to think if you have water in the upstairs ceiling lights its quite a serious problem ?

[Fairylea]

Need some help and advice really.... posted something earlier in chat but in my stressed state managed to hide the bloody thing... sorry.

So here I am... it's bad isn't it?

Started this morning with dh noticing our bedroom light hissing and fizzing and when we turned it off it went on and off and you could see a glow from the rose.

We turned all power off to upstairs lights at the trip switch.

I had two electricians come out. Both took down the rose and said it was absolutely soaking inside.

We do have a problem with severe condensation upstairs.. beads of water around the double glazed windows, black spots here and there that I spray with mould remover but they comeback. We have small patches of damp in the corners of ds and dds bedroom which have ruined the recent decorating we have done.

The electricians recommended we get a roofer out. I have rung several and waiting for them to come back to me.

We have £1000 in savings and dh earns fairly little. I am on maternity leave. This is going to wipe us out financially isn't it ?

We own the house (mortgaged). Could this even be claimed on insurance ? They are not open till Monday to ask.

Any advice welcomed. Feeling very depressed with it all.. just before Christmas too :( ... currently we have no lights upstairs as we are leaving the trip switch off as was advises by the electrician.

Thanks in advance.

[Fairylea]

Oh crap sorry ignore this one I posted it twice !!

[Dawndonna]

You may be able to claim it on the insurance, if for example there has been storm damage to the roof. I would ring the insurers, ask their advice. They should also be able to arrange to have a professional roofer out within a fairly short space of time.

[StandYourGround]

Yes I would think you should be covered - root out your policy and check. Sounds like you have serious damp problems though, not just the roof. I wonder if a damp treatment course would be covered by the insurance too? Worth asking.

Try not to worry too much!

[Fairylea]

Thank you very much.

I'm really worried :( ... I seem to have misplaced the insurance documents (although I have the thing saying we have
Insurance.... it's with m and s, unlimited for buildings and contents so I'm hopeful we can use that)...

I don't understand anything about it all... the damp really bothers me and seems to be quite a problem but it's so odd it's upstairs, not downstairs.

Would the insurance people arrange their own roofer then? I'm also worried we will get ripped off as neither of us understand anything about roofing!

[squeakytoy]

use the checkatrade website to get a reputable tradesmen to give you a quote

it may not be as much as you think if it is only a couple of broken tiles, and would be less than paying through your insurance

[moleskin]

Damp often is upstairs particularly if you are an end house as its open to the elements especially the corners of the house. Try and look up online the m and s buildings insurance and see what it covers it shouldn't have changed too drastically. Also try googling 'claiming for damp on house insurance' I imagine you will find lots of advice. Good luck

[brightermornings]

I know a good roofer he is married to my friend!! Where in uk are u??

[Fairylea]

Thank you squeaky I will have a look.

I'm worried the house is going to fall down... that's stupid of me isn't it?

I also worry that if it is the condensation how do we stop it coming back? There's proper puddles around the windows and window sills.

We have been here 2 years and had a survey done when we brought it. Surely it can't be too bad.. I hope !

[squeakytoy]

I would also say in my experience, most buildings insurance wont cover general wear and tear, so if the roof has been leaking for a while, they might not pay out on it..

[Fairylea]

We are in Norfolk. Any quotes and advice welcome ! .. pm me :)

Thanks .. good idea re checking policy online. I wouldn't have even considered that. Brain fail !

[squeakytoy]

condensation and a leaking roof are unlikely to be related I wouldnt have thought..

it does sound as though you need the whole damp issue checking out though, as it isnt going to go away and will just get worse.. it might be worth getting a small bank loan or a credit card with 6 months interest free repayments on it, and get the work done that is needed, as that will probably save a lot more money in the long run..

[brightermornings]

Hmm I'm north west bit far away.

I hope you get it sorted.

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Have you checked your loft? Do you have a water tank up there? Is that leaking? That will seep across the insulation and work its way to the nearest hole which would be a light socket.

