moisture on sills

My sons mother n law just built a house. She is getting quite a bit of moisture on the inside of the windows in fact some puddling. She called someone and they told her to get a dehumidifier and I think she got a stand alone but it didn't help. This house is in ohio so it's pretty cold there. What is your opinions on this? Thanks

 

3M window insulator kit. I know it's a new house but beside lowering her heating bill they keep the moisture away from the cold window and preventing it from condensing.

 

New houses can have a bulk of moisture inside them that takes a while to work itself out as framing lumber , plywood etc dries

A dehumidifier is a good idea , however making sure that you use a range hood when cooking and especially a bath fan for 10 minutes or so after bathing / showering is important too

 

Some info here

http://www.hpo.bc.ca/files/download/MMR/MM3.pdf

 

Don't you mean DEhumidifier?

 

Of course , was typing and watching the hockey game at the same time , edited my post

 

Just trying to help out

 

Crappy windows is most likely the problem. If there is no thermal break built into the window frame then the cold transfers into the warm interior like a freight train mixing with the more humid interior air creates condensation. The cold winter air is going to be more dry than the interior of your home by nature, a dehumidifier may help but its' not the cure.

 

I don't know about crappy windows. She upgraded just about everything in the home. But thanks all for your input.

 

Crappy was probably a little harsh...Austin is a super progressive building area and people are still installing very expensive aluminum and steal windows without a thermal break. This is actually where the sill pan flashing for windows originated, builders planned on window "sweating" and panned the moisture to the exterior of the house. A good fix is to pull your sills, install a pan that extends to the outside of the framing, reinstall the sill leaving an 1/8" gap between the sill and window allowing the moisture to escape.
Or this could also be the glass, many companies still use metal spacers which produces the same effect on the glass. You can get the windows reglazed with glass units that have foam spacers.

 

Check the heater and see if it has a humidifier ,it my need to be turned way back or off. Realize the sweating will take a couple of days to correct it self.

 

Or it could just be bulk moisture in the house , our code in Canada requires thermally broken windows as well as sill pan flashing and yet with the right conditions you can still get condensation build up due to excess moisture in the house , poor windows just give the condensation a place to show up but the moisture still needs to be in the air for it to occur

 

I just hope this lady gets it fixed, She is a very very nice person divorced and kind of confused when stuff like this happens. She lives in Columbiana ohio and I know the problem will only get worse as the cold air moves in.

 

Air exchange is the best preventative measure

Is there a builder home warranty program there or anyway she can get assistance from the builder or local building department to at least determine the possible cause of the excess humidity ?

 

She told me that she contacted the builder and they suggested a dehumidifier. This house is new maybe completed 6 months ago so this is the first cold air the house has seen so I think right now everyone is just hoping the problem will go away. She did tell me that the builder is a builder that usually builds real expensive Larger homes but for some reason built her a less expensive smaller home. I don't know if she has a home warranty or not.

 

as I said previously , with a house that new I would suspect that the main culprit is bulk moisture in the house as material is drying out as well as the habits of the people living in the house as far as the use of range hoods and bath fans

 

She most likely has a 1 year builder warranty followed by a 2-10 warranty after. Windows are actually considered part of the structure so she is covered for the full 10 years. OZ-T is absolutely spot on about moisture bleeding on new builds, however, I would continue to raise the issue with the builder and follow up with the insurance carrier right away. Interior condensation is not only a nuisance but destructive and can lead to mold problems as well.

 

Interesting , our warranty here is 2-5-10 with the builder carrying the warranty for the whole period

 

I wish it were that way here! Besides the reputation the builder is off the hook 365 days after closing and usually has a pretty cheap third party 2-10 thereafter. What is the 5 in the 2-5-10 btw?

 

2 year / 5 year / 10 year

Licenced Residential Builders in BC have to have 3rd party warranty coverage as a prerequisite to be able to have the ability to be able to build new homes / pull a permit for a new dwelling , the warranty period is broken down into the 2/5/10 year coverages depending on what the item is , ie cosmetic or structural