Concrete house smells unpleasant (raw concrete?)

[Bad Guy]

Hi

We built a concrete house in 2010. The walls are of the Sandwich type with concrete on the inside.
We are very happy, but there are some issues.

Above all, it smells like raw or dry concrete quite strongly when the family has been away for a few days.
There's nothing wrong with the ventilation and the smell gradually disappears when we've been home for a while.
We are leaning towards checking with a company to figure out what it could be due to.
I wonder if it's because the indoor air humidity drops when you're away that causes the smell?

Does anyone have any tips?

The other problem that several seem to be affected by is the banging in the walls, which especially occurs with larger temperature differences outside. It is something we have gotten used to, but of course, it's a bit annoying, especially at night.

Damp spots. There is a spot under an entrance door that emits moisture, which discolors and swells the paint.
I suspect it's some mishap with the moisture channels in the wall?

Grateful for tips on the odor problems or where to turn?

Best regards

 

[Jossi76]

Hello

We built a concrete house in 2010. The walls are of the Sandwich type with concrete on the inside.
We are very satisfied but there are a few blemishes.

Above all, it smells like raw or dry concrete quite strongly when the family has been away for a few days.
There is nothing wrong with the ventilation and the smell gradually disappears when we have been home for a while.
We are beginning to lean toward checking with some company to find out what it might be due to.
I don't know if it's because when the indoor air humidity drops when you are away that makes it smell like that?

Does anyone have any tips?

The other problem that more people seem to be affected by is bangs in the walls that occur especially during larger temperature differences outdoors. It is something one gets used to but of course a bit annoying, especially at night.

Moisture points. There is a point under an entrance door that emits moisture which discolors and swells the paint.
I suspect there is a mistake somewhere with the moisture channels in the wall?

Grateful for any tips on the smell problems or where to turn?

Best regards

Hello
We bought ourselves a concrete house/sandwich in Norway. We experience the same as you with banging sounds in the walls. Very loud bangs and very often both in the morning, evening, and night. Did you find any solution to this?
And what do those who sold it to you say?
Jostein

 

[Bad Guy]

Hei
Vi har kjøp oss et betonghus/ sandwich i Norge. Vi opplever det samme som dere med smellelyder i veggene. Veldig høye smell og veldig ofte både på morgen, kveld og natt. Fant dere noen løsning på dette?
Og hva sier de som dere kjøpe det av?
Jostein

Hello,

No, we haven't found what is causing the movement in the wall.
If it is due to a weak concrete slab or if it's the glulam beams in the ceiling. It could also be that the walls are sliding because they heat up quickly in the morning from the sun or cool down in the evening, causing the cracks to occur. We've learned to live with it and it mostly happens when there are large temperature differences morning/day/evening.
We have a dark-painted part of the house that's painted anthracite gray and the rest is white. That could also play a part.
We think the smell is because when no one has been home, the humidity drops, and then the smell comes from the concrete. (At least according to chat GTP, but it sounds plausible.

 

[Jossi76]

Hello

We built a concrete house in 2010. The walls are of the Sandwich type with concrete on the inside.
We are very satisfied but there are some issues.

Especially, there is a strong smell of raw or dry concrete when the family has been away for a few days.
There is nothing wrong with the ventilation, and the smell gradually disappears when we've been home for a while.
We are starting to lean towards checking with a company to figure out what the cause might be.
I don't know if it's because when the indoor air's humidity level drops while we're away, it causes the smell?

Does anyone have any tips?

The other problem that more people seem to be experiencing is banging in the walls, which especially occurs with larger temperature differences outside. It's something one gets used to, but of course, a bit annoying, especially at night.

Moisture points. We have a point under an entrance door that emits moisture, which discolors and swells the paint.
I suspect it's some mistake with the moisture channels in the wall?

Grateful for tips on the smell problems or where to turn for help?

Best regards

Hello and thank you for the response.
Yes, it is exactly the same as our house.
It's very loud banging, and we're trying to get the builder to take responsibility.

We can't really live with this as we have a bedroom by the wall that bangs the most. It can be up to 10-15 bangs each night. Even when we sleep, we constantly wake up from the banging. Not good.
Do you know of others who have the same problem?

Has your house supplier commented or said that this tends to happen with grey concrete houses? Is it normal?

Feel free to reply directly via email: betonghus@icloud.com

Thank you very much.

Regards

Jostein