Apartment Ventilation are Melbourne's leading experts in designing and installing ventilation in apartments

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Apartments all across Melboure have condensation issues which causes mould to grow. This is because there is insufficient ventilation installed into the apartments during construction. With large window spans and often no passive ventilation installed due to environmental concerns (loss of heating and cooling, noise issues etc), modern buildings have no natural ventilation which can disperse moisture that gets built up within the built environment.

Where does internal moisture come from?

Moisture is generated from everyday activities - breathing, showering, cooking, washing clothing, etc. If there is not adequate ventilation to remove the moisture, it becomes trapped in the dwelling and ultimately condensation will form.

Legal issue

Unfortunately for a large number of highrise apartment owners and occupiers, their ventilation issues are not due to a design or construction fault - most often the ventilation has been installed in accordance with the current building regulations. Sadly the building regulations are simpy incorrect.

Too much emphasis is placed on saving energy costs by shutting up and sealing the apartments so well that they are unable to breathe. So generally speaking there is often no legal redress when confronted with an underventilated apartment which fills with condensation every winter.

Problems and difficulties associated with ventilating apartments

In order to increase ventilation in any dwelling it is often a requirement that mechanical ventilation is installed to draw the moisture laden air from the built environment and dumping it outside. To achieve this space is required to run ducts or bulkheads to convey the air from inside to outside the apartment. Apartment buildings offer their own uniques challenges when it comes to ventilation. Most commonly the issues with ventilating apartments are as follows, in no particular order:

1. No roof cavity - In traditionally built properties the roof cavity can be used to run a mechanical ventilation systems - in single storey units or houses. However without any cavity above the dwelling this is not possible in multi level apartment buildings.

2. No or shallow ceiling void - In addition to the above, the void between the ceiling and the concrete substrate between the two apartments is often very shallow. This area is where the builder willl typically run the ventilation system that gets installed to deal with wet area steam and moisture. Due to the lack of area, the size of the fan used is generally too small to adequately ventilate the apartment.

3. No floor cavity - Obviously there is no floor void that could also be utilised for ventilation in multilevel apartments.

4. Difficulty accessing external fascade - Ventilation systems always have to have external access for both introducing freach air and expeling stale air from the apartment. Often with no access to the external fascade, achieving t his access can be problematic. Also there are often strict regulations regarding penetrating the fascade.

Water and moisture promotes fungal growth

Wet building materials are breeding grounds for fungal growth and mould...

Internal fungal growth

Fungal growth and mould caused by internal water leaks in the bathroom...

HEPA filtered airscrubbers

HEPA filtered airscrubbers control airborne particulates including mould spores. If oyu are concerned about the presence of mould spores in your apartment we can install an airscrubber for the duration of the ventilation works.

Dehumidifiers

Dehumidifiers convert moisture vapour into liquid and then dispose of the liquid. If you are impacted by internal condensation dehumidifiers can resolve these issues either temporarily or even permanently.

Apartment Ventilation. Experts in resolving ventilation in Melbourne's apartments.

Completed bulkhead in hallway of apartment

Incomplete bulkhead in Melbourne apartment