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United Fire & Water Damage Restoration Inc. is proud to have provided remediation and restoration services to Blockbuster Video www.blockbuster.com stores from Biloxi to Lake Charles after Hurricanes Katrina & Rita
Services for these stores ranged from a simple dry out to full interior demolition and mold remediation. United Fire & Water Damage Restoration is licensed in the State of Louisiana (#250237) for mold remediation, and we specialize in water damage dry outs, and fire and smoke damage restoration.
We service all of Southern Louisiana and the surrounding region, and can be on scene in as little as one hour for most locations.
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United Fire & Water
7575 Jefferson Hwy #136
Baton Rouge LA 70806
1.888.657.7779 office
1.225.771.9880 cell
www.unitedfw.com
Info@unitedfw.com
Posted 2 years ago at 12:10 pm. Add a comment
Obtaining financing
You may need extra financing to complete all the work that should be done. Check with your financial institution to make sure that the money will be there if you need it. A little preplanning can save lots of stress. That’s important after a fire.
Improving your home during restoration
Restoration work may also be a good time to upgrade your house. If the upgrades are really needed or highly desirable and you can afford them, seriously consider doing them during the restoration or immediately after restoration. Remember that there may be financial support for energy upgrades, which can give you some tax relief or money back.
Air tightness improvements
Especially after a fire, a healthy house is a tight house, so that still-contaminated air cannot leak into your breathing air through walls, ceilings or basement floors. Most houses are too leaky for good indoor air quality or energy efficiency. Leaks do not guarantee good ventilation, except in the coldest and windiest weather, but they do ensure contamination of in leaking air since air leakage paths are normally contaminated, even in normal houses. Consider having your house envelope tightened by a specialist and install a mechanical ventilation system to ensure good air quality. The combination is needed for a really healthy house.
Ventilation improvements
Good ventilation is almost always mechanical ventilation, because wind and temperature differences are too variable to give you reliable ventilation. A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) system is the most cost-effective way to ensure good ventilation. It is very beneficial to run it at high speed for the first few months after a fire restoration to improve air exchange and the removal of restoration contaminants. Seriously consider installing an HRV in your fire-affected house. It will help make your house a healthier home.
Energy upgrades of surfaces and appliances
Many of our houses are not insulated as well as they should be. Restoration will likely be a good time to improve the energy efficiency of surfaces like windows, walls or ceilings. While that is being done it may also be cheaper to upgrade other, undamaged windows, walls or ceilings. Check out the possibilities because you will have a better home in the long run if it is more energy efficient. It is also true that well insulated and airtight homes are less likely to grow mold if an HRV is also in place and running. If your appliances were in any way damaged, consider replacing them with Energy Star™ units, which consume much less energy. They may be much cheaper when the cost of electricity is included.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this About Your House is for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical, legal, financial, or other advice and it should not be relied upon in that regard. Neither United Fire & Water Damage Inc. nor any of its employees, agents, or advisors shall have any liability for any damage caused by or related to the use of the information contained in About Your House.
Posted 2 years ago at 2:52 pm. Add a comment
Cleaning up mold
Mold may grow if you or your restoration contractor can’t get in the house quickly enough. Fabric materials with active mold growth must be replaced. Often, a restoration contractor can clean painted and hard surfaces. However, if your contractor couldn’t get into your house quickly enough, insist on inspecting the back of wetted drywall. If it is moldy, you must replace it. If you don’t, the mold will get into the air that you breathe, often days or weeks or even months later. Do not accept the presence of moldy materials anywhere in your house. You can use IICRC S520: Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Mold Remediation or Clean-up Procedures for Mold in Houses as reference guides. Don’t allow chemicals to be used to prevent future mold growth. Mold will only return if your house is too damp for too long. Chemical washes are not necessary and are usually too toxic to have anywhere in your house. If it is judged that mold found in your house existed before the fire, your insurance company may not pay for mold removal. If the mold is on materials to be replaced because of fire damage, these materials will be replaced at no cost to you. Otherwise be prepared to pay extra or sign off to have the mold problem left untreated.
