Restoring Your Home: Repairs and Renovations

Flooded House Repair 

Repair of a water-damaged home can be minor or extensive and expensive. As stated, an inspection of the home is the first step in the process of home flood repair and restoration. Such inspection involves looking for signs of moisture, as well as weaknesses in the structure of the home. 

Structural areas of business or home that are addressed as part of home restoration after water damage include: 

• Floor Replacement: Replacing all damaged flooring is critical to business and home flooding repair. Whether the flooring is laminate, hardwood, carpet, or tiling, it must be removed and replaced, including the subfloor underneath. Laminate and hardwood flooring absorbs water, and the professional home restoration contractor will notice such floors swollen and warping and understand this water absorption soaked through to the subfloor. If there is damp, water-damaged carpeting, such carpeting must be torn up, including the natural fiber carpet padding. Synthetic carpeting will not serve as a channel for mold. Still, the wooden subfloor or OSB (oriented strand board) subfloor will absorb water. A tile floor does not soak up water, but the wood subfloor under the tile will not dry out with a tile floor over it.

   

• Opening Walls: The professional technicians of Exit Mold will open the walls of a flood-damaged home to allow the wood studs under the drywall to dry out. A wood stud that feels dry to the touch can be wet in the middle, so expect to see the wall cavity, about 1 foot above the water line and to the floor, left open for a few weeks to ensure the wall cavity dries completely. A moisture meter is often used to ascertain the percentage of moisture that has dried and that it is safe to begin building back house restoration.

   

• Removing Insulation: The batt insulation that keeps a home warm in winter and cool in summer will also need to be removed as part of the process of home repairs and renovations to restore a flood-damaged home to its original condition. After a flood, the home insulation becomes filled with water, never completely dries out, and the moisture remains, which leads to poor air quality, mold and mildew, and a rotting away of the home’s structure. Insulation must be removed and replaced in the process of home and business flood repair and restoration.