Void Damp & Mould Strip-Out and Refurbishment

ClientMajor social housing landlord

CauseLeaking soil vent pipe — traced and repaired at source

PropertyVoid — vacant, prepared for reletting

Programme4 weeks drying, then 3 weeks to completion

What Was Actually Behind the Wall

On the face of it, this was a mould problem. Behind the plasterboard it was something else entirely. A leaking soil vent pipe had been discharging into the wall build-up over a long period. The mineral wool insulation between the studs was contaminated through its full depth. The back face of the plasterboard, the metal studwork and the substrate behind were all affected.

No surface treatment would have touched this. Anti-mould paint over that wall would have looked fine for a season and failed. And no amount of remedial work would have held while the pipe was still leaking.

So the first job was not the mould. It was finding the pipe.

Fix the Cause. Dry the Fabric. Then Rebuild.

Source and Repair

The leak was traced to a defective soil vent pipe and repaired. Until that was done, nothing else was worth doing.

Dry the Structure — 4 Weeks

The property was dried for four weeks before any reinstatement began. Reboarding over a wet substrate simply seals the moisture in and the mould returns.

Strip Out, Treat and Rebuild — 3 Weeks

Contaminated linings and insulation removed, the exposed substrate put through the three-stage MGC treatment system, then reboarded, plastered, decorated and refurbished.

Scope of Works

Full survey and photographic record of the extent of mould growth before any work began.
Source of moisture traced to a leaking soil vent pipe; pipe repaired.
Structure dried for four weeks prior to any reinstatement.
Affected wall linings stripped back to the metal studwork.
Contaminated mineral wool insulation removed in full and disposed of; no contaminated material left in the build-up.
Exposed substrate and studwork treated with the full three-stage MGC system — RLT Bactdet 05 sanitiser, RLT Halophen fungicidal steriliser, and an MGC fungicidal additive mixed into the finishing coats. All HSE-approved under C.O.P.R. 1986.
Walls reboarded in new plasterboard.
Full skim plaster and redecoration.
New kitchen installed — base and wall units, worktops, sink and extraction.
New floor coverings and skirtings throughout the affected areas.
Electrical accessories and services reinstated; airing and services cupboards reboarded and made good.
Property handed back clean and ready for reletting.

Why the Void Matters

Seven weeks is longer than a cosmetic repair would have taken. It is also the only version of this job that lasts. Four of those weeks were spent drying — doing nothing visible, on purpose.

A void is the one moment in a property’s life when the walls can come off. Doing the full job at void stage — rather than the surface repair, and then a mould complaint from the incoming tenant six months later — is both the right thing for the resident who moves in and the cheaper outcome for the landlord across the life of the tenancy.