Video Case Study Check out the video overview!

Works Completed When NLR technicians got to the site, the water had stopped flowing, but there was significant standing water, on floors, ceilings and even in light fixtures. On our first visit, we moved the affected contents and set up the dehumidifiers and air movers to get as much water out of rooms and air as possible. On our return, technicians performed thorough checks to see what still needed drying. In this case, we had to lift many carpets to dry underneath them. This process often means the carpet and underlay can be saved, dramatically reducing costs for the occupant or insurer. Once the rooms were dry, they were wiped down and disinfected as necessary, and final checks were performed to ensure satisfactory results, with all the findings and actions going into a detailed report for the customer.

Project Overview NLR were called in to a water damage situation, in a Redlands two story home. The solar hot water system, located on the roof leaked through the roof tiling, and into the attic void space. Water Leaking from Ceiling Caught with Bucket Due to the leaking, the water pooled in the ceiling, and started leaking through the gyp-rock, into the bedroom below. As a result, approximately 1m2 of carpet and underlay underneath was category 2 water affected. It is important to dry these water-affected areas, as it will create a conducive environment for mould growth. NLR Technicians used a thermal imaging camera to inspect the spread and severity of the water flow in the ceiling and flooring underneath. Once determined, the ceiling space was physically inspected and the water was drained out by poking a whole through the gyp-rock ceiling, which was collected by a bucket underneath. Lastly, considering the water spread, new life technicians placed down 1 dehumidifier and 3 air movers to target both the carpet and underlay underneath and the ceiling above. Checking Moisture with thermal imaging camera Dehumidification process By placing air movers in the room, this helps bring the moisture into the air. The dehumidifier takes in the air; using refrigerant coils to drop the air to dew point, extracting the water and expelling it down a hose that leads do a drain. The cooled air is then pushed through the condenser coils, which dries the air before it exits the machine. This effectively raises the heat of the air, and therefore also raises the air’s capacity to hold moisture. This increases moisture absorption from all surfaces in the closed room, and the cycle begins again. This effectively dries the carpet, underlay and subfloor as well as the gyp-rock ceiling. Because of the drying process underneath, as well as the open and hot nature of the void space above the ceiling, the moisture will effectively dry without the need of drying equipment in the void space itself.

How We Determined Moisture Levels The test to be carried out is the Relative Humidity In-situ Probe Test in accordance with ASTM F2710 and recommended by AS 1884-2012. The concrete subfloor shall be considered sufficiently dry for installation of resilient floor coverings when measurements taken do not exceed 75% RH. Number of test locations Three test points for the first 100m2 and 1 test point for every 100m2. Total Test Points TP for 3,156m2 = 38 Test points. The appropriate depth for probe holes of the suspended slab is 20% of slab thickness – 40mm We Allowed 72 hours to achieve moisture equilibrium within the hole.

How We Fixed it: Drying a Water Damaged Sub Floor Water Extraction with a powerful truck-mounted extraction machine Drying by tenting wet carpet Installation of drymatic in the upstairs area to create an ideal environment for drying Installation of Spitfire in subfloor space to bring temperatures up to 45-60 degrees for ideal drying temperatures for yellow tongue flooring. Installation of Direct-it-in kits to dry walls in upstairs and downstairs areas Use of Direct-it-in to dry kitchen cabinetry Installation of Dri-Eaz LGR 7000 and R200 dehumidifiers to draw moisture from the air Installation of 2 x Injectidry with plates units to draw moisture from chipboard through grout lines in tiles. Installation of 3 x HEPA filter 500s to draw heated air through upper subfloor air space and expel to outside Final Outcome Reduction to acceptable moisture levels in building components recorded in subfloor open void area Reduction of moisture levels to acceptable moisture levels in building components in upper enclosed truss area between floor levels Reduction to walls and wall base plates to acceptable levels reduction in moisture in chipboard sub-flooring between levels with significant results carpets recovered in 4 bedrooms Kitchen cabinetry saved Future suggestions Would have used desiccant dehumidification in place of LGRs as they work in a higher temperature range. The client is very happy with the results due to the fast turnaround enabling tenants to be put in property faster, therefore, saving money. This was an insurance quoted job.

How We Fixed it: Drying a Water Damaged Sub Floor Water Extraction with a powerful truck-mounted extraction machine Drying by tenting wet carpet Installation of drymatic in the upstairs area to create an ideal environment for drying Installation of Spitfire in subfloor space to bring temperatures up to 45-60 degrees for ideal drying temperatures for yellow tongue flooring. Installation of Direct-it-in kits to dry walls in upstairs and downstairs areas Use of Direct-it-in to dry kitchen cabinetry Installation of Dri-Eaz LGR 7000 and R200 dehumidifiers to draw moisture from the air Installation of 2 x Injectidry with plates units to draw moisture from chipboard through grout lines in tiles. Installation of 3 x HEPA filter 500s to draw heated air through upper subfloor air space and expel to outside Final Outcome Reduction to acceptable moisture levels in building components recorded in subfloor open void area Reduction of moisture levels to acceptable moisture levels in building components in upper enclosed truss area between floor levels Reduction to walls and wall base plates to acceptable levels reduction in moisture in chipboard sub-flooring between levels with significant results carpets recovered in 4 bedrooms Kitchen cabinetry saved Future suggestions Would have used desiccant dehumidification in place of LGRs as they work in a higher temperature range. The client is very happy with the results due to the fast turnaround enabling tenants to be put in property faster, therefore, saving money. This was an insurance quoted job.

Portable Extraction Due to the biohazardous nature of sewage, it is imperative to both remove anything that is biohazardous by physical removal and sanitize the areas. In this case, because of the large volume and liquid nature of the sewage, using portable extractors were the most effective means to physically remove the sewage. These portable extractors provide powerful suction that safely sucks and store the substances within the machine, to be disposed of in safe ways. The portable nature of the machines gives great convenience and effectiveness as means to extracting water and/or sewage. In heavily affected areas, the wool carpets were removed and disposed of. Once sewage was removed, including heavily affected carpets, tiles and concrete subfloors were treated with anti-microbial treatments, to sanitize the area. lower levels were checked, finding a few affected areas. 19 air movers and 7 dehumidifiers were placed down, to dry-down the structure. Coliform/E.coli testing was done after 4 days, to test the presence of sewage, and came back absent. The drying equipment was removed after 5 days.