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 THE NUMBER ONE ORGANISATION FOR PROPERTY WELL-BEING

Property Care Association Newsletter

PCA e-zine.  Issue 1

April 2011

In This Issue
PCA 2011 Awards
Understanding Condensation
A review of moulds and health issues
   
PCA Annual Awards Logo

  PCA 2011 Awards

  

Now in their third year, the PCA Awards celebrate the cream of UK businesses working in the building preservation and protection sector.

 

Football referee Graham Poll kicked off the Annual Award's ceremony at St James' Park - home to Newcastle United FC.

 

As the event's guest speaker, Graham shared recollections from more than 26 years in the game and 1544 matches - including high profile matches within the Premiership, UEFA Europa League and 2 FIFA World Cups.  For many football fans perhaps he is best remembered for issuing three yellow cards to the same player at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany....

 

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Graham Poll

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 Dear Property Professional,
  Hodgson

Quality, knowledge and service are our watchwords at the Property  Care Association. We work hard with our members to ensure consumers receive the very best of all three. We believe that our people are the best in the business. Individually, members are strong but as an Association our skill, knowledge and dedication to delivering the best possible result is unrivalled.

 

Our new publication is aimed at property professionals who may have to deal with damp, damaged or failing buildings. In each publication we aim to share information and knowledge that will help the reader to understand typical problems that you could encounter but are the stock-in-trade of members of the Property Care Association.

 

In this edition we have taken a look at condensation, the most commonly encountered damp problem and often the most difficult to combat. We also consider the implications of mould growth in the home and consider its effect on human health. Our third article looks at the importance of skill, care and understanding when waterproofing underground rooms. Get things wrong here and the outcomes can be disastrous.

 

We hope you enjoy the informative articles provided in this first issue of this publication and look forward to bringing you more soon.

Very kind regards

 sig

Stephen Hodgson

General Manager  

 

 

Understanding Condensation & the internal environment

It is well-known that surface condensation is the result of moisture laden air coming into contact with a cold surface.

 

In essence warm air can take up more water vapour then cold air and as such when it is cooled there comes a point where the air can no longer retain the levels of moisture present when it was warmer, and the air becomes fully saturated; any further cooling and the excess water begins to drop out as liquid water (condensate). This can lead to mould growth and increases in other biological agents.  

 

As commented above the amount of water that can be held by the air depends on temperature.  How saturated the air is with water is known as the relative humidity.  Thus with a constant amount of water in the air and change in temperature lead to a change in relative humidity.

 

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A review of moulds and health issues 

Condensation mould
What are "moulds"?

Moulds are fungi. They are a group of plants that are unable to produce their own food. Moulds grow and develop by breaking down dead or decaying organic (carbon-containing) materials.  What you see on typical mouldy walls or mouldy food are fungal spores, and other parts of fungal matter. It is the spores that enable the moulds to reproduce. You will also see mycelial fragments and "conidia" which is the name given to the structures on which the spores form.

 

Moulds in buildings nearly always result from persistent internal damp conditions and are often cited as a form microbial pollution.

 

Moulds in houses usually belong to fungal groups called "Ascomycetes" or "Fungi imperfecti". If you want to learn more about the biology, there are lots of good mycology websites to which you will be directed by any good internet search engine.

 

 Read more  

 

Raising the Standard for Underground Structures
 

basement - bedroomCreating a dry and inviting living or working space below ground holds specific challenges to those in the building design and construction industry, including architects, a fact that is reflected in the recent review of BS8102, the code of practice for protection of below ground structures against water from the ground.

 

The revised British Standard relating to basement waterproofing - a complete rewrite of the previous standard BS8102:1990 - was published in November 2009 in response to an increasing demand for basements and underground works, both as part of new build projects and as cellar conversions to expand the living or working area in older buildings.  

 

In this article Stephen Hodgson, general manager of UK trade body the Property Care Association and a member of the BS8102 review committee, discusses the main features and areas of change in the latest version of this code of practice.

 

 

Read more 


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