09/12/2024
Have you got walls or ceilings that look like this?
These are just two of many many photographs that I have taken whilst carrying out surveys on properties around the Isle of Man this last year.
We as humans put a lot of moisture into the air within our properties. But, inherent property defects, temporary property defects, weather conditions, etcetera, can all add to the internal moisture issues.
Mould & condensation issues most times aren't as simple a fix as opening your windows &/or turning your heating up, especially in older properties. If you have had any damp-proofing work carried out in your property, whether that is wall tanking plastering systems, or similar cementitious wall plastering work, or an injected damp-proof course, or a plastic membrane systems, then these alterations to the building fabric can exacerbate any condensation & mould issues.
Mould & condensation can be bad for your health, but what it also does, is damage your decoration, damage your personal items, damage your furniture, it can damage the building fabric, it can cause timber decay, it encourages dust mites, it can encourage wood boring insect damage, etcetera, it can also cost you a lot of money to remediate.
Washing the walls down with mould killers is a short term fix, it removes the mould temporarily, but it does not address the root causes of the problem. What mould killers can do is introduce hygroscopic salts to the wall plaster. Hygroscopic salts encourage more condensation to form at that location, & inevitably, more mould.
We carry out property mould & condensation surveys regularly. This will include a full property survey, because a leaking gutter, or a crack in the external wall render, or a blocked drain, etcetera, can be a partial cause of the internal mould & condensation issues.
We charge for the surveys that we carry out, simply because we are happy to be independent. It is then up to you, to go forward & use your own preferred contractors to carry out the remediation works based on our findings, or we are also happy to carry out the remediation works for you, should you require this.
The truth is that our ultimate aim is that you have a warm, dry, mould free, healthy environment to live in.
Guess work doesn't cure these condensation & mould issues, but a scientific type survey will.