[phantomnamechanger]

Please take this as advice not criticism OP, I am sorry for your miserable situation, but sometimes people just dont realise what they can do to help themsleves with damp issues. I'm not saying you fit the following scenario at all, but some on here might gain from the following advice even if it doesn't relate to you.

condensation and damp upstairs is almost always to do with not ventilating enough - I had tenants in a rented house whihc I manage who complained about the severe damp - the walls were all mildewy and they were getting clothes going mouldy and having to throw them away! - the landlords had numerous experts out to check for rising damp, penetrating damp and problems in the loft/roof

ALL of them concluded that it was purely down to not opening the windows enough. They were having showers then going out to work all day, and were drying lots of laundry indoors all winter becuase they had small kids. They were cooking without a window open in the kitchen.

The advice was to get extractor fan fitted to kitchen and bathroom which the landlords did, but to open windows more and get a dehumidifier too for use when drying laundry indoors.

We have draught proofed and insulated our homes so much that air cannot circulate and this is what causes the dampness on cold outside walls.

Of course you may have a problem if you live in an old house with no damp proof course, or a damaged roof, but you need to rule out the simple explanation too.

WE use dehumidifiers at home too - and they take litres of water out of the air every week, its amazing! The damp in our house has improved radically with them.

[moleskin]

We have black mould spots and our roof is leaking so can be related

[moleskin]

Sorry sent to soon, but our black spots were in one area of our ceiling only

[Fairylea]

Thanks for all the advice. I really appreciate it. I will look for the emergency number.

I have checked for leaky pipes and I can't find any. Good idea though.

I am perplexed a little by the windows open thing as I do ventilate a fair bit and we have extractor fans in the bathroom and kitchen but it's freezing cold and I'm home with ds most days so how much should I leave windows open? It's freezing and costing a fortune in heating as it is... what is reasonable?

[Glittertwins]

M&S were very helpful when they were our insurer and we had a problem with a leaky pipe. They have an out of hours number so you should not have to wait until Monday. These things never happen at a convenient time.

[Fairylea]

Right I'm on the phone on hold to m and s now
. Wish me luck !

[LivingInAGoldBubble]

Am in Norfolk and have useful family of architects who might be able to help or know someone who can, shout if you need anything. We had water leaking in our rented house from shower through light, think it got resolved fairly easily ( we had moved out by then).

[Fairylea]

Well they say the emergency line can't really help as I need to speak to the main team on Monday but they say it should be covered.. I really hope so. Dh and I are living on a knife edge at the moment after a few things have gone boom and also his job is a bit unsteady... all at once.

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Re ventilating : dh goes mad but I air the whole house each morning before school run while we're all getting ready - duvets get pulled right back, little windows in all rooms get opened wide and I wipe excess water from edge of bath where it collects from showering. then obviously they are all shut again for the day while we are out at work. As soon as I come home, though, each window gets opened again just a little bit and stays open unless it's literally freezing outside ad blowing a gale. They are open overnight, just half an inch. The window has just broken in ds's tiny room and is stuck shut and already it's starting to smell stale and musty so it needs sorting. I only dry washing indoors if I am in for the windows to stay open.

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

But water in the ceiling rose wont be just condensation anyway I'm sure. Hope u get it sorted.

[DeathMetalMum]

Re condensation mould and ventilation. We suffered very badly in our flat that we have just moved out of ( mostly due to the type of build) .
Best time to have windows open is when sun is shining on them as even in the winter its hard to notice, just enough to let the fresh air in. If your windows have trickle vents keep them open all the time if possible or just close at night when very cold. The damp is drawn towards the cold parts of a room, we had an inspector out who advised us to turn the thermostat up so bedrooms were around 19 and living areas 21. This was a bit to hot and expensive for us but we still turned up a few degrees rather than putting extra clothing. It is better if whilst and after cooking or showering/bathing you opeb the window in that room keeping the door closed preventing the damp air travelling around the rest of the house. Even making sure you put a lid on every pan will reduce.
Damp is horrible we had to chuck out furniture and lots of shoes of mine and more as they were in the particular corner that was the worse.
We also suffered around the same time that it was the worst before we realised the problem with water in the bathroom light fixing. However I thought that was a problem from the upstairs flat.