House Flood Inundation
Here are some tips you can do to fast track the repair and restoration of your flood damaged home. If you have insurance seek their advice about what to do. Ask them if you can use a preferred contractor. Using a preferred contractor may assist you getting the work done sooner. A contractor will quote the repairs to be approved by your insurer. When the insurer gives the green light your work can then be scheduled to be done as soon as practicable.
Much of the preparation work can be done by yourselves. The smell will be in the silt inside your walls. Mildew & mould are going to be a big problem as buildings begin to dry out. The dampness will remain in the walls. It is important to open those walls to allow the timber or metal frame to dry. So while it is wet, let’s wash it down straight away to minimise damage to the structure
You as the home owner can do a lot of the work in preparation for contractors to come in and do the trade repairs
Here is what you can do;
Take photos before you do anything, pictures to show time and date, even if you don’t have insurance you may get government assistance
Have your home checked there is NO ASBESTOS. If there is, this will need to be removed and dumped by a licensed handler of this product
If you have had LESS THAN 300mm of flood water over the floor;
Remove and dump floor coverings
Carefully remove curtains and curtain tracks not affected
Wash down home internally and externally
Seek advice from your contractor before removing vanity cupboards, kitchen cabinets, skirtings or architraves, plasterboard etc
If you have had MORE THAN 300mm of flood water over the floor;
Remove and dump floor coverings and curtains and curtain tracks
Wash down home internally and externally
Remove and dump vanity cupboards and kitchen cabinets, use a plumber to remove fittings like taps and disconnect all fixtures like basins
Carefully remove and store any items not touched by the flood water like kitchen bench top, vanity top, sinks, taps, door handles, toilet pan and cistern
Remove and dump all skirtings throughout the house
Remove and dump all architraves around the doors and windows
Seek advice before removing the doors and door frames, check this with your contractor
Remove and dump cupboard shelving as this will not be reusable
Remove and dump ceramic tile bed and tiles to bathroom floors
Remove the plaster cornice around the ceiling
An electrician must disconnect relevant fittings before the removal of plasterboard
Remove and dump selected gyprock wall linings
Seek advice before removing the gyprock ceilings, check with your insurer
Remove and dump affected wall insulation
Remove all nails and screws from the house's structural wall frames
Wash down bare wall frames internally to remove any silt deposits
Allow the house to ventilate and the structural frame to dry out. This may take several weeks and the moisture content should be tested before the walls are re-lined
Your contractor can do the repairs
If you have FULL INUNDATION i.e. water close to, or above the ceiling;
Do all of the above
Remove and dump the ceiling
Remove and dump all insulation
Remove and dump all internal doors and door frames, leave the front and back door in place for security reasons
Leave the windows in place for now
Remove the soffit lining and timber mould only
Wash down the whole structure from top to bottom
Leave the outside cladding on
Tools you will require;
Hammer and 350mm flat crow bar
Nips (pliers) to remove nails, do not punch nails into the timber
Drop all pulled nails to the floor, where they can be easy to sweep up later
Cordless drill to remove screws from cabinets, walls and/ or ceilings
This is intended to be a guide only. To book a free appointment with a licensed building contractor to inspect your flood damaged home call Craig or Bronwyn on 0738086149
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Is a steel house frame better than a timber frame?
Practical considerations:
1. A timber frame is more durable than steel. If a steel frame is exposed to adverse conditions like prolonged exposure to moisture steel will corrode and evaporate. Steel frame material is paper thin and relies upon the folds for stiffness.
2. A timber frame exposed to fire, will last 2.5 times longer than a steel frame. This could mean the difference of getting out of a burning building.
3. Timber is more cost effective than steel. In terms of price timber is 20% more cost efficient to purchase.
4. The production costs of steel is 20% higher than the production costs of timber which means increased energy costs.
5. Termite barriers are still a neccessity on a steel framed house, so there are no savings there.
6. A steel framed house can be noisy during temperature changes.
7. Timber is considered a ‘flexible’ structure by nature, where as steel frames are considered rigid.
8. A timber frame has much better and more secure fixing at connections and load points like around windows and doors.
9. Timber provides a massive carbon soak 1.8m3 of carbon is absorbed for every 1.0m3 of timber. When the house walls are lined the carbon is locked away.
10. Steel frames are manufactured off site. The benefits of a steel frame are clever marketing by companies wanting to sell product.
At Aaron Building we build using the economical method of ‘stick frame’ construction where the walls are marked and cut on site to suit the floor.
For residential construction, my choice is timber house frames over steel frames in every application. The versatility of timber and it’s natural qualities offer many advantages. If you would like to discuss this further do not hesitate to talk to me about this aspect of construction. Call Craig on 0738086149.
