Well, in summation, one of my not-so-bright tenants burned down one of my properties. I have insurance, so all is well. I am considering GC’ing this rebuild myself, since I’ve already done a couple of rehabs with great luck.
The structure of the place is fine, and so is the 2nd floor subflooring. The fire damage was primarily limited to the first floor and the 2nd floor has heavy smoke damage. There is some fire damage up in the attic though, but it is minor. So 90% of the work will be electrical, plumbing, sheetrock, flooring, fixtures → toilets/sinks/cabinets/etc, plus windows and doors. Though of course we’ll need a new blower/heating unit upstairs.
Can you guys give me any tips — if you’ve rehabbed a place with fire damage before?
Depending on the amount of damage and the time the structure was exposed to water damage you may not only be dealing with smoke but also the possible growth of mold. Keep your noise and eyes open for the visible and VOC signs. If mold is found it is a bit differnet then the following to kill off the spores.
remove all soft items affected by smoke (carpeting, furniture, insulation ect.) Your attic insulation is probally going to hold the smoke so I would pitch it all and start over.
set up dehus (remove excess moisture) and air scrubbers . You can set some fans in windows blowing through to create the air movement as long as the moisture level is low outside.
Scrotched timbers should be removed (perferred when that is an option) /and/or scrubbed with a soot desolver and, after dried, sealed with an encapsulant, Be sure to check the moisture contaen tof the wood.
Walls, ceiling and exposed structural components need to be washed with the soot desolver.
Ozone is an additional way to destroy ordors but be cautious using these machines as they do suck the oxygen out of the air. Foggers are aslo available.
JonDon is a company that you can use to purchase these products… If you are in my area (SW MI) I do have some also.
The is sort of a vague way to get you started if you have mose specific ?'s I’d be happy to help.
Cegerken, I’m betting you sell this mold product right? How do you connect mold damage with fire damage so quickly?
MotivatedCEO, if it were me, i’d find somebody to do all the work for me if the insurance is paying the tab. They are right? Why mess with it? How are you gonna make money if you do it yourself? I’d have the contractor work in the deductible for the quote. Or find one that will do that. You should also have loss of rents with your rental policy right? So no hurry. Ride it out for what it’s worth, it’s the American way!
Quite actually No I do not sell the mold product and you seem to jump to conclusions for a person who was just trying to help another…
Way back when I started a carpet/upholstery cleaning company. That expanded into janitorial, fire/water, mold & lead restoration. I have trained and was certified in the mentioned areas. I have worked in these areas and have gone into homes that a great deal of cost could have been prevented IF the correct action had been applied.
I have also been trained in meth and crime scene clean-up.
So I was only alerting the owner to the possibility of another “potential” problem. When moisture and heat mix it is logical to take the precautions to protect your investment.
“Cegerken, I’m betting you sell this mold product right? How do you connect mold damage with fire damage so quickly?”
John_in_NC, I’d like to take you up on the bet. What was the wager?
PS I am in no way connected to JonDon except that they were/are an excellant company for the restoration equipment that I had purchased.
Mold damage can be caused by the water used to put down the fire. If you ever saw a house burning, you will realize that they use a lot of water to stop the flames. After all is said and done, the house is usually very wet… :O)
In my experience, immediatly following a fire, a mitigation contractor will come in and “dry out” the affected areas. They use specfic equipment to not only dry wet areas, but clean any remaining soot on walls ceilings and floors. They will also remove drywall, insulation, flooring, etc., to insure complete dry out has occured.
Once the mitigation contractor is done, the general repairs can start. Obviously remove and replace anything that has been charred or severly smoke damaged. Any surface that has had contact with smoke we seal (usually with Klilz oil- base) including stud walls, floors, attic spaces. Once the sealing of those areas are done, the place can start to be put back together again.
Biggest concern is making sure the smoked areas are sealed. Nothing could be worse than entering a newly rehabbed home after a fire and smelling smoke.