CCB License#218431
Posted by: Elite Restoration on February 15, 2022
Is Your Home Ready for Spring?
Spring is around the corner – is your home ready?
Believe it or not, spring is almost here! The beautiful summer days are closer than ever, but before you can enjoy days spent outside in the sun, it’s important to make sure your home is prepared for the unpredictable weather that comes with spring – regardless of where you live!
Rainy weeks, melting snow and ice, and more storms with the potential to be severe can all derail an otherwise blissful spring season. But with the right preparations and plans in place, you don’t have to stress about spring weather potentially creating water damage in your home.
Everyone has heard the phrase “April showers bring May flowers”, but April shower can also bring flooding and excess water around your home or business. If you see pooling water around the foundation or your house or along your roofline, it may seep into your home and cause even more damage. Check your roof and attics for leaks on wetter than normal days, if you see any moisture, water stains, or standing water, you should call a professional to assess the extent of damage that this water has caused.
When you are looking at your roof, it is also a good idea to check your basement. Because, by nature, your basement sits before the surface of the ground, it makes it easier for water to wiggle its way through cracks in your foundation, window wells, or other unsealed parts of your home. Catching leaks right away, especially in a finished basement, can help you avoid costly water damage to your walls, electrical, plumbing, or flooring. In some cases, water damage left unchecked can lead to mold growth and structural issues in your home.
Melting snow and ice can also increase the likelihood of excess water being around your property. This can occur within a matter of hours and can cause water damage just as quickly. Keep an eye on the amount of snow and ice that is around your buildings. If possible, try to move some of it away from your home or down-slope from it. That way, when the material start melting, it has a lesser chance of ending up in your home.
With the change in temperature comes expansion and contraction of many commonly used building materials in homes. This small, big significant, change in size could lead to water sneaking through cracks that it creates. Two of the most common areas this can happen is in foundations or concrete structure or your windows. Examine your basement walls or the exposed area around the exterior of your home. Do you see any large cracks that weren’t there before the winter? If there are, it might be time to contact a professional. When looking at your windows, is there any staining or bubbling of your paint around the area? Another indicator is if the windows are harder to open or close than you remember them being. This is a sign that something drastic has shifted – which could lead to water finding its way into your home too.
The changing weather and pressure in the system in spring can often lead to extreme weather events. While heavy rain can be damaging on its own, high winds, tornados, and other storms can send trees into your home, damage to your siding, damage to your roof, or damage to your windows. When this damage happens during a storm, it creates an even bigger opportunity for water to get in a soak your home. Our team of professionals can not only repair the damage done to your home during the storm, but also restore the inside of your home to remove all tracing of water damage that may have occurred.
Spring is a beautiful time to enjoy the rising temperatures and get back outside, but the changing weather can also lead to water damage troubles around your home or business. Knowing what to look for and who to call if you suspect water damage in your home is an important step when being prepared. If you have a question about possible water damage in your home, call our team of professionals. We can help you repair and restore your home so it is comfortable and safe for your entire family.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a few different methods of achieving this, the most common is in part with re-roofing the mobile home after blowing insulation into the attic cavity.
Most homeowner's policies cover most water damages, but not all water damages are created equal. There can be a lot of exceptions to coverage depending on the intricacies of your policy. This is why it's a good idea to be familiar with your policy and call your agent right away when damage occurs.
As with all insurance related questions, the answer is that it depends on your coverage. Usually, though, the answer is yes. While there are some types of water damages that aren't covered by standard policies or reasons your policy might not cover the damage, if the water damage is covered by your policy the drying process will also be covered.
A good portion of water damage can be prevented by proper household maintenance. Routine plumbing maintenance, as well as sump pump and appliance maintenance, are effective ways to avoid preventable damages. If you live in a cold climate, preparing your home for the winter can also help avoid damage. Finally, it's a good idea to regularly check the exterior of your home, particularly your roof, for damage to ensure water isn't unexpectedly leaking into your home.
DIY soot removal is not recommended. Commercially available products can actually cause permanent damage to surfaces. Soot itself is primarily oil-based, but that residue also contains toxic, possibly biohazard contaminants.
Identifying the source of the water damage is one of the first steps in both the insurance claim process and before beginning to dry out and repair the damaged areas. After all, if you replace a sagging, wet ceiling that was caused by a roof leak but don't fix the roof, too, the next rainstorm will start the cycle all over again. The buckling to your hardwood floor could be caused by a leaking pipe. We will pinpoint the exact cause of your water damage and make sure the source is repaired. We make sure your restoration job is done right the first time.
We utilize a state-of-the-art blower door system that depressurizes the home and helps us track down exactly where the leaks are specifically in location. They are not where you usually think they are. Many leaks are present in the crawlspace and the attic (HVAC system included). These are the main focus areas in a weatherization job.
It's never a quick fix, though we've gathered together a multi-disciplined team of contractors and technicians to work in tandem to complete the work as soon as possible. From structural repairs to sand/soda-blasting to odor removal to contents cleaning, our fire damage restoration crew begins as soon as the project scope is determined, and we don't stop until the job is done and both you and the insurance company are satisfied with the results.
That depends on the types of materials that were affected by water. Drywall, carpet, and hardwood floors will take longer to dry than other materials in the space. We use moisture meters throughout the process and in many different locations to gauge the moisture levels and will continue to adjust our fans and dehumidifiers to achieve an efficient but effective dry time. The bare minimum of "three days to dry" may only produce a surface dry, but can still leave behind moisture levels that create an ideal environment for mold to grow.
The length of time for proper restoration to occur is dependent on the type and size of the damage. A typical water damage project usually takes 5-7 days for drying and removal of any unsalvageable materials. Keep in mind, these are estimates and they're only for the mitigation portion of the job. The rebuilding portion of the job, where everything is put back into place, has its own separate process and timeline.
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