Drying property intelligently

Drying property intelligently With the risk of flooding over large parts of the UK increasing steadily, solutions have to be found for restoring homes and commercial properties after a deluge. explores the consequences of flooding in homes and businesses, and considers whether it is possible to reduce the time needed to restore flood victims to their properties. An editorially independent analysis of Clear Blue Flood Drying by Magazine

recovering from floods With the risk of flooding over large parts of the UK increasing inexorably, solutions have to be found for restoring homes and commercial properties after a deluge How far is a rapid drying process the Touchstone which can reduce stress and inconvenience for occupiers affected by flooding? explores the consequences of flooding in homes and businesses, and considers whether it is possible to reduce the time needed to restore flood victims to their properties. Investment by the Environment Agency in fl ood defences of all descriptions will reach a total of 2.3 billion over the four years to 2015. In a statement early in 2013, the Water Minister at Defra noted that 294 million is due to be invested during 2013 in Partnership Funding programmes where local authorities and businesses are contributing 148 million to support projects in their area. But no flood defence, whether at the infrastructure or individual property level, can provide 100% protection for every building in the country; certainly not for all of the 5 million homes and 300,000 businesses considered to be at risk of flooding. Once it is accepted that flood water will inundate premises, it is equally certain that there will be damage to the fabric of buildings and to the property within them. Minimising insurance costs How to minimise the level of damage incurred once water has broken through flood defences - or where no such systems were in place - is a problem facing the insurance sector as much as businesses and private occupiers who have watched as water inexorably wreaks havoc with their lives. The traditional approach has been to send in the heavy duty fan driers and de-humidifiers for a month or more and wait for the point at which the building is considered dry enough for restoration work to begin. In the meantime, woodwork and plaster damaged by prolonged exposure to water may have to be removed and transported at no small cost to landfill: flood damage carries with it a potentially huge environmental cost. Reducing stress from dislocation Finding a more efficient and cost-effective way of returning householders and businesses to their premises is necessarily high on the collective agenda. From the occupiers perspective, cutting the time it takes to dry out their property necessarily reduces the stress and inconvenience that results from having been flooded. Reducing that timescale is likely to avoid much of the damage to plasterwork and wood that comes from the longer-term soaking of doors, wooden panels, floors and fittings. Finding a method for drying out homes and business premises in the aftermath of a flood, which is cost-effective but very rapid is high on the collective agenda, particularly for the insurance sector. 2

reducing insurance premiums Environmental considerations It follows that if plasterwork does not have to be removed, and the damage to the fabric of a building limited, there is less to be cleared and less to be replaced. While property owners may not have these environmental considerations foremost in their mind as the water laps around their feet, it is an important concern in the larger picture of UK flooding. Reducing the time it takes to get buildings operational again is clearly of major concern to the UK insurance community. Where insurance policies provide extensive cover against the perils of flooding, it is in the financial interests of the insurers to limit the size of the invoices which they are called upon to settle for damaged properties, their contents and the disturbance costs associated with policy holders needing alternative accommodation. In the case of business premises, there are frequent reports of companies not being operational for anywhere up to two years, and the insurers picking up the bills for loss of profits throughout that period. The cost of drying out An important factor for the insurers is the cost of the drying out stage and the consequential damage to building fabric plaster becoming detached from walls, for example - while that continues. The customary route using powered air driers and de-humidifiers takes fifty days or more to implement. Meanwhile, there are mounting daily charges levied by the drying companies, along with the charges for gas or electricity which fall first on the property owner and then on the insurer where there is adequate cover. Bringing premises more rapidly back to the point where occupation is possible reduces accommodation costs and with lower replacement costs in the process would clearly be a way of cutting the total costs to insurers. Changing the ground rules If costs associated with drying and restoration can be contained in this way, it should be possible to reduce premiums, and to allow insurers to provide cover in situations that would not otherwise be practicable. With the end of the joint government and insurance industry Statement of Principles on Flood Insurance, the ground rules for such insurance are changing. There is a scenario where premiums on flood risk are unaffordable, or the excess which insurers impose are prohibitive to the purchaser who can see no benefit in taking out a policy on those terms. With the end of the current joint government and insurance industry Statement of Principles on Flood Insurance at the end of June 2013, the ground rules for such insurance are changing. 3

