Welcome to Dryness Certificate
Our water damage restoration and structural drying technicians are qualified to assess your water damaged property, all affected materials and determine if they and the environment are certifiable as dry; to issue an IICRC S500 compliant Certificate of Dryness.
The ANSI/ IICRC S500-2015 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration is a procedural standard, based on reliable restoration principles, research and practical experience, which lays out how materials can be certified as dry. In accordance with these procedural standards, we provide a range of water damage related services, including the signing off of materials and whole areas as dry.
With use of specialist equipment from thermal imaging to ultrasound and dew point calculators, we are able to provide a report or certificate to document the moisture content of materials and provide empirical certification of dryness.
Why do I Need a Certification of Dryness?
“Surely if it looks dry and feels dry in here, it must be dry? Can I put my new wooden floor or carpet down and begin redecorating now?” – we are asked this often. Whilst the answer is, ‘if it feels like it is dry, it quite possibly is’, that doesn’t mean the end of water damage.
The surface could well be dry, but is the middle, or is there residual moisture yet to wick up when the internal environmental conditions change? What if the surface has dried out, but the concrete beneath is still wet? Residual water will move toward the area of least resistance until it no longer has incentive to do so, or, it reaches equilibrium moisture content.
On this basis, it might look and feel dry, but what happens when you change the conditions within the property and water begins to evaporate again or move to the surface of the material? Aesthetic water damage will re-occur; staining, bubbling of paint, mould, warping, rusting, etc.
A certificate of dryness or a dryness report provides a record of the recorded average moisture content (across the affected material within the affected area vs. comparative materials and areas unaffected) at the time of the survey. This can be used to mark the end of a drying project, as well as provide proof that materials are ready to be covered over; the property is ready to be restored. Your insurance may ask you for a certificate of dryness. You may wish to have a drying certificate to show that a problem has been resolved, or so that you can begin to put things back to normal following a flood or leak.
We are often asked to attend to prove that a property has not been dried properly and that dehumidifiers have been removed too early, that drying needs to continue before remediation, or even that there is still an ongoing water damage problem. New home buyers are also common clients.
Ready to Book a Dryness Certificate Survey?
This boils down to whether the affected areas were found to be dry or not. If dry, a certificate would be issued and you can then move on to the repairs or restoration of the material or property. If not dry, a report would be issued detailing what materials were found to be wet, where and to what extent. You would then need to decide whether you wish to continue with your drying process and how; organically or mechanically. We can offer advice and we do offer a full drying project service, including dehumidifier hire (as well as fans, desiccant driers, heaters, and water extraction pumping), equipment installation, delivery and collection, monitoring and of course, the certification.
Contact us today via phone, email, or request a call back, to discuss how an IICRC S500 compliant certificate of dryness can be of use to you.