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Cantaloupe26 Jul 2025 06:16Hello dear experts,
I live in a new build, completed about a year ago, with a timber frame construction.
For the past two weeks, there has been a moldy smell in the living room (which gets worse when it rains), so the developer and I now need to investigate the causes.
What worries me a bit is the sealing of the perimeter insulation (or base insulation—I’m not entirely sure about the term). I don’t know if everything was done correctly or if moisture could be rising into the walls/under the screed due to missing waterproofing.
Could you please take a look at the photos and tell me if this was done properly?
On the XPS boards, there is a thin layer of sealing slurry (?) and on top of that a dimpled membrane (which is not yet installed everywhere), and then the soil. I assume I still need a gravel layer as drainage to divert the water.
Thank you very much.

I live in a new build, completed about a year ago, with a timber frame construction.
For the past two weeks, there has been a moldy smell in the living room (which gets worse when it rains), so the developer and I now need to investigate the causes.
What worries me a bit is the sealing of the perimeter insulation (or base insulation—I’m not entirely sure about the term). I don’t know if everything was done correctly or if moisture could be rising into the walls/under the screed due to missing waterproofing.
Could you please take a look at the photos and tell me if this was done properly?
On the XPS boards, there is a thin layer of sealing slurry (?) and on top of that a dimpled membrane (which is not yet installed everywhere), and then the soil. I assume I still need a gravel layer as drainage to divert the water.
Thank you very much.
D
derdietmar26 Jul 2025 16:06Hello,
there is no waterproofing visible in the photos. The structural waterproofing has not been carried out.
Best regards
there is no waterproofing visible in the photos. The structural waterproofing has not been carried out.
Best regards
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Allthewayup26 Jul 2025 21:30I have no expertise in timber prefab houses, but the mesh of the exterior plaster draws moisture from the ground like a wick. In the photos, there is no waterproofing visible at the junction between the XPS insulation and the wood. Are there no pictures of this? In our solid brick house, it looked like this.

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