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.
