ᐅ New Build 2014: Issues with High Humidity in the Basement
Created on: 8 Jul 2015 13:06
M
Maestro1983M
Maestro19838 Jul 2015 13:06Hello,
I would like to describe my problem to the experts in this forum and hope someone can finally provide a helpful solution.
I have spent weeks reading extensively online and still don’t know what to do.
From 2013 until the end of 2014, I built my own home with a lot of personal effort. Except for the basement, everything else is perfect!
The house has a full basement. The basement is almost filled up to lawn/patio level. On two sides of the house, the basement still sticks out about 10-20 cm (4-8 inches). The rest will be filled by August at the latest.
Key details:
The basement has a gross floor area of about 100 m2 (1,076 sq ft), divided into several rooms. Three rooms have 1 x 1 m (3 x 3 ft) windows.
A straight staircase leads up to the ground floor through a small hallway (about 6 m2 (65 sq ft)). The basement staircase does not have a separate door because it only opens into this small room. This room has a door to the garage and a door to the ground floor corridor. The temperature in this small hallway is usually between 20-24°C (68-75°F).
Basement floor construction:
Tiles
Screed about 5 cm (2 inches)
PE foil
Bitumen membranes (the floor slab is completely sealed)
24 cm (9.5 inches) concrete slab
10 cm (4 inches) gravel layer
The basement’s exterior walls are built with 36.5 cm (14 inches) Poroton blocks. On the outside, they are first plastered, then coated with a thick bitumen waterproofing membrane, and in front of that, there is 5 cm (2 inches) of perimeter insulation.
No insulation was installed under the floor slab, and the outer walls were insulated only with the 5 cm perimeter insulation because it was intended to be an unheated utility basement.
Now, the major problem:
All exterior walls are now developing mold spots during the summer (I already had issues in spring as well). The rooms have a musty smell.
Most mold occurs at the base of the walls near the floor, probably where it is coldest, but some spots appear higher up on the walls as well. I have tried treating them repeatedly with methylated spirit or similar products.
I have also read many forums about ventilation and similar issues. The humidity level remains between 75-80%. Using a dehumidifier only lowers it temporarily. After a few hours, the high level returns.
I know that ventilating regularly does not help long-term, and running a dehumidifier constantly in every room is not feasible. I have been testing different ventilation methods for weeks.
It only creates effort and does not help at all!
I can definitely rule out moisture coming in from outside through the walls or floor slab. Residual construction moisture is also excluded because I have used professional dehumidifiers and removed buckets of water.
Somehow, moisture always finds its way into the basement and causes everything to rot.
Using additional heaters installed afterward also does not help. The rooms warm up slightly, but the humidity remains the same. Currently, the basement temperature is about 16-18°C (61-64°F).
How can I achieve a low humidity level? Should the exterior walls be insulated from the inside afterward to raise the temperature and prevent condensation? Would this automatically lower humidity if insulation is applied to the walls?
Would it help to install insulation panels around the base of the exterior walls at floor level, about 50 cm (20 inches) high? How thick should the panels be?
I cannot afford to excavate and insulate the outside walls completely again, especially to add thicker insulation—it would be very expensive! Also, the floor slab bottom would still not be insulated.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realize before construction how many problems a cold (only minimally insulated) basement could cause! I cannot store anything in the basement.
I hope someone can help me!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
I would like to describe my problem to the experts in this forum and hope someone can finally provide a helpful solution.
I have spent weeks reading extensively online and still don’t know what to do.
From 2013 until the end of 2014, I built my own home with a lot of personal effort. Except for the basement, everything else is perfect!
The house has a full basement. The basement is almost filled up to lawn/patio level. On two sides of the house, the basement still sticks out about 10-20 cm (4-8 inches). The rest will be filled by August at the latest.
Key details:
The basement has a gross floor area of about 100 m2 (1,076 sq ft), divided into several rooms. Three rooms have 1 x 1 m (3 x 3 ft) windows.
A straight staircase leads up to the ground floor through a small hallway (about 6 m2 (65 sq ft)). The basement staircase does not have a separate door because it only opens into this small room. This room has a door to the garage and a door to the ground floor corridor. The temperature in this small hallway is usually between 20-24°C (68-75°F).
Basement floor construction:
Tiles
Screed about 5 cm (2 inches)
PE foil
Bitumen membranes (the floor slab is completely sealed)
24 cm (9.5 inches) concrete slab
10 cm (4 inches) gravel layer
The basement’s exterior walls are built with 36.5 cm (14 inches) Poroton blocks. On the outside, they are first plastered, then coated with a thick bitumen waterproofing membrane, and in front of that, there is 5 cm (2 inches) of perimeter insulation.
No insulation was installed under the floor slab, and the outer walls were insulated only with the 5 cm perimeter insulation because it was intended to be an unheated utility basement.
