I moved in June 2007 into a lower ground floor flat in a Victorian house converted in 2006. During last winter I discovered that I was getting signs of damp with moisture on walls and on the doors in the entrance lobby and large storage cupboard which is under the stairs up to the main house/flats.
I also have spots of black spores/mould in the corners where the wall/ceiling meet and I've had loads of my stored items damaged by what looks like mildew. The door to the cupboard now doesn't fit at all and during the winter the front entrance door was sticking badly (this though is presently ok since the sun started to hit it again).
The flat was originally designed (on the plans) so that the entrance lobby was kept as an open space with the cupboard 'under the stairs' like a outside storage area as originally constructed way back when. Where the current front entrance door is fitted now a security grill door would have been installed in it's place.
So in effect the lobby would have been a secure covered porch and my proper front door would be where my standard internal hall door is from the lobby to the rest of the flat.
The developers changed their mind (cheaper option) at the last moment and integrated this covered porch and cupboard into the main flat by basically just sealing the gap over with a front door but they didn't go to the trouble of insulating and heating this area.
My landlord knows there's a problem but all he is offering to do is put a thermostatic controlled 60W mains electric heater in the storage cupboard which will be on all the time to try to increase the air temperature a couple of degrees.
From what I understand- this is not going to heat the surface up of the un-insulated walls or external door or improve ventilation and (unless all the internal doors are kept open and I don't store anything in the cupboard) will have very little effect on the air temperature in the adjoining lobby.
Any advice I've managed to get has told me this will not solve the problem and I will just be paying out to heat air that can't really do anything to that effect.
Any other thoughts and comments as to what needs to be done to make the lobby and storage area actually useable and solve the problem would be very gratefully appreciated.
:?:
