Three Tasks Needed to Restore Your Home after a Fire

Blog

Dealing with a house fire can be very stressful and there are a lot of tasks to do when rebuilding. If there are things that can be cleaned and saved, the smoke damage will be cleaned during the restoration process. There may also be areas that need to be gutted and rebuilt, as well as water damage that needs to be cleaned up. If you are rebuilding your home after a fire, here are some of the tasks that will need to be done to put your home back together:

1. Cleaning Up Smoke Damage in Areas That Are Not Burnt

When a home catches on fire, the fire may be put out before the home burns down. If there are areas of your home that did not burn, there may still be smoke damage that needs to be cleaned. All your belongings will need to be removed from these areas and the black soot removed. If there is carpet in these areas, it may also need to be removed. Carpet can sometimes be cleaned, but usually the smell of the fire is still embedded in the fibers, so it is usually best to replace these materials. Other flooring materials can be cleaned or refinished to remove the smoke.

2. Gutting and Rebuilding Areas of the Home That Are Severely Damaged

When there is extensive fire damage and structural elements that have been burnt, these areas will have to be gutted and rebuilt. This process involves removing damaged materials like drywall and flooring to expose the structure. Any structure elements that have caught on fire will need to be replaced. If there are materials that are not replaced, they will need to be cleaned to remove the smoke damage on them. Removing the soot will ensure that your home does not have the smoke smell after the restorations have been completed.

3. Removing Materials and Cleaning Up Any Water Damage

There may also be water damage in your home after a fire. This is usually due to the water that was used to put out a fire, or because of burst pipes and sprinkler systems. The wet materials will need to be removed and water damage cleaned up. If there has been water sitting for any extended period of time, it is also possible that there is mold hidden in the damage. When restorations are done, you may also need to have mold remediation done to clean up any mold problems that have been caused by the water.

These are some of the tasks that will need to be done to rebuild after fire damage. If you need help with the restoration of your home, contact a restoration company and talk with them about what needs to be done to pick up the pieces and put your home back together.

Share

10 July 2015

cleaning up flood damage due to appliance problems

Even if you don't live in a flood zone, your home could be exposed to the same damages caused by the water entering the home during a flood. When a pipe bursts or an appliance malfunctions, your home could quickly become damaged by water. When this happens, do you know what to do? Do you know how extensive the damage could be? Having suffered through a situation in which my water tank burst and filled my basement with water, I know very well what goes into cleaning up the mess. Visit my website to learn what clean-up efforts were done by my family and what we left to the professional restoration contractors.