Condensation; Built-in furniture on a cold external wall

[OldVirgin]

Hi,

 

I've got a built-in wardrobe up against a cold external wall which is susceptible to condensational mould issues (every external wall in the house suffers). The wall is currently clean and has been recently treated to remove the mould, however no measures have been put in place as of yet to reduce the condensation build up. The long term, cavity wall insulation is going to help however, in the mean time, I'm thinking with scenarios like this where it's a ballache to deconstruct and reconstruct that some insulating board (25mm celotex with 12.5mm plasterboard bonding) stuffed between the 40mm gap between the wall and wardrobe and bonded to the external wall may be a good solution to reducing the condensation. What are your thoughts on this method opposed to ripping it out, and repainting the wall with anti- condensation paint? Would this maintain a steady temperature on the wall enough to reduce the level of condensation or would it cause pockets of moisture and potentially hide the issue from inspection?

[Jilly]

Without doing a condensation analysis, as a rough guide, internal wall insulation carries a greater risk of interstitial condensation, as you say, behind the layers. It might  be worth researching breathable insulation for old houses, like wood fibre. 

 

Have you got a dehumidifier? They don't cost a fortune to run and are really useful. Also buy some cheap moisture meters and put them round the house to get a feel for what's going on. If you keep the RH at about 55%, mould is much less likely to flourish. Also, don't put anything damp, like shoes in the wardrobe can help.

[OldVirgin]

1 hour ago, Jilly said:

Without doing a condensation analysis, as a rough guide, internal wall insulation carries a greater risk of interstitial condensation, as you say, behind the layers. It might  be worth researching breathable insulation for old houses, like wood fibre. 

 

Have you got a dehumidifier? They don't cost a fortune to run and are really useful. Also buy some cheap moisture meters and put them round the house to get a feel for what's going on. If you keep the RH at about 55%, mould is much less likely to flourish. Also, don't put anything damp, like shoes in the wardrobe can help.

 

 

Thanks for your reply bud. Breathable insulation is 100% what I want. I've found some 40mm hemp insulation boards - what are your thoughts on beading some adhesive to one and sliding it in between the gap between the wall and wardrobe and sticking it to the wall?