Flood damage can be devastating for homeowners. Once the deluge has passed, it’s hard to know where to start to pick up the pieces. The following 10 tips will help you find your way through the confusion and recover swiftly from the destruction caused by flooding.
1. Ventilation
After flooding, your home and interiors will be very damp. That additional moisture can have long-lasting implications for the structural integrity of your home. So your first priority should be drying out your interiors and underneath your floors. Where possible, keep your exhaust and ceiling fans running. Consider using an additional dehumidifier to extract excess moisture.
2. Remove Debris
Once you have salvaged all that is salvageable, the clean-up operation begins. Remove any damaged linings and materials as soon as possible. Depending on the scale of the damage, you may need a skip bin to dispose of the waste materials. Once you have removed the debris, clean your interiors, using as little water as possible.
3. Repair Planning
It will take some time for your home to dry out from the deluge. While you are waiting for things to dry, spend time carefully planning your repair works. Flooding is expensive, inconvenient and potentially devastating - there’s no denying. But in difficult times, it helps to find the silver lining of the situation. Try to use this unexpected misfortune as an opportunity to make overdue improvements to your building.
4. Electricity
Water and electricity are a dangerous combination. After flooding, your wiring may well be compromised. Speak to your electrical contractor or supplier and ask them to conduct a safety inspection before the electricity is reconnected.
5. Safety Check
If your home was built prior to 1985, it may contain asbestos. When asbestos particles are disturbed, they are extremely dangerous. If you suspect that your home contains asbestos, arrange for the offending materials to be safely removed before proceeding with the debris removal and repairs. Damp disarray also tends to be an open invitation for snakes, spiders and rodents to make themselves at home, so watch out for uninvited guests and consider fumigation if necessary.
6. Assess Paint
After flooding, water-damaged paint will typically peel and flake. If your home was built before 1980, there’s a possibility that lead paints were used in the construction. Dust and residue from lead paint is toxic to children so do not allow your children to play in or near the home until repairs have been carried out.
7. Damp Drywall
Plasterboard does not respond well to water damage so you will probably have to dispose of affected panels. Discuss with your plasterer or builder. If the linings have been immersed in water, you may need to remove them to the nearest joint above flood level.
8. Floor
Carpets rarely survive flooding. If you have floorboards, they will typically expand and bow up after flooding. Over the course of time, they may return to their original size but the warped shape typically gives rise to irritating squeaks and bows. Discuss with your carpenter – your floorboards may need additional nailing or screwing.
9. Approvals
Once you have an idea of the repair job ahead, you will need to get approval from your local Council for any new work or major changes to the building. Minor changes are usually easy enough to pass through approvals.
10. Compliance
Once the repair job begins, ensure that everything you build or fix is done to an acceptable standard by licensed, experienced tradespeople. Non-compliant repairs will present problems down the track if you should decide to sell the property.
Author Bio:
Jerry Tyrrell has over 40 years’ experience in the building, architectural and timber pest industry and founded Tyrrells Property & Building Inspections more than 30 years ago. Since then Jerry has supervised the inspection of, or directly inspected, almost 80,000 buildings. He has hands-on experience in most building trades, and has designed, built, supervised and project managed building projects from $5,000 to $8m.