Cleaning surfaces and contents
Smoke residues are usually very chemically active. They attack the surfaces they fall on or stick to. Chemicals from smoke residues can permanently stain or change surface finishes, the texture of fabrics and the performance of finishes and textures. Qualified fire-restoration contractors know how to do this specialized cleaning and save as many items as possible. Get the contractor who will clean up smoke residues into your house as quickly as you possibly can so the contractor can act quickly to minimize the chemical attack and damage. Remember that some items will have to go out for specialized care. Not everything can be properly cleaned in your house.
Monitoring progress
Since the fire-involved house is your home and you are in charge of the remediation (although sometimes it seems that the insurance company is driving the process), it is important that you monitor the progress of the restoration and note any problems that you see. Be polite but be firm. Make sure that all parties know how to reach you, 24 hours a day, so that you can be kept informed of critical steps and decisions required. If you do not have a cell phone, this may be the time to get one. If you have one, keep it on, with you, and well charged.
Signing off on completed work
As stages of the restoration are completed to your satisfaction, you will be expected to sign off on the work. If some work isn’t done well enough, note it on the document when you sign off, and request that a holdback be kept to ensure that the work is done well enough later on. Remember to be reasonable and sign off as soon as you honestly can.
Posted 2 years ago at 2:52 pm. Add a comment
Act quickly to avoid secondary damage
A house fire is devastating. There is damage to your house and its contents from the fire itself. And once the fire is out, you have to deal with secondary damage — damage caused by smoke and the water and chemicals firefighters use to put a fire out.
Call your insurance professional
You have to start with some phone calls — first, and most important, to your insurance professional or company. Major insurance companies have 24-hour hotlines and will generally treat your problem promptly. Ask your insurance company to recommend at least three fire restoration companies. Choose one to start the immediate work — making your house and property secure, removing water and seriously damaged materials, drying the house and contents and removing smoke residue.
Few of us know exactly what our insurance policies cover. Work with your insurance company agent or representative to find out what is covered, what is not covered and what may be subject to further discussion. Get all this in writing as soon as possible, because it will influence what you do and what you put off until later.
Be sure to document any disputed items or classes of items that are supposedly not covered. There are arbitration processes that you can use to get a final determination (short of going to court) of what is actually covered. In general, insurance companies want to find a fair and reasonable scope of needed repairs.
Your responsibilities
You are responsible for notifying all affected parties and arranging for security of the site, rapid drying and smoke cleaning and all other steps needed to minimize secondary damage. To do this you will likely hire a company that specializes in fire restoration.
Your insurance company may suggest specific firms with which they have established relationships. But it is not only your right to choose the best contractors and to ensure that they do the work promptly and well — it is your responsibility.
You define the scope of the work, with help from your insurance professional and advice from the contractors you select. Make sure that you know what your insurance will cover and what you will have to pay yourself. Your insurance company calculates what it will pay for according to industry-accepted standards.
The right forms
Your insurance company has forms that you must use to help you determine fire damage and losses. Get the forms as quickly as you can. Filling them out is a top priority. Work with your restoration contractor to complete them.
Your restoration contractor will probably also have forms to complete. Work with your contractor to get those forms completed. Remember that the contractor has experience in documenting everything — and in getting paid.
United Fire & Water
7575 Jefferson Hwy #136
Baton Rouge LA 70806
1.888.657.7779 office
1.225.771.9880 cell
www.unitedfw.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/Unitedfw
Posted 2 years ago at 1:36 pm. Add a comment
UFW RESTORATION INC. WOULD LIKE TO HELP YOUR DEPARTMENT FILL THE BOOT!
WE WILL DONATE 5% OF INVOICING TO YOUR STATION FOR YOUR USE. THIS CAN EQUATE TO $5000 OR MORE FOR YOUR STATION ON LARGER FIRE JOBS.
We are United Fire & Water Damage Restoration Inc. & we provide services in Southern Louisiana and the surrounding region. Some of our clients include:
· Blockbuster Video
· Central Plumbing
· Macaroni Grill
· B&D Plumbing
· Cunningham Lindsey Insurance Adjusters
· Latter & Blum Property Management
Our expertise include mold remediation, water damage dry outs, fire damage restoration and board up and tarping services. We are a fully licensed (LA State #250237) and insured company and we bill insurance when applicable. Feel free to look us up on the web at www.unitedfw.com for more information on our company.
225.771.9880 or 888.657.7779
INFO@UNITEDFW.COM
WWW.UNITEDFW.COM
Posted 2 years ago at 6:27 pm. Add a comment
