User:Julian Papp/sandbox

Hidden Inter-Wall Damage (H.I.D. or HID) is visually undetectable (hidden) water damage within the wall cavities of a building structure (a house or commercial building) due to a water damage event. Most common causes of interior water damage events are water system failures and rain water entry through storm caused damage openings to a building's building envelope (usual causes being Hurricanes and Windstorms). The principle cause of Hidden Inter-Wall Damage (H.I.D.) is/are double vapor barrier building codes where a vapor barrier (usually plastic sheeting) is behind the finished walls (Drywall) which prevents water penetration into the finished walls thus, hiding the water damage within the wall cavities. The long term effects of non-corrected Hidden Inter-Wall Damage (H.I.D.) is structural wet rot damage, and of a more immediate concern is the growth of dangerous molds.

The issue of Hidden Inter-Wall Damage (H.I.D.) was identified by Julian Papp of Claims Adjusting And Appraisal Services (CAAAS.Net) following Hurricane Florence in September 2018. The North Carolina Department of Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey (NCDOI.org) issued an insurance industry bulletin on October 30, 2018, which validated the existence of Hidden Inter-Wall Damage (H.I.D.), confirmed the cause to be a State Building Code (Double Vapor Barrier Building Code) and outlined the information provided by Julian Papp in such detail that it was called "extraordinary" by the leading property insurance law blog (Merlin Law Blog).

The complexities of inspecting and testing for Hidden Inter-Wall Damage (H.I.D.) goes far beyond the issue of this form of structural property damage not being a readily visible; in great part because the damage is behind the finished wall (Drywall) and standard pin type and pin-less style moisture meters which are commonly used by both home inspectors and property claims adjusters, are designed to detect moisture within the material being tested however, Hidden Inter-Wall Damage (H.I.D.) is behind the finished walls (Drywall) and further separated by the plastic vapor barrier sheeting. To address the complexities of properly inspecting and identifying Hidden Inter-Wall Damage (H.I.D.). The leading authority on the subject of Hidden Inter-Wall Damage (H.I.D.), Julian Papp, has developed the Professional H.I.D. Inspection Protocols and an H.I.D. Inspector Certification Program to facilitate the proper inspection and property claims adjusting of H.I.D. property damage.