Living in and looking after your new home

The two most common items that require attention as materials in your new home ‘settle’ and the internal fabric dries out, are condensation and shrinkage.

Condensation

This is a common problem that needs to be properly addressed to avoid it causing damage to your home. During the construction process the materials and fabric of your home absorb thousands of litres of water. Once the house is lived in and heated the materials dry out causing condensation on surfaces like windows, floors and walls. To reduce this you should aim to keep moisture to a minimum by providing plenty of fresh air to ventilate it away. If you keep your new home warm and ventilated by opening windows and keeping any vents open this will help.

To further reduce condensation it is advisable to keep bathroom and kitchen doors closed while in use and ensure vents and ventilation fans are always used. Opening windows after showers, baths, cooking and washing again helps dry out moisture in the home. Similarly, it is advisable for the first few months after moving in, to keep any wardrobe doors open or ajar whenever possible to allow air to circulate, again to reduce any moisture or damp build up. Keeping furniture slightly away from walls and not over – packing cupboards and wardrobes and keeping doors slightly ajar will also help to dry out your new home. Ideally hang washing outside if you can, if you must dry it indoors keep a window open. If you are using a non-integrated tumble dryer you will need to ensure it is vented to the outside. If condensation does occur, soak up any excess water, heat the room, open a window and keep the door shut.

Shrinkage cracks

Building materials are exposed to moisture throughout the building process and different materials dry out at different rates. This can cause minor cracking known as ‘shrinkage.’ These shrinkage cracks are not a structural problem, nor are they evidence of poor construction. They are a usual occurrence within all newly built homes and are expected as part of the drying out process. You can minimise these by keeping an even temperature throughout your home and avoiding extremes of hot and cold. We advise you to use your central heating sparingly at first and keep your home well-ventilated. Plasterwork needs to dry out properly and while it does small cracks may appear. These should not give cause for concern and if they are unsightly, can easily be filled with a flexible filler and then painted over when you first decorate.

We will inspect any shrinkage cracks measuring over 3mm wide (width of a pound coin) as part of our warranty, at your request.

Ceilings and walls

The ceilings and wall linings in your home perform essential fire, noise and vapour insulation functions so please bear this in mind if considering any alterations or work to these. Your new Mendip Developments home is a pre-insulated timber frame construction with external walls being constructed of either Brick or Concrete block and render. If fixing anything to internal walls it will be necessary to use special fixings which are available from DIY outlets or builder’s merchants. Before fixing anything to walls, be sure to check where electrical cables and plumbing pipework runs. We recommend purchasing a detector which can be obtained from your local DIY store.