high performance drying? Does Clear Blue Flood Drying provide just a quick-fix route to drying premises or is it a cost-effective long-term solution? In our research for this focus on fl ood protection, we identifi ed an organisation which claims to meet the requirements for cost reduction and more rapid property restoration on several counts. The company makes assertions which, if substantiated, could permanently change the ground rules for property owners and the insurance community. Clear Blue Flood Drying grabs an immediate headline with its commitment to dry out a fl ooded property in four days. Signifi cantly, it does not qualify that statement with approximately or from : there is certainty of the cost before the job starts. Indeed, it goes on to claim that 100% of properties that it handled in 2012 were actually dried within that 4-day window. Moreover, it maintains that its solution is suitable for all buildings and all materials. In terms of the end result, Clear Blue cites independent tests which show that it is capable of drying properties to pre-fl ood conditions. These are strong assertions on any reckoning and worth further scrutiny. Materials Science Clear Blue Flood Drying was established as recently as 2011, but MD Oliver Townend was quick to explain that the business can trace its origins back 30 years to when key players in the company became involved in solving a broad range of problems associated with building materials. Drying the fabric of a building requires an intimate knowledge of materials science; specifically the way in which plaster, concrete and similar materials react when subjected to water and again when that water is extracted, along with dissolved materials such as the sewage which usually accompanies flood water. The team involved in Clear Blue Flood Drying has extensive current experience in this field. It is part of a small group of companies, one of which has used similar technology to control pest infestations in buildings, and is keeping the surface of a London railway bridge dry so that it can be painted. As the MD noted. With that insight, we saw a huge potential for a radically different approach to drying property after flooding. Changing market perceptions The team spent its first year exploring how best to apply its accumulated expertise to flooded premises. Having explored the options, we designed and built in our manufacturing plant the systems that would be needed to bring about a change in the market. Logic would suggest that the most efficient way to dry wet materials is with the application of heat. While heat has been used before in construction drying, drying residential and commercial buildings following a flood requires a rather different and measured approach, as Oliver Townend explained. The efficiency and four day programme relates to the ability to raise the temperature evenly and consistently in each affected room in a building to between 50 and 65 Celsius. The principle is that the walls, floors and ceiling of each room rapidly become hot from the 15,000 cubic metres of hot 4 4

comprehensive survey essential Drying the fabric of a building requires an intimate knowledge of materials science; specifically the way in which plaster, concrete and similar materials react when subjected to water and again when that water is extracted, along with dissolved materials such as the sewage which usually accompanies flood water. Oliver Townend, MD of Clear Blue Flood Drying air pumped into the property every hour. The first 25 mm depth of wall or floor surface dry quickly. Capillary action within the material s structure draws moisture from surrounding wet areas into the dry space, and the process continues until all of the walls and floors have dried out to the level of moisture that would have been found there before the flood. Uniform heating levels Notwithstanding the ability of Clear Blue s technology to sustain those temperatures during the drying process, there are surely questions raised about the consistency of the heating applied, and whether it is not excessive, doing more harm than good in that situation. The fact that the temperature is consistent in all areas of the structure, removes stress related fractures and cracks from the equation. In terms of the uniformity of heating required to achieve the required result, probes and sensors strategically placed around the room and its surfaces report back to the site operatives and also to Clear Blue s Leeds head office. Townend would be the first to recognise the value of applying advanced telemetric monitoring techniques for tracking the progress of an assignment. But he values the skills of the highly trained staff whose hands-on approach quite literally, as they check surfaces for moisture directly can add a valuable dimension to the data and allow the heating system to be re-positioned to greatest effect. Understanding materials Every Clear Blue assignment starts with an in-depth survey to assess the structure of a building and how water has got into it. Experience has shown the Clear Blue team over many years that buildings are rarely if ever built to the planned specification, so the investigation produces an accurate view of what needs to be done to start the drying process and eventual restoration. Materials expertise is core to the analysis; understanding the way in which different types of building material absorb moisture. The pore structure of London Brick is much larger than that of granite, for example, so water is more readily absorbed into brick than stone walls and floors. But the converse is true: there is a correspondingly higher rate of removal from the more open-textured brick. If a consistent temperature is maintained throughout the drying process this results in moisture being brought to the surface continually and therefore prevents water from leeching from one material to the next. There are other considerations. Does the building have a damp proof membrane in walls or floors, for example, which is designed to stop moisture rising up from the ground and into its fabric? Oliver Townend observed that insurers work on the principle that they are paying to return a building to its pre-flood state. If there had been no damp course, then there is the ongoing risk that moisture could rise due to a heightened water table and start allowing moisture to creep back into the premises again. The Clear Blue survey identifies that kind of problem and advises property owners of an appropriate course of action. Minimal loss of materials The Clear Blue MD is pragmatic about what can be saved, and what has to be removed. Unlike the general drying industry practice, which appears to be to remove everything that has been in contact with water, we do not take out anything that is not damaged or wet beyond recovery. Carpets normally have to go as they stop moisture being extracted from the Unlike the general drying industry practice, which appears to be to remove everything that has been in contact with water, we do not take out anything that is not damaged or wet beyond recovery. 5

