Browse Forums Bathrooms and Laundry 1 May 25, 2012 8:34 am Hi, We have been in our new house a couple of weeks but in our ensuite shower, whenever the shower is used there is a large area of adjourning wall that has steam water drips on it. We have an exhaust fan directly above the shower and leave a window next to the shower open as well but this is still happening. Afterwards the drips are like impossible to remove from the paint. I am just wondering if this is normal as I am worried about the walls getting stained and damage to the bathroom down the track. Heytherek Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 2May 25, 2012 9:48 am Speak to your builder .... For info on our build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43093 Built the McLaren by Dechellis - slab down 22 Feb - handover 30 Aug 2011 - and gardens finished 9 Dec 2012!! Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 3May 26, 2012 5:02 pm Hi, I don't know if this is relevant but the same thing was happening to us. Even though we had a 3-in-1 we were getting steam drips. When we investigated we noticed the fan was sounding as loud as the one in the ensuite. Low and behold some numbskull put an insulation batt over the top of the ceiling fan in the roof. When it was removed, no more steam drips altho we will need to repaint: Handover February 2011 Happy with our home Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 4May 26, 2012 5:13 pm If you don't feel like climbing into the ceiling you maybe able to shine a torch thigh the grill to look, or most grills just pull off then you can see if it's open or blocked! Also if you have the windows closed and close the door with the fan on you should hear the noise change slightly meaning it's actually working harder to draw air from somewhere! Ideally though the fan and window should be diagonally opposite from each other with the shower in the middle to draw the moisture out with cross ventilation! Defiantly not normal though, and will eventually cause a mould problem, it did in a rental we rented with no fan or windows in the bathroom! 2 Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 5May 26, 2012 8:02 pm Hi, Thanks guys. the cross ventilation may not be good as there is a window alongside the shower and the fan is directly above shower. I was wondering if it might be due to the kind of paint used - low sheen. We have just left a horrid mouldy house so I am ultra paranoid about mould. My other half had quite a long hot shower and it was bad afterwards. After a much milder shower it was not so bad but there was a little bit of condensation on the wall. I just would not have thought this would happen in a new house. The shower tiling also does not go right up to the ceiling and was wondering if that was a problem as well. k Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 6May 27, 2012 9:51 am Very common for the tiles not to go all the way up, our tiles stop about the height of the shower screen, it's more 'waterproofing' for the wall and is tougher than soggy plaster! Just out of curiosity, what happens if you close the window but have the door at least partly open with the fan on? Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 7May 27, 2012 3:30 pm stormjr Very common for the tiles not to go all the way up, our tiles stop about the height of the shower screen, it's more 'waterproofing' for the wall and is tougher than soggy plaster! Just out of curiosity, what happens if you close the window but have the door at least partly open with the fan on? HI I have not tried that but maybe I will, I just always leave the window open when the shower is in use as a habit. I have a feeling I am going to regret not looking at what paint they put in the bathrooms! Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 8May 27, 2012 8:23 pm Well the shower was tested again tonight and the condensation/steam was on the ceiling and cornices this time. Then the actual ceiling was dripping water - so it appears the fan does not even work and the hot steam is going up and just coming back out. There is now water marks on the ceiling, cornice and walls. The ceiling has a flat paint so I didnt even want to wipe that as I know from trying to clean the low sheen walls that the water marks stick out a mile after you wipe them. I tested our other fans and they were far noisier than this one. Hmmm so I wonder whether we are going to have much luck getting the builder to clean up the mess given the fan doesn't work - they have been a nightmare to deal with during our build. K Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 10May 28, 2012 4:06 pm Well the builder sent around the electrician today and low and behold he discovered that someone had in fact placed some insulation bats on top of the ceiling exhaust fan...... honestly is that not something people doing that job would know about. What annoyed me more was the electrician got black marks on our ceiling while taking the fan cover off - and thought that he could just wipe them grrrrrrrrrrrrrr now we have been left with an area of discoloured paint and water marks on the ceilings so have asked the builder to come clean it up. Thanks for all the advice though Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 11May 28, 2012 7:26 pm Im curious to know how hot you have your showers to get so much condensation. We have an exhaust fan in the bathroom and ensuite that never get turned on and condensation has never been a problem. Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 12May 28, 2012 7:31 pm You would be surprised, I've seen bats installed on top of low voltage downlights (yep that causes house fires!) I don't know how it happens but I know it does! So many things to look out for when we start building! 2 Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 15May 28, 2012 8:38 pm did they paint your walls in the wet areas semi gloss? Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 16May 28, 2012 8:42 pm Hi, No the entire house has been painted low sheen. I am already finding the paint a nightmare as it is not very washable and when I did wipe a few marks the water marks left looked even worse and more ob vious in certain lights. Our paint job has been very poor and we will be redoing it a few years down the track, but I am wondering how the low sheen paint will go in the bathroom. Wish I had have looked more into it and got semi gloss as I am now more aware of how much better it is for a bathroom. I did not know anything about building let alone paint before we decided to build I guess if there are issues it is the smallest area to repaint. K Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 17May 28, 2012 8:46 pm All wet areas need to be semi gloss to full gloss for ease of cleaning. Clean your walls down with sugar soap and repaint semi gloss, mould resistant paint. You will find a big difference. Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 18May 28, 2012 8:51 pm Do you think we will end up with a lot of problems if we keep this paint? my other half who plans to do any more painting on our house is not that keen to do it for a few years but I am worried about the damage that will be done as I can already see how bad things have been with the paint and the fan not working. Do you need to do multiple coats if you paint over in a different type of paint? Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 19May 28, 2012 9:02 pm It depends on the paint you use, we painted in Tradex paint, found if you clean a mark off you just about need to repaint, but I know someone with wash and wear and it's much much better! Of course it's twice the price! If you repaint in the same or similar color you may get away with two coats, if you change color it may need more (especially if you go alot lighter!) We already know the builder will do two coats of cheap paint (including primer) and plan on painting with wash and wear or similar before moving in! 2 Re: Steam drips on wall in new house 20May 28, 2012 9:04 pm I just posted a reply and its gone! Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com If you make sure all taps inside and out are turned off, what does the water meter show if you leave it for a while. 2 20235 Thank you again Simeon.. I will call my certifier for that. Have a good day 4 5190 Vapour permeable wraps are recommended for any climate and main think it is allow walls to breath (i.e. remove water vapour) while at the same time, providing protection… 4 9781 |