find out the cause, or should we contact the construction company directly?
c) Does anyone have any idea what can be done now to deal with the mold? It really frustrates me that we have such issues after such a short time.

If anyone has any advice, we would greatly appreciate your help.

Best regards, Susann

The hatch likely does not close properly, allowing warm air to pass through and condense on the hatch.

Your first point of contact should be the home construction company.

halmi schrieb:

The hatch probably doesn’t seal properly, warm air is coming through and condensing on the hatch.

Your first point of contact should be the home builder.

Thanks. We will report it there.

One more question: Shouldn’t this have been detected during the blower door test? I mean, that the hatch doesn’t seal properly?

The hatch would have had to be open to fail the blower door test.
Check if all the gaskets around the hatch are properly seated and installed.

Exactly. It is also possible that the hatch was not installed correctly and warm air is passing by the sides.

During our renovation, we noticed that the attic ladder to the unheated loft had a gap of several centimeters (inches), which was concealed by paneling. However, no mold was found there. We then installed a properly closing and flush-fitting ladder.