damp problem in new apartment

I'm in my new apartment about 3 months and I've got a problem with damp in the bedroom. I moved the bed a few days ago and found the entire carpet area under the bed was damp and covered in mould. I found the same thing under an armchair in the room.
Any advice on what to do about this? Is this normal given that the building is very new?

Ground floor, perhaps? Carpark underneath?

I would speak to a HVAC engineer about ventilation using the Irish 'holes-in-the-walls' technique.

And then to the Irish architect that would design such a lousy arrangement.

BTW, good luck. Your problem will doubtlessly continue until the building is torn down.

Is it a ground floor apartment? These can be the worst in new builds - but even at that, this is not acceptable. I rented a new ground floor apartment once and damp caused such a problem that we had to move out. Landlord had a de-humidifier in for a few weeks and was collecting a lot of water every day. But the problem persisted.

Generally speaking, a new build needs a lot of time to dry out. The walls can be quite wet, and this will typically seep down to the lowest level in your room.

I would get onto your builder asap to explain the situation. If you have an en-suite in the bedroom, ensure that there is proper ventilation so that any steam escapes. But it's doubtful that that's the real reason.

Holly77

What is the loaction of your appartment - are you ground floor, with / without a roof directly above, etc? I would recommend trying a few things:

1. First of all, verify the source of the water - is there any obvious leak or source of water - e.g. in the radiator pipes, any evidence of water from the ceiling above (stains) or around the windows?

2. A lot of water is used in construction using traditional methods. A concrete built semi-D can use up to 8000 litres during construction, for the likes of plastering, concrete slabs, etc. If there is not sufficient time allowed for buildings to dry out, particularly with the speed they are being built today, it may lead to dampness problems. I would say certainly approach the builder and put it to him. To assist in accelerating the drying time, consider hiring a de-hidifier and leaving it plugged in for a weekend. See how much water it draws out in the tray - it will also help with drying out your carpets.

3. Check the walls / window vents - are they installed and open? Adequate ventilation will assist in drying out and prevent mould from forming.

See how the above goes. It may be that the problem is sorted with de-humidification, if not you may have a more serious issue that needs investigation.

thanks for all the replies. I've contacted the management company and they told me to make sure the vents are open above the window as this has occurred in other cases. They say that this is most likely to be the problem so there is no point sending anyone out.

the apartment is on the first floor, but the bedroom is over the entrance to the underground carpark.

"They say that this is most likely to be the problem so there is no point sending anyone out"

From your description above opening a few small vents would not IMHO be sufficient to solve this problem. Can you not contact the builder direct in light of the fact that the apartment is so new?

Contrary to Quinno's advice you should not try to dry mouldy carpets, leave them as they are and move to another unpolluted room. As well as all furniture that had been hit. The mould and it's spores can be deadly, dangerous for your health and that of other people in the apartment block. Spores (the "seeds" of mould) form after the mould had been growing. The concrete needs thorough desinfection, that is a specialists job.
If your apartment needs any special treatment that would be abnormal relating to a standard home then this should have been mentioned in the contract of sale/rent. Get the health board people in and let them write a report. With this report you have to tackle the landlord/seller.
So the first step is to inform the seller/landlord per registered mail about the problem and give them a week (8 days) to eliminate the problem.
Step 2: with a copy of that letter go to the department of health and ask for an inspection.This should be done imediatly. They will take a sample of the mould and send it to lab for a microbiological test to determine if these moulds/spores have a health effect. These services are usually free for the consumer, it's a states job to protect it's citicen. But check that again.
The third step - here at it's latest-is to get legal advice (solicitor/lawyer) after receiving the micribiological report. The usual advice on a damning lab report is to move out. Costs for desinfecting personal belongings, new clothes, furnitures, carpets ect. will have to be borne by the dodgy landlord/seller. It's their business how deal with their insurance, not your problem. The costs for your lawyer would have to be covered as well, as well as the moving costs and hotel costs (!!) and all other necessary costs.
But get legal advice.
You won't "get mould out" once it has hit, all you or the culprit (actually the responsible engeneer) could arange for is a stop of further spreading. The stains will always stay where they are.
The problem is most likely caused by cold surfaces that don't breath. Check the "sticky" posts here on AAM , you're not the only one bothered by the problem. One poster had recently described his experience with a similar problem, and he went (about) the route described above. The apartment/house owners didn't need the legal thread once he made his point. They paid him in full. Microbiological health threads aplied to someone knowingly ( you informed them already) could be legally seen as poisoning. Esp. if the problem is talked down and not tackled at source, solved imediately - ignored. When the victim is pacified.

