Case Studies

Rapid-Drying Saves Flooded School Precious Classroom Time

The 2007 summer floods in Hull wreaked widespread havoc, damaging homes, businesses, schools and disrupting local residents' way of life. One school which was badly damaged by the floods was Sydney Smith School in Kingston upon Hull. With just under 1,600 pupils and 15 buildings spread over 54 acres of land, cleaning, drying and restoring this school was no small feat. Each classroom block contained nine classrooms, bathrooms and common areas - all of which were badly damaged by the floods and needed drying and reinstatement.

The school received national media attention and there was widespread concern that the restoration work could not be completed before the pupils returned from their summer holidays. Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, even visited the school on several occasions to inspect the scale of the damage and keep an eye on progress. To much surprise and delight, all the 'high priority' curriculum blocks were cleaned, dried and reinstated in time for the start of the new school term.

Thanks to a lot of hard work from school staff and contractors, the school re-opened much sooner than expected. Working on this project was Thomasons LLP (project managers), Geo. Houlton & Sons (main contractors) and The Ideal Group (subcontractors). Together they delivered a great result for the school and Hull City Council.

The importance of rapid-drying

The Ideal Group was contracted to clean and rapid-dry the school as soon as it was safe following the removal of asbestos, and their contribution to the restoration work proved very valuable indeed.

Using the four best rapid-drying systems available in the UK: Arid Air, Dry Air, Water Out and TES, and up to five technicians at a time, the Group was able to dry each block in only one week. "From our knowledge, this was the first time in history that these four systems had all worked together," said Javid Ibrahim, managing director of The Ideal Group. "It meant we could dry a large area quickly, saving precious time so the builders could get on with their work."

These rapid-drying systems typically dry materials and buildings seven times faster than conventional methods and The Ideal Group is the only company in the UK that uses all four.

Javid went on to say: "Our initial focus was on rapid-drying the buildings' structures and the concrete slabs that formed their foundations.”

Because temporary classrooms were used throughout the clean-up process, the buildings which offered pupils the most curriculum value were rapid-dried first. These 'high priority' blocks included science labs, home technology, design and technology, art and IT blocks and the special education needs (SEN) building. The main assembly hall was also rapid-dried so it could be used as a diner where the pupils could eat.

In addition to rapid-drying, The Ideal Group also cleaned the external surfaces just over the tidal mark of every building within the school grounds. This cleaning was important for the health and safety of the pupils and staff and ensured the safe removal of any possible contaminants.

This advanced rapid-drying work certainly saved the builders and Sydney Smith School money, but above all, it saved time.

"By rapid-drying the buildings as fast as we did, the builders were able to rebuild sooner, making a tangible difference to the pupils and school management,” said Javid.

Speaking about the contribution The Ideal Group made to this important project, onsite construction manager for GEO Houlton & Sons, Jason Goldsmith, said: "We simply wouldn't have been able to complete construction so pupils could return to their classrooms as quickly as we did without the help of The Ideal Group whose rapid-drying technology and prompt response was invaluable."

“For existing buildings, the best defence against extensive flood damage is to ensure that the water is drained and the buildings are dried as soon as possible, which is why rapid-drying is so important. The longer the water remains, and the longer the buildings stay damp, the greater the damage is likely to be,” says Javid.