FAQ

Carrying out damp proofing works can be a messy job, we’ll always try to minimise the noise, dust and disruption as much as we possibly can but there is going to some disruption. Some simple preparation before we get to your home will make things run a lot more smoothly

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Preparation Before Our Arrival

  1. Wherever possible the areas or rooms to be treated should be emptied as much as is reasonably practical of all items of furniture. Larger items, which cannot be moved, will be covered over by ourselves, though you may wish to cover these prior to our arrival.
  2. Electrical and valuable items should be removed from the areas to be treated before our arrival.
  3. Wherever possible carpets must be removed from the areas to be treated prior to our arrival. We can arrange a carpet fitter to attend to this if required (at additional cost).
  4. Please remember that the removal of plaster can be a very ‘dusty job’. We will do our best to stop dust getting to areas of the property that aren’t being treated, but it is a possibility.
  5. If you are removing radiators or electrical sockets yourselves, it is important that these are removed before we start. It is also extremely important that these are removed safely and comply with any relevant standards.

If any problems are encountered in preparing for our arrival, we are only a phone call away.

Carpets

We aren’t carpet fitters! Therefore we require carpets removing prior to treatments commencing, This can be arranged on your behalf, but would be at additional cost if not already stated in your quotation. If the carpets want taking up and putting in the skip, we can do that easily, if there’s a lot though we may have to charge a bit for the waste disposal.

 

Roof Treatments

Where water tanks are present in roof voids which are to be treated, these will be covered with heavy duty plastic sheeting prior to works commencing. We ask that stored items in roof voids are removed prior to works commencing.

Also we’ll put dust sheets down underneath the trap hatch and down the stairs to protect your floor coverings.

Please remember that treating a roof space can be a very messy job.

Fish Tanks & Ponds

Our treatments can be very toxic/ fatal to aquatic life (i.e. fish), even in extremely small quantities, therefore all fish tanks must be removed from any areas to be treated, or well covered with heavy duty plastic sheeting. We do appreciate that fish tanks can be very heavy!

 

Other Pets

All other pets such as cats and dogs should be kept away from the treated areas. It is unlikely the products we use will be fatal for your animals, but we don’t want to take any risks with your furry family members!

Aftercare

  1. Approx. 2 weeks – 1 month (possibly longer) following replastering, walls can be painted using 1 coat of water based matt emulsion paint. ON NO ACCOUNT must vinyl silk, eggshell or any oil-based paint be used.
  2. Walls can be wallpapered after 6 months, using a porous paper. Occasionally this may need to be left for a period of up to 2 years.
  3. In some cases a fine layer of salt, called efflorescence, can migrate through to the surface, this is perfectly normal and is actually a sign that the wall is drying out. This requires regular ‘brushing off’ prior to redecoration (the brush attachment on a vacuum cleaner works well too!).
  4. Occasionally fine surface cracks can appear in the skim coat (known as crazing) this is also normal, and is caused by the cement based backing plaster curing (or drying) at a different rate to the gypsum based skim coat.
  5. Rapid drying out using dehumidifiers or excessive heating must be avoided as this can (and probably will) cause the plaster to fail, the last thing we want is your new plaster to end up lying on the floor.

Woodworm Treatments

Chemicals We Will Use

All the preservatives and biocides used by us are water based and are approved by the HSE (Health & Safety Executive). these are incredibly safe when used in accordance with their conditions of approval (all our staff are trained to a high standard in this respect).

Very occasionally we may need to use a spirit based preservative for certain specialised treatments, which can cause a bit more of an odour, however you will be notified of this long before we carry out the treatments.

The treatments we use will woodworm larvae and eggs on contact, but do not kill adult beetles immediately, therefore It is normal for beetles to emerge from treated timbers up to 3 years after treatment, this does not mean that our treatments have been ineffective, only that those insects were particularly ‘deep seated’.