Specialised Materials Drying in Hull

Materials that need care

• Hardwood and parquet floors. Found in some of the older villas, including around the Avenues and Newland Park. They cup and lift if wet, and crack if dried too fast. We dry them gradually, sometimes with mats that draw water up through the boards.
• Lime plaster on solid walls. Common in pre-1919 houses. It's breathable and can often be dried in place, where gypsum would be stripped.
• Solid brick walls. They hold water deep in the wall and give it up slowly, so they need patience and readings, not heat.
• Floor voids. Under suspended timber floors, water sits out of sight. We get air moving through the void, which usually means lifting a board or two.
• Screeds and concrete slabs. Slow to dry and need measuring before new flooring goes down.

The right dehumidifier for the job

Most drying uses refrigerant dehumidifiers, which work well in a warm house. In a cold, empty property in winter, a void house between tenants, or an unheated garage or outbuilding, they struggle. Desiccant dehumidifiers keep working at low temperatures, so they're the right choice when the heating is off.

Why speed and patience both matter

Drying has to start quickly to stop mould, but some materials are damaged by drying too hard. Timber floors cup and split, plaster cracks and old paint lifts. Good drying is controlled drying: steady conditions, readings on every visit, and adjustments as the materials come back to normal.

Most jobs don't need special handling, and standard structural drying covers them. If you have an older house with original floors or plaster, tell us when you ring and we'll plan for it. Once everything is dry, see repairs.

For what drying and the repairs after it usually cost, and what insurance tends to pay, see our water damage cost guide.