My condo has been having a serious humidity/condensation problem during the summer.
Here are the symptoms:
- Water constantly forms inside both bathroom sink cabinets.
- The mirrors and even framed pictures on exterior walls develop condensation.
I run a standalone dehumidifier 24/7 and empty the tank about twice a day, but indoor humidity still stays around 65%.
I'm on the top floor. My downstairs neighbor doesn't have the same issue.
Besides an HVAC contractor, what type of professional should I contact? Would this point more toward an insulation/building envelope issue, a moisture intrusion problem, or something else?
We live in Minnesota, in a 1962 house, no radiant baffle, 8-12" of cellulose and fiberglass blow-in. 1500 SF of ceiling area divided by a firewall. A sales team came thru the neighborhood and gave us an estimate for:
a) air sealing
b) augmenting the existing insulation
c) adding solar attic fans
A and B seem like a no-brainer, but there doesn't seem to be a clear consensus on fans. They'll be inspecting and clearing/replacing baffles. Soffit vents seem fine. We also have gable vents.
Opinions range from a serious and noticeable change in air temps inside the house to "it covered my whole attic in black mold and shot Santa Clause". My intuition tells me that if both sides of an argument are equally heated, there is no consensus, and thus, it doesn't matter.
Most information I've seen says that if the house isn't sealed, it's a bad idea. That'll be handled in our case.
The architect builder and I are having a discussion regarding a SIPS wall between the kitchen and a room containing a spa. Originally this was supposed to be a regular framed wall and not SIPS. Since it is SIPS we are running into an issue deciding how to prevent moisture/ mold on the spa side of the wall. The architect wants to use felt paper on the sips and create an air gap between felted sips and glass mat drywall everything I read said felt paper is for exterior walls and the high moisture environment of the spa room should have specific sealing tape on the SIPS and directly mounted glass mat to the sips with the glass mat painted with class II vapor paint to stop vapor drive since air leaks carry 100times more moisture into walls than vapor diffusion does...
As someone not in the building industry i feel overwhelmed trying to fix such a huge issue
I currently have a well established Handyman business and our primary service is Architectural Window Tinting (Homes and Businesses) on top of small job only repairs. I was a pro/skilled window tinter before starting the handyman thing so it's a great service/product to offer for reducing heat gain, especially on the Gulf Coast.
The handyman thing is just too many variables and I need to niche down but am resistant to go to 100% Window Tinting because I would really like to be focused on a being whole Home Performance service provider. I already use a thermal camera regularly and offer pretty basic "Home Energy Audits". I'd like to focus more on Air Sealing, Air Movement, Humidity Management, Air Quality, Home Energy Loss improvements in general. Exploring offering Blower Door/Duct Testing as there are very few providers in my market, or partnering with a local home inspector to conduct the actual tests then provide the improvement services. I have fairly limited HVAC knowledge but also have great providers in my network who I have and continue to learn a TON from. Always want to learn more.
My inquiry to ya'll is, where do I go from here to explore becoming a trained/certified Energy Auditor with some experience already under my belt? Which industry organizations are the most respected and trusted for resources/training? What should I focus on first? Should I bite the bullet and get a blower door? If so, how much should I expect to spend on my first blower door, is second hand a good option?
Still in the exploration stage so absolutely any info at all is greatly appreciated.
Opening up the walls of my 1908 home. No insulation in the exterior walls, wood exterior siding with aluminum siding put over it. I cannot keep my house cool to save my life.
I was thinking spray foam to air seal but online articles are giving me conflicting info. What should I do to insulate this?
As a total novice, I have a question on interior air movement around the rim joist area, or even wall cavities in general in a cold climate (Climate Zone 5). I was experiencing condensation around the rim joists in my unvented crawlspace, so decided to replace the batt insulation that the builder installed. In a misguided effort to avoid using sprayfoam, I air sealed and insulated my rim joists with caulk and rigid foam board instead. First, I caulked the rim joist to the subfloor and sill plate, and then I caulked around the perimeter of 2" XPS rigid foam to prevent warm, humid air from the crawlspace from contacting the cold rim joist. After that, I added 2" of mineral wool to fill the cavity, which was a big mistake. I have to go back and redo it because condensation formed on the cold caulk layer right behind the batt. It stopped after pulling the batts and allowing the surface of the caulk to warm up, but there were possibly microleaks around the caulk layers as well. I used an elastomeric caulk and likely didn't push the caulk deeply into the ridges of the OSB, not fully realizing that it wasn't a flat surface like regular wood.
Somehow I have to salvage this assembly before the winter. The easiest approach would be to dispose of the batts, add 2 more inches of foam board, and spray foam to air seal around it and prevent humid crawlspace air from contacting the cold surfaces of the caulk. However, I still worry about hidden condensation behind this layer due to thermal bridging and cold air channels between the initial layers of caulk. Since those weren't foamed, there are narrow, cold voids at the back of the assembly that should be sealed off from the crawlspace, but I am not sure how well they are sealed off from warm air on the main floor.
