Send in your questions to Steve. . .

Q We (my partner and I) bought a house five years ago. It's an old cottage. When we bought the cottage the weather was just fabulous and there was no sign of dampness at all. But then when the winter arrived the whole house was covered in damp and now we have a leak in our kitchen roof, which is causing more damp. Now the house is very cold. Can you help us in any way or give us some advice?

Marie Daly The very first thing you must do is to repair the leak in your roof, otherwise it could lead to more expensive problems further down the line. Is it a flat roof or an A-type roof? I ask this question because you may be covered by your house insurance depending on the insurance company you are with. It would be advisable to check this out.

Whatever happens, you must get three quotes for the repair and get it seen to as soon as possible. You say the whole house in winter is covered in dampness . . . this sounds like you have mass concrete-built walls which would cause the dampness and also make the house very cold. It would be advisable to get a reputable builder or engineer to take a look at your property and give you advice on the best course of action. If you would like to contact me directly I can explain things in more detail.

Q I have recently been allocated an affordable house in Cork city. It is a two-bed terraced house, builders finish with chipboard on the floor upstairs. I was considering soundproofing the two gable walls and between upstairs and downstairs. It is my intention to have wooden floors throughout except for the kitchen and bathroom area. A friend of mine suggested placing a layer of cork on the chipboard before affixing the wooden floor. Also, is there some kind of special sheets for placing on walls before plastering over. I would appreciate your advice. One other thing though, I am considering moving the water tank in the attic . . . as it is just at the entrance . . . to allow for some storage and maybe putting in a Stira, flooring and shelves. I would like if you would advise me on these matters.

Deborah Culhane.

Deborah, congratulations on getting your house although I don't understand why you have to soundproof it. Surely your house should have been built to a standard where you do not have to listen to the neighbours TV / radio / arguments / toilet flushing, etc. If you are having a problem with noise from the adjoining properties then I would advise you to get back onto the builders and state your case. If you do not receive a satisfactory response I suggest you contact the Homebond company and put your case to them. If all this fails and you still want to soundproof the walls then you can purchase insulated plasterboard and apply a skimcoat finish to it. This will help deaden any sound from the neighbour's property. In relation to soundproofing your flooring you should receive a foam underlay when you purchase the flooring. I would suggest you look for double the amount to lay under the flooring and lay it in alternate directions.

The Stira attic stairs is a great idea. They are simple to fit and the Stira company will supply and fit the stairs for you if you are not up to the task yourself. The moving of the storage tank is a more detailed undertaking as you need to make sure that the tank is well supported on the joists and there will have to be additions to, and movement of, the pipework. The flooring of the attic is very simple and you can purchase tongue and groove boards that are specially made for flooring attic spaces.

Q I have double-glazed PVC coated aluminium windows. There is a major problem with condensation in winter time. The windows are 15 years old and were installed when the house was built.

Condensation flows down the inside of both the frame and the glass and is causing mould on the frames which is also transferring to the curtains. What can I do?

Michael Walsh, Ennis, Co Clare.

Unfortunately Michael, it sounds like the windows are not good quality.

You shouldn't get condensation when you have PVC on top of the aluminium as this should give it the thermal cladding required. It might be best to consider biting the bullet and installing full PVC windows and doors.