# Are Spanish houses prone to damp?



## Tom1957

bob_bob said:


> plenty of damp moldy Spanish houses comes winter.


Really? As a potential purchaser I'd be interested if it's a widespread problem in Spain. Is it because of poor construction or limited to older buildings?


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## jojo

Tom1957 said:


> Really? As a potential purchaser I'd be interested if it's a widespread problem in Spain. Is it because of poor construction or limited to older buildings?


FewSpanish houses have damp course, good insulation or central heating and they are mainly laid with cold tiles for the summer




BTW, I've given this subject its own title and thread

Jo xxx


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## davexf

Tom1957 said:


> Really? As a potential purchaser I'd be interested if it's a widespread problem in Spain. Is it because of poor construction or limited to older buildings?


Hola 

After many years of drought the Spanish don't really think about rain or water unlike the Brits where it rains every other day. 

Not having a damp proof course means most ground floor houses / flats have some sort of problems. The lack of vents in walls means that mould is likely to grow over the winter in uninhabited houses. 

I run a dehumidifier from October through to end April 

Davexf


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## mono

Can you easily get it installed if you wanted to, damp course, ventilation etc?


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## bob_bob

Lack of central heating does not help, many folk use portable gas heaters...problem is that a by-product is the water the combustion process creates which releases several litres of water per day into the room your heating...damp/mold follows it.


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## Pesky Wesky

Tom1957 said:


> Really? As a potential purchaser I'd be interested if it's a widespread problem in Spain. Is it because of poor construction or limited to older buildings?


Are you asking about the whole of Spain or just the south/ Andalucia?
I have central heating as do practically all the houses in this region. My MIL in another region has carpet and rugs in the corridors and some bedrooms and very efficient (= too hot) central heating... We have no damp and where I live it's a very dry climate


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## snikpoh

mono said:


> Can you easily get it installed if you wanted to, damp course, ventilation etc?


The rules used to state (still do) that properties can't have a damp proof membrane as we are in an earthquake zone - too slippery!

The other issue is that older properties were never built with a cavity in between outside walls.

So, to answer your question - NO a damp proof membrane can't be added as (1) it's not allowed and (2) you can't inject the bricks as they are not solid like in UK.


What many do is to build a 'camra' wall just inside the outer one thus leaving a cavity. This new wall can have a damp proof membrane integrated with floor damp proofing as well. As you can imagine, this is costly. 

For upper walls, they can be boarded using pre-insulated plaster board.

Be aware that living by the coast is where it's most humid.



Having said all that - more modern houses are build using more modern products and rules.


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## Tom1957

Pesky Wesky said:


> Are you asking about the whole of Spain or just the south/ Andalucia?


I'm no entirely sure where I will end up, but I'm leaning towards the northern Costa Blanca at the moment.


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## Megsmum

I think it all depends

Older houses no, having said that, I've seen older properties that have had it installed but newer houses in the local village do have central heating. Damp courses I don't know. 

Thanks Bob, you've unexpectedly diagnosed our bathroom problem


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## Lynn R

A lot of Spanish houses, especially older ones, do have damp problems. 

However, it isn't universal. We have an older house with very thick walls, which has had no damp proofing work done at all. We use a portable gas heater in the winter, and don't experience any condensation problems or mould on the walls. The only place any condensation occurs is on the inside of the windows of the bedroom we sleep in, behind the internal wooden shutters, and that doesn't happen until after the gas heater has been switched off for the night.

Even when our house was only used as a holiday home and was left unoccupied for months at a time, we never had any damp and things left in cupboards and wardrobes never got mildewed.

We always make sure the house is well ventilated and our windows are all open in the daytime in winter.

It is something to look out for if you are viewing properties, check for any signs of black mould on walls, open a few cupboards and check for any musty smells. If an agent says it's just because the house has been shut up for a while, take it with a large pinch of salt.


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## Chopera

You really need to look at properties and areas on a case by case basis. The thing to do really is spend a year or so renting in the area you intend to buy in so you get some local knowledge. Maybe that stream flash floods in winter, maybe that street is in constant shade in winter, maybe those houses were designed to be summer holiday homes, etc. Also I wouldn't necessarily view the lack of a damp course as a problem, since they only deal with rising damp, which may not be an issue. Many cases of damp are down to leaks or poor ventilation, rather than rising damp.


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## Tom1957

Chopera said:


> You really need to look at properties and areas on a case by case basis. The thing to do really is spend a year or so renting in the area you intend to buy in so you get some local knowledge.


Yes that is the plan, we intend to rent for at least a year (at this stage I don't even know the area but I'm leaning towards Javea).

