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Condensation Control Image Gallery

Images of condensation problems and control measures taken during our surveys over the years across North Yorkshire, York Harrogate and Scarborough.

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  • How not to install ventialtion ducting!
  • Probably one of the last places you think of cleaning during your weekly dash around the house with the vacuum however, fan grill do need cleaning. Dirty intake grills will significantly affect the performance of the fan.
  • Probably one of the least impressive fan and duct installations we've seen over the years. 
  • Inefficent bathroom fan. In accordance with building regulations this fan should be achieving a minimum of 15 Ltrs per second, when in fact its strugling to achieve 2!
  • Mouldy window heads often the sign of an atmospheric air imbalance and cold bridging. 
  • Specialist mould remediation following water damage incident, using HEPA filtration systems and protective barriers to prevent the migration of mould spores and further contamination. 
  • The effects of window trickle ventilation allowing air to migrate in to the building. Trickle ventilation is a source of natural ventilation to a property and is an essential consideration if you are experiencing issues with condensation and mould. Trickle ventilation also works in conjunction with other ventilation systems within a property allowing and infiltration and exhaust of air to and from the property. 
  • Poor atmospheric control leading to excess condensation and corrosion of bathroom furniture, fixtures and fittings. 
  • An old passive stack ventilation system commonly installed in the 80\'s and early 90\'s. These systems worked via the chimney stack effect and were pretty unreliable no wonder you don\'t see many around nowadays.
  • An old passive stack ventilation system commonly installed in the 80\'s and early 90\'s. These systems worked via the chimney stack effect and were pretty unreliable no wonder you don\'t see many around nowadays.
  • Is it really raining indoors? Well perhaps it is, but a little humidity control is all that is needed. 
  • Ok, so I couldn't resist this one! A student let property in York in need of some serious humidity control. 
  • Sometimes even before you knock on the door it's a little obvious there are going to be problems! 
  • A poorly installed fan. This fan is a cyclone model designed as a through the wall fan however in this situation the fan has been modified as an inline system, ducted from the bathroom ceiling and exhausted to atmosphere through the roof covering. The excessive lengths of ducting in addition to the fan not being installed as intended (through the wall) the performance of the fan has suffered resulting in condensate building up within the duct rendering the system completely useless. As a consequence the vapour was no longer being removed from the bathroom, resulting in the bathroom ceiling becoming very mouldy and flooding the fan with water. The excessive lengths of corrugated duct were also providing the ideal habitat for the germination of moulds and nasty bacteria.
  • A poorly installed fan. This fan is a cyclone model designed as a through the wall fan however in this situation the fan has been modified as an inline system, ducted from the bathroom ceiling and exhausted to atmosphere through the roof covering. The excessive lengths of ducting in addition to the fan not being installed as intended (through the wall) the performance of the fan has suffered resulting in condensate building up within the duct rendering the system completely useless. As a consequence the vapour was no longer being removed from the bathroom, resulting in the bathroom ceiling becoming very mouldy and flooding the fan with water. The excessive lengths of corrugated duct were also providing the ideal habitat for the germination of moulds and nasty bacteria.
  • Extensive mould to this bathroom ceiling caused by a combination of poor ventilation, lack of insulation and cold air intrusion.
  •   Mouldy window frames often the sign of an atmospheric imbalance witin a property.
  • Thermal imaging combined with atmospheric monitoring allows us to programme and establish the area’s most at risk of condensate and mould issues when establishing the dew point temperature. Here you can see the ceiling and window reveals of this bay window which are within the region of the dew point temperature and are highlighted in the greyscale image in blue.
  • Cold ceilings caused by the absence of insulation and cold air intrusion providing ventilation into the roof space makes the ceilings vulnerable to mould issues.
  • This is a thermal image taken of a Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) system installed into a ground floor appartment which had previously been suffering with issues of condensation.  The Positive Input Ventilation system is designed to filter air from the building into the property through a diffuser and G4 filter which distils the stale air within the property forcing it out through natural ventilation sources and creating valuable air exchanges. The results are noticeably better atmospheric conditions and a lesser risk of issues with condensation.  The images shows the cooler air from ouside being distributed by the diffuser.
  • How not to install a bathroom fan. This is actually a through the wall fan which has been modified and installed within a roof void and used as an inline fan ducted into the ceiling and out through the roof.  Due to its poor installation not only was the fan massively underperforming the contracts simply pushed the exhaust duct into the soffit as such the fans was venting water vapour from the bathroom into the roof! 
  • Positive Input Ventilation systems or PIV for short are clever little input fans which introduce air into a building from another source, usually the loft or external atmosphere. They are designed to reduce symptoms of high humidity and condensation by introducing new fresh and filtered air into the building causing displacement and leakage of the existing stagnant air. These systems generally work well provided the tenant of your property doesn't remove the fuse to cut its power supply. In tenanted properties we always fit these units with a locked fuse spur to prevent this from happening. 
