Dry rot. In this episode of The A-Z of Damp from Atlantis Property Preservation, D is for…… Dry Rot.
Dry rot fungus is often thought of as a building cancer. Meaning, it can rampage through your home and rapidly destroy any timber in its path! Dry rot can lurk behind the scenes in areas of your property. Unseen, undetected and left untreated dry rot can cause vast amounts of damage to your timbers.
Dry Rot Specialists
Our Cheshire based wood rot specialist was called out to a property in Warrington. The home-owner had noticed what they believed to be a form of wood decay growing in her wood lined cupboard under her kitchen stairs. From looking at the characteristics of the decay, it was clear to us that there was definitely a dry rot outbreak present. However, it wasn’t until we removed an air brick adjacent to the under stair cupboard that the full extent of the dry rot outbreak was revealed.
Behind the air brick, lay a large fruiting body otherwise known as a sporophore. We know that these fruiting bodies can appear in an array of shapes and sizes dependent on the conditions present. Furthermore, most of these round-shaped fruiting bodies are a rusty deep red colour (the spores). The outer parts of this growth being a much lighter white colour. Other signs may have included strands – (fibres, that look like small plant roots, dirty off-white to silver grey in colour), or Sheets – called Mycelium – (looks like a dirty off-white skin, can be tinged with yellow. These can be very wet and occasionally found as billowing cushions of off-white growths).
Identifying the Cause of Dry Rot
Before any treatments can be made to the affected area it is always important to identify the cause of the rot. In this case, it was apparent that the lack of ventilation caused by the use of hardwood to block the air brick was a major contributing factor to the growth of dry rot. Because this, combined with surrounding damp cavity wall insulation had caused moisture to linger providing an ideal environment for spores to germinate. Wood rot germinates from spores that have perfect living conditions for growth. In your home, damp, humid areas with a plentiful food source of cellulose or lignin within timber are the perfect place to thrive.
What we did
Atlantis Property Preservation used our expertise to ensure that a complete assessment of the problem was carried out. This enabled us to be confident in our diagnosis and recommended solutions. Solving the problem in this home.
If you can see signs of timber troubles in your home, don’t delay! Contact us at Atlantis Property Preservation. Our expert opinion will ensure accurate diagnosis and solutions to your property problem.
In this episode of The A-Z of Damp from Atlantis Property Preservation, E is for…… Expertise.
Our expertise. We have over 20 years’ experience in the damp proofing and associated specialist plastering techniques. You can rest assured that you will find the expertise you need when you speak to Atlantis Property Preservation. (more…)
In this episode of The A-Z of Damp from Atlantis Property Preservation, F is for…… Freya the Female Surveyor.
Having a female surveyor gives us a different appeal. We hope that you have got the strong impression from looking at our website and any direct dealings that you have had with us that Jamie Watkins is truly passionate about supplying honest, pragmatic and professional advice to homeowners across Cheshire. Atlantis Property Preservation has grown year on year and in July 2016 we decided to expand our ability to survey more local properties.
The solution to our problem
Of course, it was clear that it wouldn’t be easy to find an additional surveyor who would share Jamie’s passion and be prepared to inherently live Atlantis Property Preservation’s brand values! Then it came to us. Who better to help expand the Company business than Jamie’s wife – Freya!
Freya has been involved in the business right from the start. She helps to balance the books; advising on H&S and HR issues; managing our website and social media presence and we decided to invest in her development to put her through her CSBD (certified Surveyor of Dampness in Buildings) Qualifications to join the Atlantis Property Preservation team as a part time surveyor.
Jamie’s mission has always been to provide honest advice to all his customers and do everything in his power to give them a 5-star experience when dealing with him and his trusted team. With this in mind, he has been busy training Freya up to this standard. Freya now holds the CSDB qualification from the PCA.
So far Freya has assisted in identifying problems with many different causes including:
Understanding how raised external levels can bridge a DPC
Seeing how light weight plasters allow water to track through from a damp wall
Diagnosing and treating rising damp
Understanding, diagnosing and treating penetrating damp due to porous brickwork
Identifying damp due to wall-to-floor bridging
Diagnosing and treating condensation in a cellar
Diagnosing and treating condensation in rented properties
When can I book a female surveyor?