Our UK house suffered from condensation and consequent mould in winter, despite (or perhaps because of) being upgraded with central heating and double glazing. Since we had cavity wall and decent loft insulation installed the probelm has disappeared.


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## snikpoh

Tom1957 said:


> Yes that is the plan, we intend to rent for at least a year (at this stage I don't even know the area but I'm leaning towards Javea).
> 
> Our UK house suffered from condensation and consequent mould in winter, despite (or perhaps because of) being upgraded with central heating and double glazing. Since we had cavity wall and decent loft insulation installed the probelm has disappeared.



I (personally) think the main issue is lack of ventilation - keep a property well ventilated and you will eliminate mould and damp.


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## Tom1957

snikpoh said:


> I (personally) think the main issue is lack of ventilation - keep a property well ventilated and you will eliminate mould and damp.


I'm sure you're absolutely right. It's not always possible to open windows and doors here when the weather is bad, I imagine that in coastal Spain the days are mild enough to ventilate at pretty much any time of year.


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## Maureen47

Ours is a fairly modern build , we dont have central heating , we have reverse air con but dont use that to heat the house. We heat ours with a pellet stove which is very efficient and as another poster said the key is ventilation. We suffered from a little damp on the gable end of the house following the extreme rain but thats the only time it has happened. Friends with an older build do seem to get a fair bit of trouble with damp but manage it with ventilation and spray it with anti mould. I guess its an individual thing according to the build and age of the house.


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## mono

Have folk found solutions to it eg installing vents etc? Would cavity wall and loft insulation work ok in the heat of summer?


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## markreddi

*damp!*

hi guys, very interesting posts, I've recently been considering buying a 'cheap' reform town house in Spain. i live in murcia on the coast where you can get 3 or 4 bedroom 120/150m2 old townhouse for around 70k (plus garden space too). they have amazing locations but terrible damp issues and need complete renovations to fix the issues. ive been told by a local agent these issues can be permanently sorted for around 50k? the house, i imagine, will have to be lifted, and ventilation put in and walls and floor completely redone, new kitchen and bathrooms. 

firstly does that sound like a reasonable amount to cover all that work?! (i am trying to post a link of an example house but this website won't let me!)

secondly I am worried if i sort the issues , will i still get damp from my neighbours houses come in from their damp walls after some time as these houses are terraced from both sides.

thank you very much


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## Juan C

snikpoh said:


> mono;11735609 .......... you can't inject the bricks as they are not solid like in UK..[/QUOTE said:
> 
> 
> 
> In an apartment and in villa I have ‘injected’ a waterproof solution into the ceramic (hollow) bricks in walls where there were problems. It solved the problems completely The costs was very small. Basically just the cost of the solution. I did the work myself
Click to expand...


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## Barriej

I have recently purchased an apartment that was built in 2005 and while it has double glazing, unfortunately no one told the installers that the panels should not rattle around in the frames. We only noticed when the curtains were blowing around.

So I'm going to fix that when we go back next month.
We also have reverse air con but instead use a couple of oil filled radiators that we can move around. Not been there in the dead of winter yet and as its on the top floor with the solarium above I'm thinking we might have some issues once we move over permanently.

As to damp, my father in law lives in a reasonably well made villa part the way up the mountain road to Guadalest and they suffer from damp in the winter but only in the parts of the house that are closed up. They have a proper wood fire but supplement it with a gas heater. The house is quite sheltered as well which doesn't help.


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## baldilocks

markreddi said:


> hi guys, very interesting posts, I've recently been considering buying a 'cheap' reform town house in Spain. i live in murcia on the coast where you can get 3 or 4 bedroom 120/150m2 old townhouse for around 70k (plus garden space too). they have amazing locations but terrible damp issues and need complete renovations to fix the issues. ive been told by a local agent these issues can be permanently sorted for around 50k? the house, i imagine, will have to be lifted, and ventilation put in and walls and floor completely redone, new kitchen and bathrooms.
> 
> firstly does that sound like a reasonable amount to cover all that work?! (i am trying to post a link of an example house but this website won't let me!)
> 
> secondly I am worried if i sort the issues , will i still get damp from my neighbours houses come in from their damp walls after some time as these houses are terraced from both sides.
> 
> thank you very much


Firstly you need to identify the source(s) of your damp. Because most places, especially in Southern Spain are in an earthquake zone, DPCs are not permitted so you may have rising damp. External walls are not cavity so you may have damp penetration from the rain. Walls of one property are often shared with the neighbour so you may have damp coming through from next door.

