Poor advice by a flood control company, and her insurers, landed this lady with a re-decoration problem. Another example of someone selling an unnecessary service!

It isn't just the damp and timber industry that has the ability to sell unnecessary products.  The flood/damage control company who attended this property recommended the use of two expensive de-humidifiers for a period of five weeks!

Not only did the client have to pay the runnng costs of these, they didn't work either!

One presumes the insurance company happily paid up for their use but what their response was when the wall was still wet at the end of the hire and the plaster had to come off again isn't documented!

Property Huddersfield, HD5

Instructions To inspect a newly decorated wall in the dining room and provide an opinion on coloured ‘spots’ that have recently appeared.

Background The client has owned the property for several years: in August 2005 she noticed that a pipe, on the first floor, had burst and was wetting the left hand, gable wall to the point where it was soaked.

Her insurance company instructed a flood control company to visit the property and they recommend she temporarily install dehumidifiers and a fan. They also advised her to keep all windows and doors closed.

This advice provided little in the way of advancement for the problem and eventually, in November 2005, the original plaster was hacked off the affected wall and replaced, apparently with a standard mix of browning and skim.

As far as I can ascertain, no further meaningful checks were made to discover if the wall had dried out prior to re-plastering.

Furthermore, within a very short time, the insurance company sanctioned the re-decoration of the property. This entailed the use of vinyl wallpaper.

Latterly the client has noticed that several discoloured spots have appeared, mainly on the chimneybreast. No-one, as yet, has been able to provide her with a satisfactory explanation for these spots and consequently she has commissioned this inspection and report.

Disclosures I am not aware of any affiliation, financial or otherwise, with the client or the property.

Limitations Limited to an inspection of the reported problem.

Restrictions Nil

Date of Survey January 2006

Weather Fine, cold and clear.

Viewing Orientation All observations are made as if looking towards the house from the front.

Type of Property 1930’s brick built semi-detached; built over two floors with a modern kitchen extension at the rear. Central heating and double-glazing.

External Observations The chimney pots on the stack that serves this property do not have cowls on them. One stack serves the chimneybreast in the dining room, which is affected by the reported problem.

Internal Observations The downstairs rooms comprising the living room and dining room have recently been re-decorated with a vinyl wallpaper. On the gable wall in the dining room are several small areas that are discoloured. These areas are variously, dark grey, yellowish-green and pink. They appear to be a result of mould growths, of various species, beneath the external layer of the wallpaper. They are most common on the chimneybreast; but are not confined to it.

Moisture meter readings taken from the wall indicated that it had very high moisture content, which extended from its base up to the junction of the wall and the ceiling.

The original fire opening in the chimneybreast in the dining room has been sealed; without any ventilation openings having been left.

The first floor was examined in the area of the original leak. There are only limited signs that this occurred and the area is now substantially dry. The floor joists and timbers in the area have acceptable moisture content and I did not see any signs of fungal attack (rot). Examination was by means of torchlight and mirror. The pipe responsible for the leak has now been sealed, or removed.

Discussion In my opinion you have been ill advised by the company who were employed to dry out the property after the flood. The insertion of dehumidifiers into the property was inappropriate; especially given the time of year, when it would have been far more efficacious to simply open as many windows, for as long as possible and allow natural air currents to dry the wall.

Not only are dehumidifiers limited in their ability to effectively reduce this amount of moisture; they are also expensive to run, noisy and require ongoing attention. I am sorry you were instructed to use them and can only deduce that they were a chargeable item: whereas telling you to open the windows was not!

Furthermore, it would have been better advice from the insurance company if they had told you to wait for at least six months after the re-plastering before you decorated the property. Until the wall achieves a reasonable level of moisture content, any such redecoration is fraught with difficulties.

The lack of ventilation in the chimney breast will further impede drying out and, as there may well be accumulated soot and debris where the fireplace once stood, it would be advantageous to reintroduce air-flow and, at the same time, clean out the fireplace and flue.

Conclusions Until the wall is dry:

Remove the wallpaper on the entire gable wall in the dining room. The pipe-box in the right hand corner can be ignored for this exercise.

Allow the wall time to dry naturally and adequately: I would recommend that a period of at least six months be allowed for this to occur and, during this time, as much ventilation, in the form of open doors and windows etc, should be introduced. In the meantime you may paint the wall with one coat of high opacity matt emulsion.

At the base of the chimneybreast: insert a hole, centrally, in the brickwork with dimensions of at least 225mm x 150mm. Install a ventilation grille over this hole in keeping with the surrounding décor. It (vent) must remain open at all times and, to ensure ventilation without leakages, you should place a cowl on the chimneypot. A roofing contractor will be required.

I would contact a local chimneysweep and gauge his opinion on cleaning this flue; it may be that you need to enlarge the hole you are to make, prior to his attentions; and I would strongly recommend you to do this prior to redecoration.

I trust the above is satisfactory for your purposes but if you require further clarification please do not hesitate to contact me.

Surveyor Patrick F Doyle CSRT M. Inst. R.T.S.

Qualifications Certificated Surveyor in Remedial Treatments issued by the BWPDA.

Date of Report January 2006

Signed Surveyor

The above findings are based partly on the interpretation of results from a standard non-destructive inspection; this, by necessity, has limitations. If you require confirmatory/definitive diagnosis of my findings then this can be undertaken by the use of destructive methods of investigation: these will involve some damage and costs.