Commercial Structural Drying

Commercial desiccation of built structures is the process of removing moisture from any part of the structure that has been subjected to an unwanted amount of water. It is done to avoid further damage and especially to avoid mold. Mold loves to grow in warm, damp places. If you have a water-damaged structure and you don't get it dried out fast, very dangerous and unhealthy molds can start growing.

When it comes to commercial structural drying versus residential drying, the main difference is scale and complexity. Commercial buildings are often much larger and have a wider variety of materials. This requires much more advanced techniques and much more advanced drying equipment. With commercial structural drying, you are also considering the impact on business operations and trying to minimize that impact. That often means working outside normal business hours. There's also much more regulatory compliance involved with commercial drying and much more documentation for insurance purposes.

Equipment used in commercial structural drying comes in several types. They include air movers, dehumidifiers, and moisture meters. Air movers, as you might guess, move a lot of air over wet surfaces, almost as if those surfaces were in an industrial-strength wind tunnel. Why do we need air movers when we have good old Mother Nature, not to mention ceiling fans and floor fans? Well, if we want to think of a scientific analogy, an air mover is to a drying surface what an atom is to a helium balloon. You can keep inflating a balloon and inflating a balloon, but until you pop the balloon, you won’t be moving air in the way an air mover moves air. An air mover is like nature on steroids.

Several factors, like the depth of the water damage and the size of the affected area, affect how long the commercial structural drying process takes. Usually, you can expect it to take anywhere from several days to well over a week to see the complete drying stage reached. What kinds of materials were involved in the job and what the environmental conditions are like also has a big say in how long the whole process takes. Professionals always evaluate these factors during the initial assessment.

It is very important to start the structural drying process right after water damage. Waiting too long to start can allow mold to take hold. Mold can start growing in just 24 to 48 hours after the water damage. And although some molds are not very harmful, many pose serious health risks. They can cause and complicate respiratory problems. They can lead to loss of memory and a general feeling of being unwell that can last for a long time. They can cause and/or make worse psychiatric problems. We are talking about serious stuff that with very prompt action can possibly be avoided or contained.

Yes, commercial structural drying is molded growth prevention. It looks a lot like what you would see if you went into an area affected by mold and what you would want a team of professionals to do to get that area back to normal—defined as something that is not going to make you sick if you breathe it in, and that is not going to collapse four years from now because the wood in it was wet when it was built (and is now covered in mold). So, how do you get an area back to that state after it has been breached by water and, potentially, mold?

Different devices and techniques are employed by professionals to assess the degree of moisture damage in commercial structures. Moisture meters and infrared cameras help locate wet areas and hidden pockets of moisture. Conducting moisture mapping helps professionals plan a building-specific, efficient drying strategy. Air quality testing and mold inspection are also used to ensure a comprehensive evaluation.

Absolutely, for those working in commercial structural drying, it is imperative to have specialized training. Given the intricacy and scope of commercial structures, know-how in advanced equipment and techniques is vital. The drying team also needs an in-depth understanding of nochrts, or building materials, and the moisture dynamics that occur in those materials. Regulatory requirements are another area that team members need to be well-versed in. Since the team is finally responsible for the appearance and performance of the no-longer-wet building, they also need to have a good grasp of finishing techniques and the use of span.

Commercial structural drying relies heavily on insurance to defray the costs associated with restoring water-damaged structures. Insurance underwriters have a pivotal role in determining the appearance and implementation of commercial drying. For the most part, they better understand science and the different aspects of commercial drying than most restoration company management. This results in better-informed decisions on what to demo, what not to demo, and what might be meritorious. Most insurance companies have gone to great lengths to develop policy language that excludes certain things from coverage (e.g., mold). However, in typical situations where people are using dehumidification equipment, those are not conditions likely to result in mold after 4-5 days.

The commercial structural drying process often faces multiple challenges. The first of these is finding moisture that is not immediately visible, because moisture that is hidden is usually the last part of a structure to dry out. The second challenge is dealing with large areas that have been affected by the kind of disasters that necessitate drying in the first place. A third is securing the space necessary to do the above two things while carrying on with any tethered operations most pertinent to that segment of the needed business life cycle.