  • Positive Input Ventilation systems or PIV for short are clever little input fans which introduce air into a building from another source, usually the loft or external atmosphere. They are designed to reduce symptoms of high humidity and condensation by introducing new fresh and filtered air into the building causing displacement and leakage of the existing stagnant air. These systems generally work well provided the tenant of your property doesn't block the input diffuser with bubble wrap to stop what they believe is a draft.  
  • How not to install ducting for mechanical fans. This picture was taken of a duct from a 100mm inline ceiling mounted fan found within a roof space of a property suffering with issues of condensate and mould specifically within the bathroom. There's no wonder when tested the fan removing nothing from the bathroom. Long lengths of ducting create frictional pressure, sagging, corrugated ducts and changes in direction create dynamic pressure and incorrect louvers / dampeners create component pressure which all reduce air pressure rates and result in fans under-performing and the risk of condensate building up within the duct.  
  • Swab tests taken from wall and floor surfaces upon completion of mould cleaning. The swab samples show the surfaces have been effectively cleaned and that no traces or germinated spores have been left.  
  • Thermal image highlighting surfaces within this property which fell below the dew point temperature of the atmosphere. From analyising the atmospheric conditions during a survey we can establish the relative humidity, specific humidity, air temperature, thirst of the air and dew point temperature of the climate. The dew point is the temperature which water vapour will condense from the atmosphere as a liquid. Programming the dew point temperature into our thermal imaging camera allows us to quickly identify surfaces which fall below the dew point temperature, those surfaces which are most at risk of condensation and mould.    
  • This might look like standard condensation as the tenant of this York property believed it was however, the droplets of water seen in this photo are actually not present on the inner or outer surfaces of the glass, in fact they are between the two panes of glass.   In this scenario the sealed double glazing has failed thus resulting in moist air from the environment entering the glazed unit which  as a result is leading to condensate occurring within the double glazing. Failing of the double glazing will significantly reduce the performance of the glazing and as such this should be replaced. 
  • How not to install ducting for mechanical fans. This picture was taken of a duct from a 100mm inline fan found within a roof space of a property suffering with issues of condensate and mould specifically within the bathroom. There's no wonder when tested that the fan was performing at less than half its normal capacity. Long lengths of ducting create frictional pressure, sagging, corrugated ducts and changes in direction create dynamic pressure and incorrect louvers / dampeners create component pressure which all reduce air pressure rates and result in fans under-performing and the risk of condensate building up within the duct.  
  • Sustained high humidity levels and persistant condensation will cause paint finishes to crack.
  • An imbalance in atmospheric conditions can create the ideal environment for the germination of mould spores. Irregular heating, excessive production of water vapour  and poor ventilation are all contributory causes. During a recent inspection this couple were doing everything possible to ensure their property was kept warm and was energy efficient with recently installed cavity wall and loft insulation along with energy efficient double glazing. The results were a very warm and energy efficient property. Unfortunately however, they had not considered the performance and level of their existing ventilation and as a result of the recent improvements due to a lack of ventilation they were suffering with symptoms of high humidity and condensation with mould germinating throughout the property. As can be seen clearly on the image the internal temperature was warm at 22.6 degrees, the Relative Humidity was only marginally elevated at 62.7% RH an illusion due to the warm atmospheric temperature however the specific humidity (actual quantity of water vapour in the air) was as high as 10.8 grams per kg. This was a very wet and mouldy house. The solution was an increase in ventilation using constant volume fans with the benefit of a heat recovery unit for the bathroom and the installation of trickle ventilators in the windows for natural background ventilation. 
  • All voids of empty space are susceptible to condensation. This image is of a sub-floor beneath the ground floor of a building where excessive amounts of condensed water vapour are occurring on the underside of the floor boards due to poor ventilation. 
  • A certain amount of condensate will occur on a morning in most people's windows particularly during the winter months. This is expected  however, if your problem is persistent or to the extent where you have pooling water on your window cills, mould and spoiling decor then you are likely to need professional assistance to identify the cause of your problem. Condensation issues are complex and are the result of an imbalance between moisture production, ventilation, heating and surface temperatures and a professional survey will consider all of these aspects before providing you with the most appropriate form of action. If require professional advice of a survey please do not hesitate to contact us. 
  • If your condensation problem gets to the extent where you're seeing water vapour condense on your internal walls spoiling the decor like this, you have a problem. Don't hesitate, contact us for professional advice. 
  • When I saw this I had to just stop and take a picture. Ventilation overload I think would best describe this. Obviously this home owner was worried that their roof was under ventilated and installed an excessive amount of soffit vents in the facia board in addition to vented roof tiles. Excessive ventilation in this manner could cause issues with cold air intrusion, causing cooling of the ceilings and walls making these susceptible to mould / condensation in addition to increasing the risk of light weight roof coverings been torn off during aggressive winds. 
