Archive for September, 2010

Furniture Restoration After a Fire is Possible

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
A house fire is a life altering event. If the owner or renter is lucky enough to have the house minimally damaged, there is still the aftermath. Insurance investigators will do their job once the claim is filed. When the claim is awarded, repair contractors must be hired. Most insurance covers personal belongings and furniture. Often, furniture is written off as a total loss because of the difficulties involved with removing smoke and soot from fabric. Most people will discard the damaged furnishings for this reason.

However, there are times when furniture can be restored and it is economical to do so. Quality and antique furniture may be impossible to replace. A lot of furniture sold now is just not as well-made as that made in the past. For instance, the frame of a sofa may be constructed from a lesser and lighter wood than the hardwoods used in the past. A dresser of yesterday may be all solid wood compared to modern dressers that often incorporate fiber board, paneling and veneers in their construction.

This is not a task for amateurs. Soot and smoke are toxic and contain cancer-causing carcinogens. The work can be tedious, which encourages a progressively sloppy effort. For these reasons, a professional water/ fire damage company should be hired to do the work. It must be done as soon as possible, because the longer the soot sits, the more it will sink in to the fabric or wood.

The restoration professionals have the tools and knowledge to repair furniture in the best manner possible. Each piece of furniture will be inspected to determine the proper course of action. Furniture can be cleaned, reupholstered, refinished and repaired as needed. Deodorization processes are able to remove the all-invasive smell of smoke. Furniture may require water removal techniques such as extraction and the application of desiccants. It will then be placed in dehumidified environment.

Cost is a major concern. Most fire restoration services will provide an estimate that compares the value of replacement with restoration. The consumer has a choice whether or not to restore fire and water damaged furniture. Many choose to save their furniture after learning that it is possible.

Call us today for a free consultation 800-516-8059 or by email at: info@superrestoration.comIn your service,

Rene Vargas
Super Restoration
1 800 516 8059

How a Restoration Company Can Help with Water, Fire, and Mold Damage to Carpet

Monday, September 6th, 2010
Water damage to carpet will be inevitable for many people. With the amount of pipes that burst during winter seasons, or just faulty water pipes in general, homes and businesses can be affected with massive amounts of damage. There is also fire damage that can happen if a home or a business catches on fire. When water is left in carpet for a long period of time, mold can start to set in, and a home can be a dangerous and toxic place to be in. Most water damaged carpets in small areas can be taken care of with a water filtration vacuum cleaner, but if a person’s entire house is damaged, or if a business has many floors of water damaged carpet, they are going to need a better recourse. Restoration companies were created to help homes and businesses save their property from massive amounts of water, fire, flood, and mold damage to carpet.

Restoration companies can bring carpets back from the brink by returning carpets back to their original conditions. Most restoration companies are equipped to help homes and businesses that have been affected by natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, rainstorms, mudslides, monsoons, and windstorms, as well as burst pipes, sewer damage, fires, and explosions. No job is too big for most restoration companies. The areas of a home or business that a restoration company can work with are, fire damage, burned walls, clean up, restore, recover, redesign, and reconstruction. Restoration companies have the most state of the art equipment that can perform a dry down of a home or business when water damage has occurred. Their equipment can extract water from any carpet and floor boards underneath. Then,they will use a combination of demolitions, drying equipment, and air movers to further the restoration process. They are also equipped with infra red cameras that can find water damage that is unseen by most people. Once a home or business has been dried down, the recovery stage can take place. This is where the carpet will be restored, redesigned, and reconstructed.

Once a home or a business has been accessed for damages, a restoration company can have carpet back to new again within a few days time. Getting to the water damaged areas as quick as possible will help to save a home or a business from destruction.

Call us today for a free consultation 800-516-8059 or by email at: info@superrestoration.comIn your service,

Rene Vargas
Super Restoration
1 800 516 8059

How to protect and prolong the life of tile

Friday, September 3rd, 2010
Decorative tile has become a popular decorating item in many homes. While tile adds to the home’s appeal, it is not without its weakness. Water can extensively damage tile and cause mold to grow in a person’s home.

A common place to find tile in a home is in the bathroom, specifically in a shower. These tiles are most often placed over drywall, as in homes built between 1965 to 1990, or cement walling, as found in newer homes. While tiles make for a sturdy shower space, they remain susceptible to damage from water left after a person bathes.

If a shower has a drywall backing, the remaining water will travel to the drywall, causing it to expand and swell. This expansion then causes the tile to become loose and perhaps even crack. The damage from cracked and loose tiles can be so significant as to warrant a shower’s needing to be entirely replaced. Cement walls do not absorb water; however, the water, instead of being absorbed into the walls, will travel to the showers floor. The water will then seep onto any surrounding floor tiling or carpeting and cause mold. Again, the damage can be so great that the homeowner may need to replace the flooring.

Home restoration professionals commonly recommend that a homeowner using grout to seal the cracks in between tiles to prevent the water from seeping into drywall. Grout is a cement-based product that, while not waterproof, prevents for some time the seeping of water into the drywall. Even more so, a homeowner should use inspect a shower’s grout and routinely replace it to ensure that the tiles will not be damaged. The grout should then be sealed with caulking. For newer showers that have cement walls, it is recommended that a weephole be placed in the shower. A weephole allows the water to travel back into the shower without damaging outside flooring or tiling. A weephole should never be filled with grout or caulk. Without an adequate weephole, a cement-backed tile shower stands to suffer damage to the shower pan and surrounding flooring.

Call us today for a free consultation 800-516-8059 or by email at: info@superrestoration.comIn your service,

Rene Vargas
Super Restoration
1 800 516 8059

The Cost of Peace of Mind

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Property ownership can be both rewarding and fraught with uncertainty. Costly nuisances such as water, mold, or fire damage can come without warning. The purpose of insurance is to offset the high cost of uncertainty. The keyword here is offset, because peace of mind comes at a cost.

The insured–the party who purchases the insurance–must pay a premium and a deductible to the insurer. The insurer is the company offering the insurance. The premium must be paid regardless of whether there is property damage. The premium is the amount that the insured pays for the option to allocate the risk of property damage to the insurer. The deductible, on the other hand, is the threshold amount that the insured must pay the insurer before the insurer will reach into its coffers to cover the remainder of the expenses associated with the property damage.

For example, if the deductible is $1000 and the property damage totals $5000, then the insured must pay the $1000 before the insurer will pay the remaining $4000. The same is true if the damage is $20,000 with a $1000 deductible. The insured must pay the first $1000 before the insurance company will pay the remaining $19,000.

It is possible to have a deductible of zero; however, the price of a low deductible is generally a high premium. The reverse is also true; the price of a low premium is a high deductible.

The choice between a high deductible or a high premium generally hinges on risk. For instance, a person who lives in a floodplain or a place known for its fires may choose to pay a higher premium in exchange for a lower deductible. Where risk is difficult to predict, the choice will boil down to what you can afford.

Either way, it is difficult not to choose the security of insurance.

Call us today for a free consultation 800-516-8059 or by email at: info@superrestoration.com

In your service,

Rene Vargas
Super Restoration
1 800 516 8059