option for expansion Clear Blue Flood Drying is in the fortunate position of having to cope with a burgeoning demand for its services. The company s response has been to set up a programme to appoint five experienced UK licensees able to assist customers across the country. These specialists will be trained and put in place over the next twelve months. floor. But we do not hack off plaster which is still safely attached to a wall. The same is true of insulation, underfloor heating systems and solid wood in kitchens. Flood waters bring with them an unacceptable level of sewage or other material that has to be removed before the surfaces can be sanitised. This falls within the Clear Blue remit: the company s electrostatic technique makes use of the principle that buildings carry a small positive electrical charge. A fine mist spray with a negative charge and an active anti-bacterial life of around 15 days is sprayed into the building; the opposing charges causes it to stick to every surface. This approach greatly reduces the concentration of chemicals remaining in the air. Increasing demand Having recognised the demand for its services, and developed the technology to achieve its objectives, Clear Blue is in the position of having to cope with a burgeoning demand. Its solution has been to set up a programme for 2013 of appointing five UK licensees able to assist customers across the country over the next 12 months. That has to be an advantage over Clear The system superheats a water/glycol mixture which is then pumped into heat exchangers within the building through insulated pipes. Blue operating solely out of Leeds in the North of England and drying properties in the high-risk areas of the South West, Cumbria or Worcestershire, for example: the equipment and power generators used by the company comes on an 11-metre unit and weigh 5.5 tonnes. Transporting these units around the country takes up valuable time that could be spent drying properties and putting profit on Clear Blue s bottom line. It would appear that technology apart the key to Clear Blue is the quality of its customer service. Can Townend and his colleagues assure the same standards when the service is delegated to third parties? Members of the team have known many of the people we have appointed for thirty years or more and regard them as market leaders in the building restoration industry. We had no choice but to expand this way. The operators have ipads so that we can track live what is happening on their assignments in the same way that we do with our own staff in the field at present. Practical considerations From an engineering perspective, the Clear Blue Flood Drying solution is remarkably simple in concept, though perhaps less so in execution. Rather than risk finding that there is no power supply (a common arrangement after floods strike), the company supplies its own power within a trailer-mounted system designed to operate continuously during the four-days it takes to complete the drying. The system, described by the company as hydronic, superheats a water/glycol mixture which is then pumped into the building through insulated pipes. Flood waters bring with them an unacceptable level of sewage that has to be removed before the surfaces can be sanitised: Clear Blue uses an electrostatic technique to complete the process. 6 6

justifying the claims? By charging a fixed price for the vast majority of its projects and a fixed timescale at the outset, the company enables clients to plan their next move more efficiently and organise subcontractors accordingly, Clear Blue is changing the way that this major stage of the post-flooding experience is handled, and saves between 50% and 60% of the overall project cost. The fluid is then passed through heat exchangers located in each part of the building being dried. The heat raises the surrounding air temperature in a controlled manner. As Oliver Townend observed, this avoids the local rise in temperature of a surface to as much as 300 C associated with some forms of industrial heating systems, and the irreparable damage to plaster and wooden surfaces that often results. Removing moist air A positive air pressure of around 0.15 bar is applied to the heated air leaving one of the heat exchangers. This has the effect of driving the heat into every corner of a room, It Is also how we expel the moisture laden hot air from a window of a vent once it has absorbed all the water it can at the operating temperature. The question of cost in an area like flooding is highly subjective. There are the strictly insurable costs such as restoring the fabric and contents of a flooded building. Then there are the less tangible losses such as the stress incurred by prolonged absence from home: the trauma can lead to severe illhealth and family breakdown. So far as the strictly financial costs are concerned, however, Clear Blue believes that its involvement can save up to between 50 & 60% on the overall project cost. There is of course also the added benefits of a huge reduction in carbon emissions of up to 80% in relation to alternative project solutions. By charging a fixed price for the vast majority of its projects and a fixed timescale at the outset, it enables clients to plan their next move more efficiently and organise sub-contractors accordingly, Clear Blue is changing the way that this major stage of the post-flooding experience is handled. Convincing insurers There is an important psychological barrier within the insurance sector that the company is slowly overcoming, as Townend observed: Third party contractors agree a daily rate with the insurance companies on four-year contracts and then invoice for however many days they take on the job typically fifty or sixty on larger jobs. Our own daily rate is very much higher than that going rate because of the capital equipment and processes involved when we go in. Insurers are now coming to realise that commissioning four days of our time ensures a guaranteed fixed price for the job rather than a day rate with no fixed time, along with other associated costs. And because we are in and out quickly, there are far fewer ongoing costs for them to stand. At a point when the insurance industry is facing higher claims for flood damage, and must find ways of lowering its cost base, the kind of solution which Clear Blue has devised could not have entered the market at a better time. Does the experience of the company out in the field warrant the claims that it has made? Customer reaction is probably the best judge of that. There is a clear and growing body of evidence from companies and individuals whose return to their property has been greatly streamlined by Clear Blue Flood Drying over the past year. This editorially independent assessment of Clear Blue Flood Drying is published by Magazine Phone number: 01483 419 411 Website: www.informedexecutive.co.uk Email: editorial@informedexecutive.co.uk Clear Blue Flood Drying 5th Floor, 2 Wellington Place, Leeds LS1 4AP Phone number: 0844 443 5605 Website: www.clearbluefl ooddrying.com Email: oliver@clearbluefl ooddrying.com At a point when the insurance industry must find ways of lowering its cost base, the kind of solution which Clear Blue Flood Drying has devised could not have entered the UK market at a better time. 7