Now, the major problem:
All exterior walls are now developing mold spots during the summer (I already had issues in spring as well). The rooms have a musty smell.
Most mold occurs at the base of the walls near the floor, probably where it is coldest, but some spots appear higher up on the walls as well. I have tried treating them repeatedly with methylated spirit or similar products.
I have also read many forums about ventilation and similar issues. The humidity level remains between 75-80%. Using a dehumidifier only lowers it temporarily. After a few hours, the high level returns.
I know that ventilating regularly does not help long-term, and running a dehumidifier constantly in every room is not feasible. I have been testing different ventilation methods for weeks.
It only creates effort and does not help at all!
I can definitely rule out moisture coming in from outside through the walls or floor slab. Residual construction moisture is also excluded because I have used professional dehumidifiers and removed buckets of water.
Somehow, moisture always finds its way into the basement and causes everything to rot.
Using additional heaters installed afterward also does not help. The rooms warm up slightly, but the humidity remains the same. Currently, the basement temperature is about 16-18°C (61-64°F).
How can I achieve a low humidity level? Should the exterior walls be insulated from the inside afterward to raise the temperature and prevent condensation? Would this automatically lower humidity if insulation is applied to the walls?
Would it help to install insulation panels around the base of the exterior walls at floor level, about 50 cm (20 inches) high? How thick should the panels be?
I cannot afford to excavate and insulate the outside walls completely again, especially to add thicker insulation—it would be very expensive! Also, the floor slab bottom would still not be insulated.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realize before construction how many problems a cold (only minimally insulated) basement could cause! I cannot store anything in the basement.
I hope someone can help me!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Maestro1983 schrieb:
Moisture coming from outside through the walls or the slab can definitely be ruled out!!! Residual construction moisture can also be excluded!!!Logically, that would leave only the living spaces as the source of the moisture ingress. I consider that less likely.
Has an expert already inspected the situation and identified the source? It would probably be advisable to do so now to prevent consequential damage, especially since you are unable to resolve it yourself.
M
Maestro19838 Jul 2015 13:34Hello,
thank you for the quick response. We installed 12cm (5 inches) of insulation in the ground floor slab. Above that is the underfloor heating. Just for your information.
I haven’t hired an expert yet. The person I borrowed the building moisture meters from checked everything and said it would eventually go away... but I don’t agree!! It keeps coming back.
thank you for the quick response. We installed 12cm (5 inches) of insulation in the ground floor slab. Above that is the underfloor heating. Just for your information.
I haven’t hired an expert yet. The person I borrowed the building moisture meters from checked everything and said it would eventually go away... but I don’t agree!! It keeps coming back.
Maestro1983 schrieb:
It keeps happening.It always comes from "somewhere." If the actual cause of the damage cannot be found, and considering that the person renting the dehumidifiers might not be a specialist, then the next step should really be to address the problem professionally.
This is important, among other reasons, so that any warranty claims can be made promptly and the party responsible for the warranty cannot excuse themselves by arguing that the actual damage only occurred due to professional negligence.
The investigation itself does not initially cost much, but any follow-up measures could be significantly more expensive if it turns out to be a construction defect. Delays in repairing the damage are likely to increase the costs.
B
Bauexperte8 Jul 2015 13:57Maestro1983 schrieb:
From 2013 until the end of 2014, I built my own house with a lot of personal effort. Was your project supervised by a building expert?
Maestro1983 schrieb:
Floor construction in the basement:
Tiles
Screed about 5 cm (2 inches)
PE foil
Bitumen sheets (entire floor slab fully welded)
24 cm (9.5 inches) floor slab
10 cm (4 inches) gravel layer Is there a soil survey report available?
I consider 10 cm (4 inches) to be far too little, even with favorable soil conditions. What type of concrete was used for the floor slab? Was an additional foil layer installed above the first row of blocks?
Maestro1983 schrieb:
Unfortunately, I did not know before starting the construction that cold (only minimally insulated) basements can cause so many problems! A usable basement, properly built, should not cause any problems!
Regards, Bauexperte
M
Maestro19838 Jul 2015 14:14Hello building expert,
we did not have a building surveyor involved. Our architect planned the construction details of the basement, and we carried out the work ourselves.
The entire shell construction was done as self-build (with skilled masons).
The foundation slab is made of waterproof concrete. However, I don’t know the exact type at the moment. The slab was also sealed on top with bitumen membranes.
A membrane was additionally installed in the first row of blocks!
Would interior insulation possibly help to avoid cold exterior walls?
we did not have a building surveyor involved. Our architect planned the construction details of the basement, and we carried out the work ourselves.
The entire shell construction was done as self-build (with skilled masons).
The foundation slab is made of waterproof concrete. However, I don’t know the exact type at the moment. The slab was also sealed on top with bitumen membranes.
A membrane was additionally installed in the first row of blocks!
Would interior insulation possibly help to avoid cold exterior walls?
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