How Water Damage in Keene Affects Residential Walls and Ceilings

5/18/2017 (Permalink)

When water damages your walls or ceiling, many factors including insulation must be considered for remediation. Call SERVPRO without delay.

SERVPRO Technicians Are Trained to Remediate Different Types of Affected Materials After Water Damage

The first stage of water damage repair is restoring safety to the site and preparing it for work. Once movable items and debris are offsite, the next step is to extract water from the structural materials. However, the exact method of treatment depends on the nature of the material (level of porosity) and how long it has been wet.

Water damage in Keene homes affects walls and ceilings differently because they are made up of various substances. Some get substantially weaker when wet and start to crumble and degrade. They are very hard to salvage. On the other hand, some other materials stand up well under pressure and SERVPRO thoroughly dries and restores them.

Wallboard

Most modern homes contain wallboard as a covering for walls and ceilings as well, sometimes. The problem is that it is very porous and soaks up water like a sponge. If wet for an extended period, it becomes increasingly weak and may disintegrate upon contact. For this reason, SERVPRO normally discards damp wallboard.

Plaster

Plaster is a tougher material and can survive water damage if it is not too severe. The material is a slow dryer, but given enough time, cutting holes in the wall is one way to achieve this. Holes are made on both sides of an interior wall so that the technicians can circulate clean air and regulate the humidity.

Insulation

There are three forms of insulation, and they all respond to water in different ways. Styrofoam is the hardiest material. Often, it can be quickly cleaned with a hose and left to dry independently. Cellulose insulation is very sensitive and does not lend itself well to wet or dry cleaning. It can hold on to water for long periods, so it is best to replace it. Fiberglass insulation may be salvageable if the liquid is clean and is not likely to contain any contaminants.

Wood

When given space and time to dry naturally, wood normally bounces back its original shape. The problem here is that, if the wall contains multiple layers, they may dry at asynchronous rates. It is one of the leading causes of separation when the layers detach from one another. Wood sills and studs are relatively easy to paint over or cover with fresh wallboard. If this is a suitable option, it reduces the risk from any leftover contaminants and, therefore, makes it less likely that the material gets discarded.

SERVPRO of Cheshire County is your number one choice for water damage repairs. We are a local service so you can expect a fast response. Call us 24/7 at (603) 352-7251 for more information the variety of repairs available.

For more information regarding Keene, click here https://www.ci.keene.nh.us/government