Thread: Leaking, mouldy houses, how to prevent?

When planning to build my house the first thing I did was to go around and take a good look at what other expats had built (surprisingly, they are all pretty glad to give you a tour if you ask) and the biggest problem I found was that of too much house...

Building being relatively cheap here most expats had built way too much house and most of the rooms were not lived in most of the time. Add this to the Balinese style of huge over-stuffed furnishings and you have a recipe for mildew and mold.

If you want to avoid this then build small or at least live in the house that you build and make sure they are aired every day. I have the windows open every day - even when not there and so far all is good. And move the cushions around a bit and put em in the sun for an hour now and then. It aint rocket science now is it?

But it is still early days

While house hunting in Bali I noticed ALL the houses were either water damaged/leaking/mouldy/smelt stale etc. I realize it rains a lot and it's humid, but surely you can do something to prevent it if you build your own house?

I do agree with most posters on this issue,but not with those that blame immediately every builder.Please remember all those smelly milldewed ac-ed houses are built to western misconceptions how a tropical house should be constructed:airtight without any natural ventilation,lots of glass panes in full sun,too low ceilings ,on a small plot with three meter high walls.
It is absolutely possible to build a house in Bali that does NOT need AC,except maybe in some very hot spots.
Just follow the rules of building as they have been for ages,before The We-Know-Better mentality set foot on Bali:
#Design a house with eaves on ALL sides of the house,shading windows and minimizing raincontact with walls and windows.(for those who have not yet noticed:the sun is eight months in the north,four months in the south.)
#Do not fill the gaps between roof and wall.
#Make your lower floor at least 3,5 meter high.
#Do not use glass windows or doors,but ventilated shutters and doors or closed shutters with a big ventilation space on top.(and open everything in the morning.)
#Use non- airtight materials where ever you can.
#Install ceilingfans when building,much easier than afterwards.(you will find out you hardly ever need them,as i did.)
#Make sure your plot is as open to cooling winds as you can get it.Balinese walls were usually a lot lower than the current western standards,and their plots were bigger.Many of them used to have ventilation slits or rosters in them as well.
#Place trees and shrubs for shade.

The additional advantage of big eaves is that your doors and windows will hardly ever get wet,so you do not need top quality wood.
I have been living now for some years in a house like this and i really never missed an AC for a second. It is really cooler inside the house than on my already shaded and ventilated porch.
Get yourself some pets if you are afraid of all the beasties coming in.The toke's and tjitjaks get rid of most flying nuisances,a cat wil take care of the mice and rats.
I know,many balinese have left these principles as well,thinking it is progress to build a nonventilated house that needs less maintenance.
You might not find many existing buildings that answer these rules any more,but you might bear it in mind when renovating or designing a new house.Good luck.