We feel that having a female surveyor on the team will be a unique difference for Atlantis Property Preservation we know that no other Damp Proofing company in Cheshire can offer you this option. You may be a single lady who feels more comfortable dealing directly with another female. Whatever you need, we endeavour to help. We see the addition of ‘Freya the Female Surveyor’ as just another string to our bow to provide you an excellent customer experience from the first phone call or email right through to the completed solution.
We’ll keep you posted as to how Freya progresses with her qualification. She has successfully passed her Health and Safety/ Legal Module and Damp Proofing exam and is now a Certificated Surveyor of Dampness in Buildings (CSDB).
In the meantime, with over 20 years’ experience in the damp proofing and associated specialist plastering techniques, you can rest assured that you will find the expertise you need when you speak to Atlantis Property Preservation.
If you would like to have a chat with a family run business that we feel confident that you’ll like and trust, then simply contact us at Atlantis Property Preservation for our expert opinion to ensure accurate diagnosis and solutions to your property problem.
G is for….. Garden in your Gutter (causing internal damp)
In this episode of The A-Z of Damp from Atlantis Property Preservation . G is for…… Gardens in your Gutter (causing internal damp).
We recently visited a property in Northwich, Cheshire to survey for damp detected on walls internally. A young family had been quoted over £8,000.00 to remedy a reported rising damp problem in their home. They felt this quote was too high and as such were getting some comparisons. One of their friends recommended speaking to us to get a reliable, honest advice from a CSRT expert.
What did our Damp expert see?
They were right to get a second opinion. There was no rising damp. Using a surface moisture meter, it was identified that there were no readings at skirting board height, or up to a meter high (which would be typical of rising damp). There were, however, high moisture readings. These were in the corners of the rooms at both the front and back elevations on the ground and first floor at ceiling height. An external inspection revealed that the gutters were severely blocked with debris. There was green staining and algae on the wall next to the downspout. This fault corresponded exactly to the dampness that was detected internally.
Why does maintaining gutters and downspouts prevent damp?
Furthermore, a blocked gutter can cause damage to your downspouts and water to build up and enter the property. The specialist term for this Penetrating Damp. If not repaired, it could also lead to roofing problems, which can, lead to you having damp issues internally. As with any damp issue in your home, this could result in thousands of pounds worth of repairs as if you leave it unchecked. Wood rot in your structural timbers can occur.
Gutter and downspout blockages will always happen in your property, sometimes more regularly if your home is surrounded by trees. If you included clearing the gutters in your annual home maintenance plan it will never become a significant issue. As with all types of damp, if you can prevent penetrating damp through water penetration due to leaking gutters is so much more effective than treating it.
To do their job, your gutters and downspouts must be clear of leaves and debris. If they aren’t, your drain outlets will dam up and rainwater will fill the gutters. Your gutters will then overflow, and eventually pull the gutters loose. During a rainstorm, gutters route runoff from a very large surface—a home’s roof—to where it can drain away from your house. By doing so, they protect walls, windows, doors, and foundations from water damage and help prevent flooding in basements. Therefore, if your gutters are blocked, they will fail to do the job that they were intended for – directing rain water away from your house and into your drains.
Can I clean out gutters, to help prevent damp, myself?
Depending on how hard your gutters are to reach, you can now contact a company to complete this task for you. If you prefer, and it is safe to do so, you can do it yourself. Therefore, to clean out your gutters you will need: a trowel, ladder, buckets, garden hose, gutter cleaning attachment and gutter sealant. Next you could watch one of the many YouTube videos (try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zFoynqYkCM) on this subject that you could check out for more information on a DIY job.
What should you do next?
You should have a chat with a family run business to get to the root cause of the dampness in your home. We feel confident that we can help you by carrying out a survey of your property. Simply contact usat Atlantis Property Preservation for our expert opinion to ensure accurate diagnosis and solutions to your property problem.
