Steps To Follow Before Embarking On Fire Damage Restoration
Whether fire engulfed your entire home or if it stayed contained to a single area, chances are you would have to embark on fire damage restoration to bring your property back to its original lustre. However, since fire damage is something that homeowners do not expect to experience regularly, chances are they will not know how best to go about the repair and restoration process. To tackle this damage effectively, you would have to ensure that you carry out the proper prep work. Read on to learn the main steps that you should follow before embarking on fire damage restoration.
Step 1: Board up the property
Boarding up your property is crucial before you can start of fire damage restoration. To begin with, boarding up the premises ensures that the residence is secure and that there is no unauthorised access to the property by curious individuals. Secondly, the boarding up of the building functions to contain the smoke and soot damage to one area of the house rather than having it spread to rooms that may not have been affected during the fire. Thirdly, boarding up the property will also provide you with privacy as inquisitive onlookers would not be able to discern the extent of the damage. Thus, before your repair and restoration contractors can begin their work, ensure the property has been adequately boarded up.
Step 2: Get rid of severely damaged items
When some people initiate the fire damage restoration process, they tend to hold on to things merely for sentimental reasons. In reality, hoarding belongings that are severely damaged will simply slow down the repair process. Therefore, it is crucial to start sorting through the remains and compile them in piles depending on the extent of the damage. For instance, items that cannot be repaired should be placed in a discard pile so that it will be easier for you to clean up the property. The second pile should comprise items that may need some restoration through measures such as scrubbing or power washing. Whether you choose to dispose of your items or keep them, ensure that you take inventory of everything that was affected by the fire. This inventory will come in particularly handy when you are making your insurance claim.
Step 3: Have the premises deodorised
Before fire damage restoration can take place, you will notice that the entire property will be laced with the heavy stench of smoke. If you begin repairing and restoring the home without contending with this smell, your new building supplies will also become affected. Therefore, it is essential to enlist professional deodorisation services to eliminate this odour from your property.