Moisture in buildings
Moisture is the presence of water, often in small or even trace amounts. Moisture can be found in water vapour, condensation, and in or on the fabric of a building and can cause damp resulting in problems such as staining, mould growth, mildew and poor indoor air quality, and so on.
The common sources of moisture in buildings include:
- Condensation.
- Penetrating damp.
- Leakage from pipes, tanks, drains, and so on.
- Rising damp.
- Building defect, e.g. lack of adequate roof space ventilation, faulty retrofit installation, application of paint or plaster that affects the breathability of the building element, and so on.
- Indoor moisture sources, e.g. cooking, bathing, washing, hot tubs, indoor swimming pools, and so on..
Moisture levels can be reduced through a number of measures:
- Natural or mechanical ventilation.
- Use of de-humidifiers or air conditioning units.
- Insulation of cold surfaces, such as pipes.
- Increasing air temperature.
- Removing sources of moisture such as drying clothes and ensuring vented tumble dryers are appropriately vented to the outside.
- Mending leaking pipes, wastes and overflows.
- Eliminating rising damp and penetrating damp.
- Introducing moisture barriers such as vapour barriers, damp proof membranes, and so on.
NB Technical paper 35: Moisture measurement in the historic environment, published by Historic Environment Scotland in 2021, defines moisture as: ‘Water that is freely mobile as a liquid, gas (vapour), and solid (ice). All moisture is water, but not all water is moisture, as it is not necessarily freely mobile.’
It defines moisture content as: ‘The quantity of moisture present within a material.’
Assessing risks in insulation retrofits using hygrothermal software tools, Heat and moisture transport in internally insulated stone walls, by Joseph Little, Calina Ferraro and Beñat Arregi, published by Historic Environment Scotland in 2015, defines moisture as: ‘Water in its solid, liquid or gaseous/vapour states.’
It defines moisture content as the: ‘Mass of water (in any state) per unit volume of a material, often ex-pressed in kilograms of water per cubic metre (kg/m3).’
Moisture convection as the: ‘Movement of water vapour through a space via air currents or bulk air movement (as opposed to by diffusion).’
And moisture diffusivity (Dw) as: ‘…the capillary transport of moisture in the liquid phase, which is the predominant moisture transport mechanism in capillary porous materials. In the context of building physics it is sufficiently accurate to regard the liquid transport in the pore spaces as a diffusion phenomenon (although it is basically a convective phenomenon). WUFI measures it through two liquid transport that depend on both material proper-ties and boundary conditions.’
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
Featured articles and news
ECA support for Gate Safe’s Safe School Gates Campaign.
Core construction skills explained
Preparing for a career in construction.
Retrofitting for resilience with the Leicester Resilience Hub
Community-serving facilities, enhanced as support and essential services for climate-related disruptions.
Some of the articles relating to water, here to browse. Any missing?
Recognisable Gothic characters, designed to dramatically spout water away from buildings.
A case study and a warning to would-be developers
Creating four dwellings... after half a century of doing this job, why, oh why, is it so difficult?
Reform of the fire engineering profession
Fire Engineers Advisory Panel: Authoritative Statement, reactions and next steps.
Restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster
A complex project of cultural significance from full decant to EMI, opportunities and a potential a way forward.
Apprenticeships and the responsibility we share
Perspectives from the CIOB President as National Apprentice Week comes to a close.
The first line of defence against rain, wind and snow.
Building Safety recap January, 2026
What we missed at the end of last year, and at the start of this...
National Apprenticeship Week 2026, 9-15 Feb
Shining a light on the positive impacts for businesses, their apprentices and the wider economy alike.
Applications and benefits of acoustic flooring
From commercial to retail.
From solid to sprung and ribbed to raised.
Strengthening industry collaboration in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Institute of Construction and The Chartered Institute of Building sign Memorandum of Understanding.
A detailed description from the experts at Cornish Lime.
IHBC planning for growth with corporate plan development
Grow with the Institute by volunteering and CP25 consultation.
Connecting ambition and action for designers and specifiers.
Electrical skills gap deepens as apprenticeship starts fall despite surging demand says ECA.
Built environment bodies deepen joint action on EDI
B.E.Inclusive initiative agree next phase of joint equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) action plan.
Recognising culture as key to sustainable economic growth
Creative UK Provocation paper: Culture as Growth Infrastructure.



