The A-Z of Damp & Timber from Atlantis Property Preservation – H is for Hygroscopic Salts
In this episode of The A-Z of Damp from Atlantis Property Preservation , H is for…… Hygroscopic Salts and re plastering a damp wall.
What are Hygroscopic Salts?
When dampness has been rising from in the wall in your property for some time, the soluble salts (mainly Chloride and Nitrates) become concentrated where the water evaporates from the wall. These deposits of salts are Hygroscopic. This means they attract the everyday moisture found in your home. This ‘dampness’ is not caused by water rising up the capillaries of the building materials. It is due to the dampness in your walls evaporating to the surface and leaving the tell-tale tide mark.
In this episode of The A-Z of Damp from Atlantis Property Preservation, I is for Interstitial Condensation.
Dampness problems associated with condensation and mould growths occur in many buildings yet they are not always fully understood. Particularly by the general builder or unqualified damp ‘expert’.
Condensation results from a series of relatively simple and well established physical factors. It is directly related to standards and methods of heating, ventilating and insulating buildings.
Condensation is often confused with rising damp and we are committed to getting you the correct diagnosis. Dampness in buildings can arise from a number of causes and the majority tend to be physical defects such as rising damp, penetrating damp or lack of maintenance. In the case of condensation, the problem is generally self-imposed. The emphasis on improving insulation and the way in which properties are now heated and ventilated has created exactly the right conditions for increasing condensation and mould growth.
Local authorities and, indeed, any landlord receive large numbers of complaints about condensation and mould growth. Atlantis Property Preservation are committed to helping you resolve your condensation issue in an efficient and cost effective manner.
What is condensation?
Condensation as the name implies is water which has “condensed” from air on contact with a cold surface and it occurs when warm air cools down and releases the water vapour it was ‘holding’ into the air.
Air normally contains water vapour in varying quantities. Its capacity to ‘hold’ moisture is related to temperature; basically, warm air holds more water than cold air. When the air is saturated and it cannot contain any more water vapour at the existing temperature it is said to have a relative humidity (RH) of 100%. If the temperature of the air falls until saturation point occurs the air is at a critical temperature at which it cannot hold any more water – this temperature is known as the dew point. Any further fall in temperature will result in water vapour being forced to condense out as liquid water.
Condensation in a building usually occurs when warm air comes into contact with a cold surface; the air is cooled below its saturation point causing its excess water vapour to change into liquid water. Typically, you will actually see moisture on your windows, reveals, external walls, concrete lintels… in fact anywhere that can be seen as a ‘cold spot’ in relation to the normal room temperate. This surface condensation is often found on bay windows that are in their nature more exposed to the elements, low down corners of rooms (as we all know hot air rises) and behind furniture and curtains where air flow is restricted.
Does condensation only occur on surfaces?
In addition to this surface condensation, air inside a heated building usually contains more moisture than does the external air (its normally warmer inside that outside in the UK!). This means it is a higher pressure which tends to force the warm air through the structure taking the moisture with it. Most building materials except glass, metals, plastics and certain lined elements, are to some extent permeable and do not obstruct the movement of moist air through the structure. the warm moist air will eventually cool below its due point within the fabric of the building resulting in condensation. This form of condensation is interstitial condensation.
What is Interstitial Condensation?
Interstitial condensation is rather more complex than the surface phenomenon and presents a greater hazard. The resulting high moisture content can often go undetected for long periods until serious structural damage has developed such as timber decay. It can also render ineffective any insulation within the component where it occurs.
How can Atlantis Property Preservation help resolve your Interstitial Condensation Issue?
There are many factors to consider when protecting your property from interstitial condensation. Key considerations should be given to improving ventilation, controlling moisture generation and using an impervious moisture barrier, known as a vapour check, for example a foil backed plasterboard during the internal construction of the property.
If you’re concerned that your property is suffering from the signs of condensation, we are committed to helping you resolve your properties damp issue. Simply contact us now at Atlantis Property Preservation Ltd for an informal chat to agree a way forward.
