Our Experts Act Fast In Helena After A Flood

5/21/2022 (Permalink)

Dealing with flooding and subsequent flood damage in your home can certainly seem overwhelming. Our team is standing by with water removal equipment.

Flood Damage in Your Helena Home can Cause Structural Changes

When flooding happens in your Helena neighborhood, advisories are shown on television regarding the dangers of flowing water, especially in low-lying sections of the road. This same force affects the structural framework of houses. While a house collapsing from flooding rarely happens, the damage can affect other elements inside the residence.

When we mitigate homes in Helena with flood damage, we remove the most damaged materials first. Removing carpeting, drywall, and paneling lets us see the extent of flood damage to floors and the frame. It also allows us to get direct air currents moving the moisture out of these components, helping them dry out rapidly. 

Inside crawlspaces and recessed areas of the home, mud and silt may have collected during the flood. We need to remove this debris as soon as possible to help decrease the amount of moisture in the property. This also removes copious amounts of microscopic organisms. 

During this stage, as in many others, we wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure our safety. Even in areas that your family never enters, we spray the surfaces down with clean water and then apply an antimicrobial spray. We then dry these areas so our building crew can check for warping of beams, displaced studs and support systems, and ensure your house remains stable.

Other changes because of the water’s force can happen on ground floors, above crawl spaces. Having these opened up lets us check for warping, weakened joints, and gives us an opportunity to brace any areas needing such reinforcement.

When the wood frame dries completely, we can reinstall drywall or paneling. Also, with the flooring, we can check for any trip hazards that may have developed before the water receded. We want the flooring to dry completely before installing carpet or other flooring, as this avoids trapped water and microbial growth.

SERVPRO of Helena & Great Falls helps our neighbors recover after disasters like flood damage. Call (406) 458-6008 and we can help your family by making it “Like it never even happened.”