As far as rising damp is concerned an injected barrier would solve the problem.
External exposed walls often have corrugated asbestos sheeting applied, this not only acts as a barrier but the corrugations ensure that there is ventilation helping to remove humidity.
Shared walls are difficult and you may have to put some form of water resistant barrier on your side to prevent the damp coming through. I have found that for many of these problems one solution is to hack of the existing plaster and paint the wall with PVA (Cola Blanca) re-plaster and then paint with plastic emulsion paint. Exposed external walls need to be rendered with capa fina which includes marble dust and is very good at waterproofing.


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## Isobella

baldilocks said:


> Firstly you need to identify the source(s) of your damp. Because most places, especially in Southern Spain are in an earthquake zone, DPCs are not permitted so you may have rising damp. External walls are not cavity so you may have damp penetration from the rain. Walls of one property are often shared with the neighbour so you may have damp coming through from next door.
> 
> As far as rising damp is concerned an injected barrier would solve the problem.
> External exposed walls often have corrugated asbestos sheeting applied, this not only acts as a barrier but the corrugations ensure that there is ventilation helping to remove humidity.
> Shared walls are difficult and you may have to put some form of water resistant barrier on your side to prevent the damp coming through. I have found that for many of these problems one solution is to hack of the existing plaster and paint the wall with PVA (Cola Blanca) re-plaster and then paint with plastic emulsion paint. Exposed external walls need to be rendered with capa fina which includes marble dust and is very good at waterproofing.


The first house we bought was during a drought. When the rains came water was coming up from under the tiles in one room. Next property seemed ok. but was cold. to supplement the heating we had we bought a gas heater and placed it on the landing outside the bedrooms. After about a week all the walls turned black. 

I have been in houses which didn't seem damp but when I have stood up noticed my bottie felt damp from the chair. I thought it would be better in the mountains as seems more humid on the coast. There does seem to be quite a few with musty smelling clothes.


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## Isobella

markreddi said:


> hi guys, very interesting posts, I've recently been considering buying a 'cheap' reform town house in Spain. i live in murcia on the coast where you can get 3 or 4 bedroom 120/150m2 old townhouse for around 70k (plus garden space too). they have amazing locations but terrible damp issues and need complete renovations to fix the issues. ive been told by a local agent these issues can be permanently sorted for around 50k? the house, i imagine, will have to be lifted, and ventilation put in and walls and floor completely redone, new kitchen and bathrooms.
> 
> firstly does that sound like a reasonable amount to cover all that work?! (i am trying to post a link of an example house but this website won't let me!)
> 
> secondly I am worried if i sort the issues , will i still get damp from my neighbours houses come in from their damp walls after some time as these houses are terraced from both sides.
> 
> thank you very much


If houses are so cheap at 70,000, 50K sounds a bit high just for damp-proofing


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## Wibs

I bought my home in El Faro on the Costa del Sol in a September. The next month the mildew started to form.

The problem was that there was quite a bit of humidity (being on the coast) plus steam from showers, kettle etc. The mould/mildew was confined to the North-facing interior walls of a bedroom and bathroom, as North-facing walls are the coldest, and the humidity condenses on these cooler walls, and mildew sets in.

To fix this, I installed extractor fans above the two showers in the villa. I then washed off the mildew, and repainted the walls with anti-fungal paint (Aki and Leroy Merlin sell this), and installed a dehumidifier in the bedroom.

The 10 litres capacity of the dehumidifier has to be emptied every couple of days (that is how much humidity there is!).

However, since doing this work three years ago no mould or mildew has reappeared.

Wibs


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## ClaireRuss

Myself and my husband moved here in winter and I was shocked with the damp that was up the walls. I am slightly relived that we are not the only people suffering.
I bought a dehumidifier but it is not the most economical solution with the cost of electricity here.
Will have to hope my pension can give me enough in time to damp proof.


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## baldilocks

ClaireRuss said:


> Myself and my husband moved here in winter and I was shocked with the damp that was up the walls. I am slightly relived that we are not the only people suffering.
> *I bought a dehumidifier but it is not the most economical solution with the cost of electricity here.*
> Will have to hope my pension can give me enough in time to damp proof.


Won't help one bit. As you extract water from the part of the wall that is exposed, osmosis pulls more water up. The water will only rise to about one metre above soil level unless it is an outside wall. 

If it is an external exposed wall then you need an external barrier to prevent water coming into the wall from rain, etc. This may be by corrugated asbestos type sheeting (which also provides ventilation,) or by putting sheet marble on the outside or by spray polyurethane foam (looks horrible.) 