  • A mouldy wall previously diagnosed with rising damp by others. Luckily before deciding whether or not to proceed this client contact us for another opinion. The wall in fact was dry and the mould present of the paper decor was the result of high internal atmospheric conditions over the winter period which had since elapsed. Readings taken from the walls surface using an electronic moisture meter were low as the wall was in fact dry from both structural moisture and surface moisture. The mould was simply apparent due to lack of cleaning by the tenant who was using the presence of mould as leverage to force the landlord into unnecessary damp repairs. From our survey the land lord was able to address the issue of condensation which occurred throughout the winter months and saved themselves allot of expense in the unnecessary installation of a damp proof course recommended by others. 
  • A thermal scan of a particularly mouldy eve ceiling of a bathroom caused by cold air intrusion at the eve of the roof. 
  • A particularly mouldy eve ceiling of a bathroom caused by cold air intrusion at the eve of the roof. 
  • Thermal Image highlighting cold air intrusion a problem which is caused by the migration of air into the roof void through the soffits and eaves roof tiles which has a cooling effect on the ceilings directly adjacent to the front and rear external walls.  As a result of the cold incoming air and absence of insulation within the eves the temperature of the walls/ceilings adjacent to the eaves is significantly reduced making these areas vulnerable to issues with mould and condensate.    
  • Vented cowls are ideal to be used on disused chimney flues to prevent water ingress at roof level although still allow air movement. Under no circumstance should a chimney be capped off completely at ground floor and roof level leaving the flue unventilated which could result in interstitial condensation occurring within the chimney flue.
  • Trickle vents are used in replacement upvc windows to encourage natural background ventilation which can often be reduced significantly when modern energy efficient windows and doors and installed. Unfortunately it is only a regulation to install trickle vents in new windows if your existing windows already had them in place. If however you didn't already have them in your old windows your window installers are not guaranteed to include these in your new ones, so its a good idea to request these before manufacture. If you already have these it's good practice to leave them open particularly in bedrooms to allow a natural ventilation during sleeping hours when the windows are closed and reduce the risk of mould / condensate problems occurring.
  • Image of mould spercifically affecting the wall/ceiling junction of a York property. A thermal scan of the property revealed evidence missing insulation, particularly in the eaves of the building.  As a result, cold air intrusion was noted to be a problem which is caused by the migration of air into the roof void through the soffits and eaves roof tiles which has a cooling effect on the ceilings directly adjacent to the front and rear external walls.  In most situations when roof insulation is installed this will be withdrawn from the eaves to allow ventilation within the roof void.  As a consequence however, inevitably the temperature of the walls/ceilings adjacent to the eaves is significantly reduced by the intrusion of cold air.  This therefore makes these areas vulnerable to issues with mould and condensate.   In this scenario, consideration should be given to extending the insulation into the eaves of the roof.  As a consequence however, this will reduce ventilation within the roof which needs to be reintroduced, particularly as the roof of this property is protected by a secondary non breathable bitumen membrane which can result in condensation forming within the roof due to the absence of ventilation. Ventilation can however be reintroduced with the use of vented roof tiles.
  • A mouldy bathroom wall caused by the absence of mechanical ventilation within the property and low surface temperatures of the external wall. These issues were identified during our condensation/mould survey which involved an assessment of the construction of the building, insulation levels, heating and ventilation systems, atmospheric conditions and thermogrpahy survey.  
  • The poor performance of this bathroom fan was a contributory factor to this building suffering with issues of atmospheric moisture and mould. The absence of efficient mechanical ventilation within the bathroom was resulting in excess water vapour created during washing/bathing activities remaining within the property where it had the potential to migrate to regions of low pressure causing issues with mould and condensation. The building regulations recommend a minimum of 15 ltrs p/s should be achieved from bathroom mechanical ventilation. We undertook a condensation survey on this property and tested the performance of their ventilation ensuring our client had the correct advice on how to resolve the problem which included replacing this fan.
  • A thermal image of a gable elevation wall which was suffering with issues of mould/condensation to one specific region which our client was unable to understand. The affected area of this bedroom side elevation wall actually had a window opening formerly which had been concealed and was particularly vulnerable to mould due to a change in thermal performance caused by the construction used to conceal the window opening, lack of insulation and thermal bridge from the lintol which had been left insitu.  Only a thermal scan of the wall could reveal the hidden problem. 
  • This is a thermal image taken of a Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) system installed into the first floor landing ceiling of a property which had previously been suffering with issues of condensation.  The Positive Input Ventilation system is designed to filter air from the loft space of the building into the property through a diffuser and G4 filter which distils the stale air within the property forcing it out through natural ventilation sources and creating valuable air exchanges. The results are noticeably better atmospheric conditions and a lesser risk of issues with condensation.  The images shows the cooler air from within the loft space being distributed by the diffuser on the ceiling. 

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