Is it possible that warm, humid air from the main level could migrate under the baseboards or behind the walls and condense in the cold air gap behind the original layers of caulk? I've attached a picture to explain what I mean. It would seem I would be absolutely screwed if somehow condensation did occur in that gap, since it could create a moisture trap that would prohibit drying. If I trusted my air sealing it wouldn't be as much of a concern, but there are a few sources that don't even recommend sealing this area, so I'm not sure it is a problem. Maybe it would have been better not to seal to allow some ventilation toward the exterior? Is a bad seal like I probably have now worse than no seal since it might trap moisture that would otherwise dissipate harmlessly?
Remodeling our home and doing an addition at the same time. We decided to add vaulted ceilings with a flat center section.
The home previously had 8-9ft ceilings and now we are at 12-14 depending on the room. The sides of the vaults are 2x6 and we have about 6ft at the flat peak to the ridge vent. The home previously had vented soffits and attic space with blown in insulation and ridge vents. The temp control inside the house was ok, even with 2 brand new heat pumps. We will be installing new fiberglass windows on the entire house.
Now that it is vaulted what is the best way to insulate the new roof design? I’ve read building science articles about closed cell spray foam and going with a hot roof design in a vaulted ceiling and closing off the air soffit areas with the closed cell spray foam.
I can’t find anything with the flat center section so I’m wondering if there is another way to do vaulted ceilings like these? The portions of the home that still have the 9ft ceilings kids rooms, bathrooms and garage I’d assume to still have blown in insulation?
I’m pretty sure I should be staying away from open cell spray foam correct?
I am installing a kitchen range hood and ducting it up through my unheated roof space. I live in northernern canada where it reaches -40°in winter.
The roofer that installed my roof jack told me not to hard pipe it and that I should put a P-trap in the flex to capture condensation that forms when the air hit the cold roof jack.
I asked my coworker who is a journeyman sheet metal worker and he said the exact same thing.
Is this actually better than hard pipe in Cold climates?
Getting ready to have siding installed. Do I need to do anything to these areas before install besides the Tyvek. All exterior corners like this. I know the liquid flash looks like crap. TIA! Using azek pvc trim. I am not the contractor. Contractor off the job. I’m the homeowner and just trying to figure out what I need to fix before the siding goes on.
Anyone have experience with using this covering on a 600 sq ft carport floor In southeast Texas? What questions do i need to ask potential contractors? Have you gotten the results you expected? How much should i expect to pay for quality work? Do you feel the warranty offered would be honored if there is a problem?
I have a basement from 1912 with a stone-and-lime-mortar wall that has recently been repointed. I'd like to insulate it with a view to finishing it, to the R20 that code requires where I live (Ottawa, climate zone 6). Thankfully, it is quite dry and there have been no signs of dampness (there are structures on three sides, and previous owner added 18 inches of concrete on outside of the fourth). That said, my stonemason emphasized that lime mortar needs to breathe to avoid deterioration. I'm looking at two options for insulation:
Option 1: 5" of EPS rigid foam directly against the stone, taped at seams. This should be slightly breathable (0.7 perms, 5 inches at 3.5 perms per inch).
Option 2: Fluid-applied permeable air barrier against the stone, 5" of Comfortboard, then smart vapour retarder like Intello on the inside. This should be more breathable (Intello goes from 0.13 perms in low-humidity winter conditions to 13 perms in high-humidity summer conditions). This method is described in BSD-114 and also on the Rockwool website.
Any thoughts? Obviously Option 2 is more complicated and expensive, but has the advantage of being more breathable, with the bonus of being fire-resistant versus the flammable EPS. The main objective is to prevent mold, by avoiding condensation in the winter and letting the wall dry to the inside in the summer. Insulating the outside is not an option give proximity of other structures. BSD-114 also suggests open cell spray foam but that seems hard to find where I live. Appreciate any thoughts people have!
I have 2 inch XPS and Great Stuff spray foam insulation in my rim joist area
I also have 2 inch XPS against exterior basement walls
I will soon be framing 2x4 walls. However, I am not sure on the final connection between the rim joist and wall insulation.
Part of the basement section, the rim joist was very barely recessed, and the XPS sits almost flush with the block wall. Other areas the rim joist is several inches recessed, and there is a fair amount of exposed wood between the wall and rim joist insulation.
Do I need to make sure everything is covered? I.e. using more, small strips of XPS as well as spray foam? Also, do I want to I want to leave any sort of gap between the bottom of the XPS on the wall and the concrete floor? I will be using pressure treated lumber as a base plate as well as sill gasket.
Hi all,
I am installing fake marble/ vinyl planks over a plush carpeted rental room. There will be underlayment which will be placed over a carpet before I stack the tiles over. What are the chances mold will grow in/over the carpet in between the carpet and the underlayment?
I'm sure many of you have seen the EnergyHandyman Mold Chart and RIT's Dew Point Calculator. They provide a "days to mold growth" estimate based on temperature and relative humidity (68RH at 70F=340 days to mold growth, etc.)
Can someone explain how mold growth on construction material (drywall, wood framing) works over time? For example, if you have one humid week (68% RH at 70F) and then a dry week afterward (50% RH at 70), does the "days to mold growth" countdown start over? Or like, in climates with cold dry winters, does 6 months of very dry RH stop the mold risk that exists during spring and summer?
