Blue Chip Construction – New Build Mould Remediation

The Challenge – Extensive Mould Growth

During a large construction project the client was faced with the ongoing issue of water ingress and the resulting mould growth. Around 40-50 new build properties still under construction were taking in a substantial amount of water in the garages of the properties. In areas of water ingress, the air will become saturated with water. This often leads to further issues as time goes on. The recommended relative humidity for ideal health and comfort in a property is around 50%. Anything above this is at risk of mould growth.

Water Ingress & Elevated Moisture Levels

When dealing with water ingress and elevated moisture levels it’s common for mould to grow and spread throughout the area. In this case mould had begun to grow in the garages of the properties affected by the water ingress.

It is common for delays to construction project to have very severe consequences. Especially when the issue is to the scale of the job we faced. Even a one delay to a construction project can result in tens of thousands of pounds in costs. This is due to additional pay for workers, subcontractors as well as having to pay Liquidation and Ascertained Damages (LADs). But the consequences don’t stop there. In the case of our client, these delays could have led to more costs and time. It would have also prevented new homeowners from being able to move into their properties on time.

With all construction jobs the time frame is extremely important. The client wanted to ensure that the issues with the new build properties were dealt with and resolved as soon as possible. In order to ensure no further delays or additional costs. They needed to act quickly to solve the problem, so they reached out to Ideal Response. When contact was made we put together drying and mould remediation plan and sent it to our client for approval. Once our proposal we began the preparation to start the job ASAP.

The Ideal Solution – Mould Removal Service

It wasn’t long from the job being approved to our team beginning the mould removal and drying of the new build properties. Our team knew that over 40 properties were affected by water ingress. This meant each one would require a specialised unique drying regime. The ingress of water was localised to the garages of the new build constructions. We understood that providing a solution to prevent further water ingress would be just as important as the drying itself.

Equipment used during the Mould Remediation Service:

The job we faced was multifaceted and needed to be split into separate phases. We utilised HEPA Vacuums to all affected surfaces of the garage to remove all traces of surface mould. We also used D7 parts 1,2,3 to fully eliminate all traces of mould and completely sanitise the area. In addition to D7, we also applied Bactdet and Halophane to the surfaces. These solutions penetrates the substrate and successfully kills the roots of the mould. They also form a protective barrier to prevent any further fungal growth, whilst also sterilising the surfaces. HEPA Vacuums were also used again to remove any mould spores present in the air, after which we used to ULV Foggers to sanitise the air and kill any mould spores that may still have been present. Once the mould remediation part of the service was completed, we moved on to the drying.

Professional Drying Regiment

Our experts took various moisture readings to determine the humidity levels of the properties, once the readings were complete, we were able to calculate the length of the drying regime as well as the number of units that would be needed. Our technicians then set up the drying units and began the drying process.

Monitoring the drying was an integral part of the job as we needed to ensure the properties were drying the affected areas as quickly and efficiently as possible. The moisture levels were monitored continuously. Once the property had reached the satisfactory moisture level our team would remove the equipment and begin the process all over again on the next property. The hard work and dedication of our team measured that no time was wasted, and each property was dried in the shortest amount of time possible. This helped to reduce the overall time of the job and ensured we would have the job completed within the given time frame.

The Result

Upon our arrival we found that due to the water ingress in the new build properties garages mould had grown and spread throughout. The cause of which being elevated humidity levels that came because of the ingress of water. We were able to successfully complete the removal of the mould growth. In addition to drying all the affected properties using a calculated drying regime determined by each individual property’s moisture reading. Once the drying regiment was completed our technicians took further moisture readings to ensure that the properties now met the industry standard drying goal also known as the British Standard PAS 64.

Finally, we also provided solutions for the properties that still appeared to have issues with water ingress. These solutions successfully prevented further water ingress and ensures that the construction company could continue with the construction project without any further water ingress related issues. Allowing them to remain on schedule, thus eliminating the risk of any further and unwanted costs.

Our attention to detail, initiative, and ability to meet the deadline demonstrated to our client that Ideal Response were the best choice to make. Our team of experts are always available upon request if similar issues were ever to arise in the future on any construction projects, no matter the size or scale of the job at hand.