Without being mellodramatic or alarmist about it, a dust mask would be sufficient to protect you from the spores of a mouldy carpet – it is unlikely to contain anthrax!! However, as spores can trigger allergic reactions, a dust mask would be prudent. You’ll pick one up at a DIY store. Bear in mind that some of the agents used to treat mould, benzalkonium chloride or hydrogen peroxide, can be quite toxic. So have the extent assessed by a professional surveyor before going any further and spending money getting in a specialist. If you feel strongly enough, have the carpets taken up and disposed of. However, in order to have some chance of recovering costs from either the builder or your insurance company, keep records (photos, letters) of what you are doing – don’t just incur costs without first of all giving the other party time to rectify their wrong doing.

The 'health board people' (who are they?) probably wouldn't be too interested in this, it is the job of the local authority to enforce Building Control, so it may be worth while having a chat with them. Did you have asurveyor look at the property before you bought it - speak to him / her if so and see if they'll visit to assess the situation. Without the exact parciculars of your apartment, it is difficult to pin point the problem on a chat forum. It is unlikely ‘the health board people’ would also not do you a report. It is also unlikely 'the health board people' will sent a SWAT team to analyse your house for a bit of mould. You have done the right thing by contacting the management company, also consider pursuing the builder directly as it is him you had to build the apartment and you had the contract with, not the management company. See how they respond - I would take pictures of the damage and keep records of conversations, letters for future reference (possibly from an insurance claim or solicitor to refer to).

Before taking the drastic measure of moving out and incurring costs and the inconvenience that you may not be able to recover, you should seek legal advice if the problem is not rectified to your satisfaction. Negligence will firstly have to be assessed (i.e. building regulation compliance, compliance with construction best practice) on the builders part before you incur any significant legal costs.

On a positive note, I had a friend move into an apartment in 2004, the same problem occurred. Treatment with the de-hudidifier did the trick, although it did take several weeks to de-water the place entirely. You might be able to recover the cost of this from the builder.

The health board can and will close any premise -a restaurant , an office or a home- that presents a health danger. That is propably news to the "engeneer".
Contact the local health board and simply ask.The phone number would be found in the front pages of your phone book. A dust mask is by no way a protection against infectious (mould) spores-due to the particle size. Ask your health board, or check google. If wearing a mask in an infected area it would have to be one that is designed to do the job. As well as the entire special clothing. Which has to be dumped in a safe matter after the job, "hazardous waste" . Ask your local health board.
And forget the irresponsible builder and his "engeneer" when looking for advice how to tackle the problem. It would be asking the thief what to do to get the money back.
The "engeneer" who signed on the papers (the certificate of compliance with the building regulations) that this building is a "home" i.e. fit for a humane to live in it obviously had either no experience with the trade or he had no scrupels to fill his pockets despite better knowledge. A moisture test of the building strucktures (the walls) is a question of minutes and pennys for the battries of a moisture meter. A moisture meter is a standard equipment in an civil engeneers arsenal of tools. The entire struckture is under threat if for example loadbearing timber gets effected. The building regulations clearly demand that a building must not pose any threat to humane health.
So the "engeneer" was either incompetent or a criminal. Clearly spoken.

Jaysus, Heinbloed, you're a legend, that's all I can say