Restoring Flood Damaged Property in Elmwood

4/27/2018 (Permalink)

SERVPRO determines the restoration process after flood damage for each item in your home according to the IICRC guidelines.

SERVPRO Arrives Quickly to Save and Restore Flood Damaged Items in Your Home

Elmwood, like much of our part of Louisiana, is faced with hard choices after each hurricane or other, extreme weather event. Our history goes back many generations, so hanging on to keepsakes and valuable furniture is a matter of restoring or throwing out over a century worth of events and memories in just one rocking chair. That makes it much more than just cashing an insurance check and going to the furniture store.

Making these types of flood damage decisions for your Elmwood home is not easy, so SERVPRO is here to help. Our restoration company has extensive experience in analyzing wood and other furniture damage and can provide you with the best information to decide on keeping an item or throwing it out. Our inspectors also work closely with insurance companies to make sure both parties understand what is needed and that you get everything possible.

For us, the simplest way to make any needed determinations is to follow the guidelines laid out by the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). These help our inspectors determine the extent of damage, which provides a solid estimate of what it costs to restore each item. Most insurance companies use these guidelines as well to make their determination to pay for replacement or restoration.

Take that rocking chair as an example. If the flood water only rose up the legs for a few hours, then the damage is minor. Our inspector immediately understands this and puts the restoration crew to work. They use air movers and dehumidifiers to draw out moisture from the wood and help circulate dry, warm air around the item. The procedure is a fairly small cost and most insurance companies sign off on the work immediately. The only replacement may be the need for a new coat of varnish.

If the rocking chair was soaked overnight, then there may be swelling and splitting of the wood. This level of damage requires more labor hours to monitor and repair. If the joints swelled enough to split both pieces of wood, then the repair cost may be more than the insurance company wishes to pay.

SERVPRO technicians may be able to repair this amount of damage, but our teams only do so after explaining the procedures and the cost. If there is major damage, our inspectors recommend the owner use a professional furniture repair service.

At SERVPRO of North Kenner, Harahan & Lakeview, we want to help you preserve as much of your property and history as possible. If you are dealing with flooding problems, call us at (504) 468-3046 today.

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