Vacant Next Door Apartment causing damp & mould

T

tinkerbelle2

Guest
Just looking for some advice if anybody is familiar with the building trade. I bought an apartment in 2006. The apartment next door was never sold or occupied, hence never heated. The bedroom wall in my apartment, which is the partition wall between the two apartments, is covered in mould since the cold snap started. Although it is cleaned every two days it keeps coming back. The builder has come out to look at it and tells me it’s just because the partition wall isn’t insulated & the apartment next door is vacant. Nothing he can do.
Have I any recourse in this matter?​
 
Just because the apartment next door is vacant does not mean that the heating cannot be turned on. I would have thought someone has a responsibility to ensure that the apartment complex does not start falling apart!
 
The gas has never been connected. The management company and builder are one and the same, so dealing with them can be like banging your head against a brick wall. Should a builder insulate all partition walls between apartments?
 
tinkerbelle2 said:
Just looking for some advice if anybody is familiar with the building trade. I bought an apartment in 2006. The apartment next door was never sold or occupied, hence never heated. The bedroom wall in my apartment, which is the partition wall between the two apartments, is covered in mould since the cold snap started. Although it is cleaned every two days it keeps coming back. The builder has come out to look at it and tells me it’s just because the partition wall isn’t insulated & the apartment next door is vacant. Nothing he can do.


Have I any recourse in this matter?​
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The reason for mould is dampness caused by condensation.....
Dampness can be caused by other means, but in your case its probably condensation

Condensation happens when hot air with a high moisture hits a cold surface.

This is because the wall is cold (not helped because it is losing heat to your neighbours house)

It's also because there is a lot of warm moist air in your house (washing machine, people breathing, cooking, showers, anything with produces steam).

Maybe your house is not well ventilated enough, or you should open the windows a bit to remove the moist hot air before it condenses on the wall...

I had a bit of mould happening in my place in one or two small places with thermal bridges, but I now open the windows every day for a little while, and the problem is not there anymore.


Its not your neighbours fault, he doesnt have to turn on his heat if he doesnt want to, he is entitled to cut down his carbon footprint if he wants !

Also maybe its an option for you to insulate the wall, is it a concrete wall or a stud partition ?
 
Sorry about your dilemma tinkerbelle2. But I would go along with LouisCribben. You may have towels on rads, a lot of cooking without using the extractor fan (very important), showering/bathing without automatic venting/open window and keeping all windows and doors closed during the extended cold snap. You could insulate from your side using eurathane backed plasterboard and skim. You'ld lose a few inches but it would get rid of your problem.
 
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