Windows
& Condensation | Humidity
and Condensation | Ventilation
|
Other Questions
WINDOW-CONDENSATION
Its Causes - Its Cures
WINDOWS
& CONDENSATION
Q: Do windows cause condensation?
A: Windows are not a cause,
per se. They provide a ready medium on which the vapor can condense.
But the primary cause of condensation is excessive moisture in
the air. Windows are only indicators of excessive moisture.
Q: Why do I see condensation
on my windows and gliding doors first?
A:
Condensation is generally seen first on windows and gliding
doors because they tend to have the lowest temperature of any
of the visible surfaces in the house.
Q: What causes condensation
on windows and gliding doors?
A:
Recall that cool air is able to hold less moisture than warm air.
Therefore, when the warm, moist air of the room comes into contact
with the cool glass surface, some water vapor that can no longer
be held by the cooled air is deposited on the glass.
HUMIDITY
AND CONDENSATION
Q: What is humidity?
A:
Humidity is water vapor, or moisture, in the air. Usually it's
invisible, but sometimes, such as with steam or ground fog, it's
concentrated enough to be seen. But see it or not, all air contains
a certain amount of moisture.
Q: How do I know if I have
excess indoor humidity?
A:
Check for damp spots on ceiling and room-side surfaces
of exterior walls, particularly closets. Look for water and ice
on windows. Even water-filled blisters on outside paint surfaces
indicate excessive indoor humidity.
Q: What does excess humidity
do to my home?
A:
Excess humidity contributes to the deterioration of a home.
Excessive humidity can pass through walls and freeze in the insulation.
In spring it melts, damaging your ceiling and walls. Or, humidity
can force its way out through siding to form blisters under your
exterior paint.
VENTILATION
Q: How can I ventilate my
home?
A:
There are two types of ventilation: interior and structural ventilation.
Open a window in each room for just a few minutes. Remember, inside
air continually gains humidity through daily living activities.
Opening windows allows the stale, humid air to escape, and fresh,
dry air to enter.
After a shower, for example, open the bathroom window
or turn on the exhaust fan, so steam can go outside instead of
remaining in the home.
Structural ventilation is slightly more complex,
but will save you costly repair bills in the long run.
Q: Does structural ventilation
include attics?
A: Definitely. Many homeowners
cover all attic louvers in winter in hopes of saving fuel. If
the attic is properly insulated, this practice can only do harm.
Because the indoor moisture penetrates ceilings, then condenses
on the cool underside of the roof and can even form frost. If
the attic were ventilated, moisture would be transferred to the
outside air.
Q: What harm can attic condensation
do?
A:
A lot. Moisture condensing in attics produces mildew, or rotting
conditions. Or it drips down to the ceiling below to damage plaster
or paint. Thermal insulation also becomes wet and produces less
resistance to heat loss.
Q: Are some kinds of attic
ventilation better than others?
A:
Yes. A combination of vents at the eaves and at the gable ends
is better than gable vents alone. And, a combination of continuous
eaves and ridge venting is best of all. However, regardless of
the type you have, there should always be at least two vent openings,
located so that air can flow in one and out the other.
Q: Just how much attic Ventilation
should I have?
A:
That's a difficult question to answer, because the
size and number of vents depends on the location of the home,
wind direction, physical size of the building, quality of workmanship
and kinds of building materials used.
Consult a local heating and ventilating contractor,
listed in the Yellow pages. He'll be able to tell you exactly
how much ventilation your attic should have.
Q: What about the crawl
space? Should it be ventilated also?
A:
Yes. The crawl space beneath a house is another place where ventilation
is important. The crawl space can evaporate gallons of water each
day. When you seal the crawl space, that water penetrates the
floor above and causes more humidity problems in the home.
Providing foundation vents in the crawl space reduces
the humidity, and a vapor barrier (like polyethylene film) on
the ground prevents moisture leakage into the house above.
Q: What steps can I take
to reduce excessive humidity in my present home and control window
condensation?
A: 1. Recognize that the best way to stop condensation
is to reduce the moisture in the inside air.
2. Be sure that attic or crawl spaces are properly ventilated.
Add a vapor barrier to cover the earth in the crawl space.
3. Be willing to try living in lower humidity.
4. Eliminate any sources of moisture in your home, which you can
control.
5. In winter, provide more controlled ways for moist inside air
to get out. Run kitchen or other ventilating fans longer and more
often than you normally do.
OTHER
QUESTIONS
Q: Will you bill my insurance?
A: Yes. But you would need to pay your deductible,
and give all the necessary insurance information.
Q: Can glass/mirror/plexi
glass be cut to a specific pattern?
A: Yes. You would need to bring in a template or
the object, such as shelves, tabletops, frames, etc.
Q: What about screens?
A: Here at our
shop we do window and patio door rescreens. For a new screen,
they need to be ordered.
