I was quite fortunate, recently, to have my neighbor notice a cascade of water into my living room while I was on vacation (he was picking up our mail). He was able to shut the water off, and arrange for a work crew to come right away and clear out the water and the waterlogged ceiling. I was doubly fortunate that the problem was only a catastrophically broken toilet refill mechanism, which required only a nominal hour of the plumber’s time, triply fortunate that I had cleared out the living room in order to paint it (and had left the drop-cloth in place, so that the waterlogged ceiling came down on it), and quadruply fortunate that the water that ended up in the basement didn’t make it to any of the boxes I had stored down there.
But now that the situation is stable, I’m trying to figure out the next steps. I’m drying the place out: I have fans and a dehumidifier running. I know I’ll have to get the ceiling re-plastered (it’s two-coat plaster on gypsum lath), and I’ll probably need the floor (oak, no carpet) refinished, or at least recoated.
I’ve heard enough stories of shady water-damage-repair specialists to want to avoid them, especially since the damage really looks minimal. But I haven’t found much information on how to proceed; most flood recovery information is of the river-overflowing type of flood.
How will I know when the place is dry enough to fix the ceiling and floor? Is there anything else I should be looking for?
Replies
floor may need r&r if it twists and cups it's not going to move back depends how much water hit it and how long it was retained before drainoff fans are best thing to do right now, eliminate moisture, see what happens re movement
My friend had a bad house fire and ServPro has done all the cleaning of the contents that could be saved and they have done a good job. All the smoke smell is gone and a lot of the furniture was saved. I believe each office is independently owned, so check references. Also, the damage would be covered under your homeowners insurance. It's not truely flooding, it's a broken pipe kind of thing, so it should be covered.
Good luck with the clean up and rebuild. Don't forget to thank your neighbor profusely!
~Sal