Basement Kitchen & Damp Proofing, Headingley

We were asked by the Landlord of this Student house in Leeds to investigate why the basement kitchen was so damp with significant mould growth. After some investigation we found 2 areas of concern: 1. No natural air circulated throughout the lower level (windows were not opened by the students) resulting in condensation and 2. The walls were seeping with water drawn naturally from the ground. We had 14 days between the current students moving out and the new ones coming in so time was certainly not on our side! We recommended the installation of a tanking system to eliminate damp and moisture ingress alongside a ventilation system, which is designed to monitor moisture content in order to prevent mould and damp, filtered air and reduces humidity levels which diminishes damp, condensation and mould problems. We also carried out a full re-wire of the basement electrics to bring them up to standard.

Scope of work:

• The landlord wanted to keep as much of the existing kitchen units as possible so we carefully removed these then gutted the rest of the basement by knocking off all of the plaster, removal of all plumbing pipes and replacing the rotten timber window lintels
• Installation of damp proofing membrane
• Full lower level rewire & new circuit board
• Plumbing alterations
• Plasterboard & plaster
• Installation of existing kitchen, additional new units and new extraction fan
• New floor tiles laid in kitchen & utility room
• Installation of whole house ventilation system (carried out by envirovent)
• Decorating
• Soft furnishings (sofas etc.) put back into place ready for new student arrivals