Building Drying - Injection Drying Case Study

How To Carry Out Fast Building Drying & Reduce The Insurance Claim

Situation Analysis:

Richfords Fire & Flood British Damage Management Association (BDMA) Technicians were called to a rented property in Truro during the cold snap of January this year. A frozen pipe had burst in the loft and caused a vertical leak into the walls and the construction of the walls. The construction of the walls is block wall with a layer of insulation behind the plasterboard.

Objectives:

To carry out building drying to the affected walls and insulation with minimum disruption to tenants and in the most cost effective way possible.

Considerations:

Health & Safety – building drying had to be carried out without creating slip or trip hazards.

Implementation:

• A Richfords British Damage Management Association (BDMA) Technician and fully equipped rapid response vehicle were dispatched immediately. The technician arrived on site 40 minutes after the initial call came in.
• A risk assessment and survey were carried out.
• A qualified electrician thoroughly safety checked the electrical system of the building.
• Damage limitation work was carried out and the priority was to prevent any secondary damage occurring.
• Damage contents were triaged. The technician examines the contents and categorises them as beyond economic restoration, restorable or unaffected.
• Richfords has an exclusive relationship with KrugerAir the technology company who invented and pioneered use of the injection building drying system. Injection building drying is an innovative system that allows the introduction of very dry air into wet cavities behind walls, floors and ceilings. The result is that the plasterboard is dried from both sides and removal and replacement is avoided. To dry the wet walls and insulation in the property a series of 8mm holes are drilled along the base of the wall. The injection nozzles are then inserted into the holes and connected with flexible piping. Dehumidifiers are placed in the room to create very dry air which can then be ‘injected’ inside the wall through the nozzles by a blower attached to one end of the injection system.
• This system dries the walls and insulation from the inside out, avoiding the need for costly removal and replacement of wet walls and insulation. It also completes building drying faster than conventional techniques again reducing costs.
• Injection building drying is unobtrusive and quiet, it can be installed quickly and allows people to continue to use the affected room as normal and without disruption. For insurers and landlords this is particularly important as it avoids the need for expensive alternative accommodation costs whilst the building drying is completed.

Results:

The walls and insulation are dried very quickly. The need for demolition of the wall is avoided. The tenants are able to stay in the property for the duration of the building drying work. Cost of the work is far less than had conventional building drying methods been used.

For more information on KrugerAir Injection Building Drying please click here