Browse Forums Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1 Jul 08, 2010 4:42 pm Ok, so I have lived in my brand new house for 12 months, I open my windows and have my heater on when it is cold, and LOOK... http://www.flickr.com/photos/25362712@N02/4773199545/ This one is on the bottom of the sliding door to the (what will be) patio... But the lounge, dining and beedroom windows all have it too... Why in the world does this happen and more important..... How do I stop it! Re: MOULD HELP!!!!! 2Jul 09, 2010 8:30 am We get this as well. In the winter months there's water on the inside of the frame and this allows mould to grow. Fortunately, unlike bathroom grout which is quite porous, it's easy to wipe off. We simply wipe it off with windex and give the windows a clean at the same time. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: MOULD HELP!!!!! 3Jul 09, 2010 1:40 pm Casa 2 is right (in my opinion) it is due to the water that comes from the heater ... are you running a gas heater? Is the gas heater flued/ducted outside? Not many people realise that when gas is ignited unless it is flued that water is a by-product - hence moisture condenses on your windows etc. You could either change from gas, flue the existing gas, get a dehumidifier or do as Casa2 suggests and just wipe it down. White vinegar and water solution (I think it is 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water in a spray bottle) is pretty effective at inhibiting for a while. G'luck Re: MOULD HELP!!!!! 4Jul 30, 2010 6:16 pm I edited as I suggested 1:4 bleach+ water, but just read that 80% vinegar is the go. Just read I'm wrong: Apparently, bleach just makes it look better, but does NOT kill mould. Ref: http://www.mould.com.au/mythsaboutmould.htm Re: MOULD HELP!!!!! 5Aug 28, 2010 4:38 am I always have a window slighty ajar when having a heater on found it helps immensely I went outside once. The graphics were alright, but the gameplay sucked! Settlement:22nd June Slab:27th August Frame:16th Sept Bricked:21st Oct Roof:24th Nov Linings HANDOVER23rd March! Re: MOULD HELP!!!!! 6Aug 28, 2010 8:12 am mecha-wombat I always have a window slighty ajar when having a heater on found it helps immensely Not very good for your energy efficiency. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: MOULD HELP!!!!! 7Aug 28, 2010 9:37 am I had a look at your other pics on flicker and I think in your case the mould is further helped by the way your house is positioned - which is quite deep down under the natural ground level. On top of that, the NGL is way too close to the house - if you can, I would widen the channels around the house as much as is allowed or as you have the room to move. Ground is always moist and especially in winter months you'll get more side-effects of this moisture on the house itself since the ground can't be dried out that fast (lack of sun heat). If this house was on a flat land, you would have far far far less mould, relgardless of anything else, like constant cooking and showering with closed windows (well, unless you do use the house in a more "unusual" way, eg. regularly create and keep water vapours inside the house (eg. from cooking or portable gas heating) and don't open doors/windows much - which is all possible but very unliekly). It is the dug-in position of your house more than anything else (well, if that is your house on the flicker). With the mould itself, I only trust products like Exit Mould, but careful not to leave it on after you see that the mould is disapperaing, because it can discolour porous surfaces (just wipe it all off with clean water). My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: MOULD HELP!!!!! 8Aug 31, 2010 7:53 pm Hey Lex, thanks for the info. I found that the mould was here even in the summer so you might be onto something with the land level. Ok, so next step... who can i contact about this? Surely the builder would need to do something? Re: MOULD HELP!!!!! 9Sep 01, 2010 7:52 am I think to fix the cause of the problem (house deep in ground), you'll need to do some earthworks and landscaping, eg. get some heavy machinery to take off at least some of that high soil, or make those corridors wider, or maybe also install some tilted retaining walls with excellent drainage - if this is now possible and if the council allows it and if you are allowed to touch that land. You could also look at the ways to ventilate the house and even more so the surroundings. You need a combination of works and methods here, the more the better. It may still not be possible to completely fix the issue - depends on what will be possible to do. Can't see clearly from the pics, but it looks like it's not only one corner of the house that's deep in the ground, it seems like all house is dug in to some extent, or perhaps some soil/sand was imported and built up on one side (eg. on the pic that's called "garage wall"). BTW, you will get some relief from the problem in prolonged dry windy weather, but that won't last. If you kill off all mould at onset of such weather, you'll be OK for a little while, but it won't last, since this is just deleting the symptoms and not dealing with the real undelying issue. The builder won't help since you signed off on house siting as is (unless they made a serious mistake with the levels and nobody raised the issue - unlikely). Having said that, they shouldn't have sited the house in this way in the first place. I would get in some experts to hear their opinion about the causes and what can be done to improve the situation - and I'm sure they will all have their own theories. I'd be looking at surveyors, residential engineers, other builders, certified inspectors and the like. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: MOULD HELP!!!!! 10Sep 05, 2010 9:20 pm http://www.health.vic.gov.au/environmen ... growth.pdf Quote: http://www.mouldcleaningaustralia.com.au/ *Mould Wont Come Back Mould Cleaning Australia Guarantees that visible mould growth will not return for 12 months or we will retreat the mould for free. This is providing that customers follow any recommendations in the inspection report. Please refer to the inspection report for terms and conditions. This certainly doesn't look good. I would be engaging with an independent inspector to have a look at this. As for the unscheduled site visits, most builders are quite… 1 28161 Hi there, long-time lurker but first time posting. I've bought a house 2 and a bit years ago and last year we had some major water damage on a converted pergola area… 0 7889 Yes, unless you are in a low intensity rainfall area or the area is protected from rain. Do you have access to NCC Part 2 or can you download it? I can email you a copy… 10 12376 |