If you have rising damp (see post 20.) Spaniards frequently put up a barrier on the inside of the wall (and on the outside in some cases) of tiles up to about 1m -1,20m, thus trapping the moisture inside the wall. When we bought our house, it had some ghastly plastic imitation tiling up to 1m that had been nailed on - it looked terrible especially where the nails had rusted. We removed it, hacked back the plaster to solid wall, painted it over with PVA to form a damp-proof barrier, and then re-plastered and painted - no more problem with rising damp.


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## Alcalaina

baldilocks said:


> Won't help one bit. As you extract water from the part of the wall that is exposed, osmosis pulls more water up. The water will only rise to about one metre above soil level unless it is an outside wall.


A dehumidifier is useful for getting rid of moisture produced in the home - from butane stoves, cooking, showers etc. I used to use one when it was too wet to open the windows, and got a couple of litres of water a day. Now I use the built-in function in the air conditioning units and all the water goes back into the outside world.


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## Juan C

Jean. If only that were correct !


The house I mentioned in my post, which had a sever damp problem which I resolved myself, was under 15 year old. 


PS. I fixed the problem 20 years ago. Just out of interest I just confirmed with the present owners: It has never since been a problem so my very cheap DIY method worked very well


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## Pesky Wesky

Juan C said:


> Jean. If only that were correct !
> 
> 
> The house I mentioned in my post, which had a sever damp problem which I resolved myself, was* under 15 year old.*
> 
> 
> PS. I fixed the problem *20 years ago*. Just out of interest I just confirmed with the present owners: It has never since been a problem so my very cheap DIY method worked very well


How does that work out?:confused2:


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## fortrose52

20 years ago it was under 15 years old


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## Juan C

Pesky I am not sure what you mean 

2O years ago I fixed a damp problem in my house which I owned then.

At that time the house was 15 years old. 

18 years ago I sold that property 

Recently I called the present owner to ask if the problem had returned, it had not. The house has no damp problems thus my remedy has stood the test of time (so far at least )

Thanks fort rose I see you posted whilst I was writing


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## Pesky Wesky

Juan C said:


> Pesky I am not sure what you mean
> 
> 2O years ago I fixed a damp problem in my house which I owned then.
> 
> At that time the house was 15 years old.
> 
> 18 years ago I sold that property
> 
> Recently I called the present owner to ask if the problem had returned, it had not. The house has no damp problems thus my remedy has stood the test of time (so far at least )
> 
> Thanks fort rose I see you posted whilst I was writing


Thanks. Dimwit moment, sorry about that


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## fortrose52

Juan C. Can you remember the name of the waterproof solution?


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## Juan C

Fortrose. 

It was Thompson’ s Water Seal. 

I brought it from U.K. 30 years ago but I just checked and see it is available on amazon.es so maybe available too in shops. 

I would think any similar product would be as good

PS. During the past 30 years I have used the product on a number of damp problems and it has worked every time. It would not appear to have a shelf life


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## Rickybcn

snikpoh said:


> The rules used to state (still do) that properties can't have a damp proof membrane as we are in an earthquake zone - too slippery!
> 
> The other issue is that older properties were never built with a cavity in between outside walls.
> 
> So, to answer your question - NO a damp proof membrane can't be added as (1) it's not allowed and (2) you can't inject the bricks as they are not solid like in UK.
> 
> 
> What many do is to build a 'camra' wall just inside the outer one thus leaving a cavity. This new wall can have a damp proof membrane integrated with floor damp proofing as well. As you can imagine, this is costly.
> 
> For upper walls, they can be boarded using pre-insulated plaster board.
> 
> Be aware that living by the coast is where it's most humid.
> 
> 
> 
> Having said all that - more modern houses are build using more modern products and rules.


woow I just joined this forum on the strength of your comment thank you very much I also live in a Mountainhouse in Spain in the Barcelona Tarragona region also suffer with So called damp. 
And at the moment I’m trying with the builders to get a damp proofed If there is such a thing ha ha but I find in the area that I live it’s not so much that it’s damp but there’s a lot of humidity even outside my house on a Terrace most mornings it looks like it’s been raining. And please don’t quote me but I’m sure that from 2014 I read somewhere that now houses in Spain have damp courses.
And thanks again great comments


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## Overandout

Just reading this for the first time (must have missed it first time round!)

Snikpoh's comment about damp courses being prohibited is maybe a regional local norm, but it is not the case at a national level, the natioanl building codes actually do foresee the use of damp courses in brick built walls for certain damp exposure levels.

If you are interested (it isn't a very interesting subject really) here is a link to CTE document DBHS in which part 1 (damp protection) says that for humidity exposure levels I1, "La impermeabilización debe realizarse mediante la colocación en el muro de una lámina impermeabilizante, " (i.e. damp proof course).



https://www.codigotecnico.org/pdf/Documentos/HS/DBHS.pdf


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