WHAT WE DO
Properties closed for a long time
A home closed for months or years is not dirty: it has changed with nobody watching. And the order of the work matters more here than the quality of the products used. Open up, measure, dry out, and only then treat. A fungicide applied to a wall that is still wet hides the problem for a few weeks, and then the mould returns.
You receive : the moisture readings taken through the job
How it runs
- 01
Opening up
Ventilation, checking the services before anything is switched back on, and a dated photographic record. This is also when papers and personal effects left in the property are identified and set aside.
- 02
The damp survey
Readings taken in the structure itself, not just in the air: skirtings, cold spots, north-facing partitions, around window frames. We also look for the cause — an old leak, rising damp, condensation — because a cause that is still active makes drying pointless.
- 03
Controlled drying
Dehumidifiers sized to the volume, daily readings, continuing until the figures stabilise. The readings are sent to you as they are taken: you watch the curve come down without being there.
- 04
Treatment and return to use
Fungicidal treatment once the readings have stabilised, never before. Then a full clean, a final check, and the file handed over — initial state, readings, treatments applied, final state.
What is included
- Opening up, ventilation and a dated photographic record
- Moisture readings taken in the structure, not only in the air
- Controlled drying, with readings sent to you as they are taken
- Fungicidal treatment once the readings have stabilised
- A full clean and a final check, with a file you can pass on
What is not
- Invasive leak detection and plumbing work
- Reinstating what was taken out — linings, partitions — quoted separately
- Treatment applied before the readings stabilise: we will not do it, even when asked in order to save two days
- The insurance survey, which our file supports but does not replace
As with everything we do: nothing is removed without written instruction from someone entitled to give it, no contents are bought, and no valuations are given.
What moves the price
- How long the property was closed, and above all whether water is still getting in
- Which way the affected walls face: north-facing partitions go first
- The nature of the structure: plaster, bonded lining and old masonry do not dry at the same rate
- The season: drying is markedly slower in winter
- Whether there is power on site for the dehumidifiers, failing which a generator is needed
No prices are shown on this site, and that is not coyness: two jobs with the same name can differ tenfold depending on the floor, the access and the state of the property. The quote is prepared after a visit, itemised line by line, and it is fixed.
Questions specific to this work
Can drying be speeded up?
It can be optimised — sizing, air movement, background heat — but not forced. A material gives up its water at its own rate. What really saves time is starting early: a wall that has been wet for six years does not dry faster because it was discovered last week.
Should the water and electricity be turned off?
The water, almost always, while the leak points are checked. The electricity, not necessarily: the dehumidifiers need it. We check the consumer unit and the state of the circuits before anything is switched back on, and we bring in an electrician if there is the slightest doubt.
What if water is still getting in?
Then we do not dry: it would be spending with no effect. We document the cause as found, send you the photographs and readings for your building manager, your insurer or your plumber, and come back once the cause has been dealt with. The original quote stands for thirty days.
Tell us about the property.
A few lines are enough for us to say what is possible and how long it takes. Neither the visit nor the quote commits you to anything, and you do not need to be in France.
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