Condensation in renovated barn

[Robin2020]

So the building is very well insulated. Aluminium double glazing with thermal breaks. And a bespoke 4k stainless skylight.
A sudden frost last night and all glazing covered in condensation...dripping all over my freshly painted walls .
It was plastered months ago so fully dry. Yes I have been painting....No the heating is off as radiators off for plastering.
Do we think the heating will fix the problem? It made it worse last year when I was just using it a few hrs each evening...Maybe it needs a week of heat to fully warm the building?
Gonna borrow some dehumidifiers tmrw to see if they help.. What a shame. My site caravan seems better

 

[GEMS]

So the building is very well insulated. Aluminium double glazing with thermal breaks. And a bespoke 4k stainless skylight.
A sudden frost last night and all glazing covered in condensation...dripping all over my freshly painted walls .
It was plastered months ago so fully dry. Yes I have been painting....No the heating is off as radiators off for plastering.
Do we think the heating will fix the problem? It made it worse last year when I was just using it a few hrs each evening...Maybe it needs a week of heat to fully warm the building?
Gonna borrow some dehumidifiers tmrw to see if they help.. What a shame. My site caravan seems better

Your paint is coloured water , where is all that dried moisture going ??? no ventilation and an outside frost has cooled the structure .....
You have to remove humidity by ventilation or a dehumidifier ............ its your choice.......

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Any HVAC?

You need ventilation - the human body dumps loads of water each day just breathing

 

[grainboy]

Trouble with modern building methods,
No air circulation, = condensation,

 

[Welderloon]

Old buildings need to breathe

 

[GEMS]

Trouble with modern building methods,
No air circulation, = condensation,

But only because you're adding water vapour to trapped air volume ..........
Either you ventilate it and replace air volume or remove water vapour.
Extractor fans that offer heat rcovery on extracted air are available ..........

 

[br jones]

So the building is very well insulated. Aluminium double glazing with thermal breaks. And a bespoke 4k stainless skylight.
A sudden frost last night and all glazing covered in condensation...dripping all over my freshly painted walls .
It was plastered months ago so fully dry. Yes I have been painting....No the heating is off as radiators off for plastering.
Do we think the heating will fix the problem? It made it worse last year when I was just using it a few hrs each evening...Maybe it needs a week of heat to fully warm the building?
Gonna borrow some dehumidifiers tmrw to see if they help.. What a shame. My site caravan seems better

open a window

 

[Wisconsonian]

If it's had any concrete work done, it's not dry. It will be drier the second winter. Open the windows when the dew point is low and it's breezy. A dehumidifier works good if you want the heat inside.

 

[br jones]

Aits had a lot of work done to it ,by the looks ,been pretty damp weather wise, you are going to get a bit without the heating going ,et it warm in there ie 18 deg or higher till next spring to keep the moisture down

 

[Robin2020]

Cheers guys.....going to buy or borrow a dehumidifier today. The windows have trickle vents which should help one my heating is on. I didn't fit Hvac as so little room for all ducting and equipment.

 

[steveR]

Cheers guys.....going to buy or borrow a dehumidifier today. The windows have trickle vents which should help one my heating is on. I didn't fit Hvac as so little room for all ducting and equipment.

My Sister in Co Galway lives in a gutted and renovated old single story cottage.

Lovely place to live in all year round, and she had a HVAC fitted as part of the build, placed in the roof, and just 2 piped inlet ducts (kitchen and b'room) and one in the hall way. I went to see here about this time of year and she was stressing about the damp patches appearing about the house. She borrowed a dehumidifier and a week later the HVAC man came around and sorted out a problem from the installation. Been excellent ever since. I am seriously impressed at how well it works.

 

[Robin2020]

My Sister in Co Galway lives in a gutted and renovated old single story cottage.

Lovely place to live in all year round, and she had a HVAC fitted as part of the build, placed in the roof, and just 2 piped inlet ducts (kitchen and b'room) and one in the hall way. I went to see here about this time of year and she was stressing about the damp patches appearing about the house. She borrowed a dehumidifier and a week later the HVAC man came around and sorted out a problem from the installation. Been excellent ever since. I am seriously impressed at how well it works.

Sounds a nice simple installation. The air quality is amazing in passive houses I have been in.
My architect said don't bother. Noisy fans and expensive when they break...

 

[steveR]

Sounds a nice simple installation. The air quality is amazing in passive houses I have been in.
My architect said don't bother. Noisy fans and expensive when they break...

Fan in my Sister's place is effectively silent....

Sounds like your Architect isn't an enthusiast

 

[Farmer_Joe]

takes months and months to dry out personally i would not worry yet, get your heating on and working for a bit then see if its still same. DOne a few conversions they take and age to dry out properly

 

[PSQ]

Germans have a saying that equates to something like 'blast ventilation'. It's a 'thing' that they apparently open their windows a couple of times a day for a few minutes to exchange the internal air.
Makes a lot of sense, but it's not really a 'thing' in the damp and cold UK.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Yeah in this current weather I’d be careful, you need a breezy sunny day when RH is low

 

[mo!]

MVHR should be mandatory, essentially silent, good air quality, not losing heat by having windows open and filtering out all the pollen. Money well spent.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

MVHR should be mandatory, essentially silent, good air quality, not losing heat by having windows open and filtering out all the pollen. Money well spent.

Agree in new builds but v hard to do in old places

 

[steveR]

Yeah in this current weather I’d be careful, you need a breezy sunny day when RH is low

Same as running conditioning fans ina grainstore.

 

[mo!]

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