31Dec

Reoccurring Flood Damage

by Lee Seward Flood damage, building a house, Construction, construction companies, construction contractor, construction contractors, Contractors, Custom Homes, general contractor services, Home Equity, Home Remodeling, Housing Market, licensed contractors, local building contractor, local construction company, new home construction, Paint, Rebuilding Homes, Remodeling, Renovation, Repairing Home, small construction companies, Uncategorized

Home DIY

Flood Prevention 101

Here are some tips to keep water where it should be

Did you know that “INSANITY” is defined by doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?

Replace drywall, install new cabinets, moldings, flooring, furniture…wait for it….BOOM! the next storm surge (not hurricane) your home is damaged again. Be angry at those property owners who drove past your home and created a wave that gets your house wet. How dare they leave the house they own to get away or go the house they own to check damage. You have every right to be upset, you just replaced all of the damage created from the last flood and now your home is damaged again.

If your house flooded from a storm surge and you only replaced everything, you could be INSANE. You need different solutions to stop future water damage.

Where was water infiltration entry?
How high was the surge and water level outside and flood water inside?
What height (off the floor) are the entrance doors to the house?

Take this information and create a plan.

Most likely the height of the water level caused the damage. Raise all of your door entrances up as high as possible. Replace the space above your doors to installing that space below your doors. Add a landing outside to enter, and one inside if needed. Waterproof the lower elevation of your home, the entire perimeter. There are many waterproof membranes that can be applied as paint and will stop any water from entering. Besides being easy to apply, you can also paint over so it is not visible. Build the grade around your house up, add planting beds to buffer water and make sure you waterproof continuously behind and higher than the beds prior to creating the beds. Your garage, raise everything off the floor, be sure to waterproof the all of the walls 24″ up and to the concrete slab. Remove HVAC units, water heaters anything in the way and replace after applications are applied generously. Cover the entire concrete slab, be sure to raise the entrance door from the house to the garage to the max and add landing as needed.

Raise your exterior doors to create a buffer below. This work may be involved but if you do it once correctly you won’t have to do it again unless something huge came through. If your home has 8ft ceilings and you door sits on the floor of your home, you have these options:

Option 1 remove the lintel and replace with a laminated wood beam that is short in height and fat. Use the difference in height to raise the door with cement infill and waterproofing. A typical door is supporting 1 or 2 trusses so a 4″-5″ tall laminate beam is suffice.
Option 2 remove the lintel and open the ceiling up inside, install a flush header above the block walls and joist hanger the trusses into the beam for support. put your door to the ceiling line and add the space below with cement and waterproof to bottom of footing.
Option 3 open the ceiling, remove 2-4 trusses entirely, create a reverse gable roof and infill with framing. Raise your door 2ft and create an entrance outside and inside. Be certain to waterproof your exter to the bottom of your footing or at the least to the top of your footing well below your concrete floor elevation.

What is the cost? What is the amount of work involved? Slightly more than the work to replace what is damaged. So if you do this work while you are repairing your home the cost is nominal and you would not feel it. You would stop the stress worrying about flooding again, you would also increase your homes value. When you have a claim on your home it is noted and recorded. Your premiums and future owners premiums will be higher and it will be an issue later.

Recap, doing the same thing and expecting different results is Insane.

Give us a call we provide free estimates and we can help you. 561-597-0021

17Dec

Home Flood Prevention and Mitigation

by Lee Seward Repairing Home, building a house, Construction, construction companies, construction contractor, construction contractors, Contractors, Custom Homes, Flood damage, general contractor services, Home Remodeling, licensed contractors, local building contractor, local construction company, new home construction, Rebuilding Homes, Remodeling, Renovation, small construction companies, Uncategorized

Flood Damage

Flood Mitigation

When you have water damage the first thing you need to do when the water recedes is to dehumidify the area. If you have a dehumidifier set it up to run 24-7. If you do not have one then you can set your thermostat low and run your ac until you are able to get your hands on a dehumidifier. Remove everything that is wet from the house including drywall. Cut the drywall above the waterline until you find dry area. Drywall will soak the water so the sooner you cut it the less you will need to purchase later. Remove wet wood moldings carefully so you can possibly re-use when it drys out.

DIY PREVENTION

Besides raising your home there are steps you can take to prevent damage from storm surges. One is notice how the water has entered your home. Through the walls, through doorways etc. If your home is block construction on concrete slab (like the one in the picture), the focus needs to be on waterproofing the lower level of the masonry walls. Raise your entrance doors and help offset water damage to the extent possible.

Raise Exterior Doors

In the picture (above) you see the step up to enter the home at the front door, this is good and you can also see the space above the front door to the ceiling. Raise your front door, create steps and landing outside, modify the ceiling inside and outside, create a landing inside to step down. This would need to be done at all exterior doors including the one from the garage to the house.

Next, waterproof the entire lower section from below the interior floor level. Dig the soil away where possible by hand and apply a waterproof membrane. Manufactures are plenty (Laticrete is a brand we use often) and apply this over the surface and include the area you raised under your door ways. Cover the surface area heavily including wall to floor along your garage floor and walls, apply multiple coats after each drys properly. You can also apply Laticrete to the lower section of your finish interior walls and the corner of the floor, this will stop water from intruding into the wall and prevent your drywall from getting wet in the event you experience water intrusion. Laticrete and most products can be painted over so this will allow you to blend it in. They have a fabric that can be applied at the corner of the wall and floor, this will seal the edges and keep the wall dry.

The steps above will help resist water from flooding into your home based on the elevation but it is not a sure fix. Elevate your home is a sure fix and this can be done by building over your existing walls. The cost to elevate your home will reduce your flood insurance and increase your home value. Repairing will help prevent damage from surges at the lowest expense to you, but it will not increase your home value.

Information to know, single story masonry block wall homes are built on top of concrete footings set in the dirt. The floors are concrete slabs installed over compacted soil. Your interior walls are built over the concrete slab. House movers raise homes, these homes are typically wood frame homes (floor & walls) built on top of foundations. The interior floors are structural wood floors with beams posted down to concrete footings. To raise a wood frame home there are location points used to jack up the home, because the floor is structural they use the post locations to raise the floor and the entire home.

Could you lift a slab on grade single story masonry home in similar fashion? Yes but in order to raise it supports have to be added to the existing concrete slab that your interior walls sit on. So you tunnel underneath to add supports and lift or you cut up the existing floor and add supports to lift. Think of the amount of work involved. Labor is expensive and really what are you saving in the end?

Elevate your Home

Our solution is to remove your roof demo all of the interior walls and flooring, reinforce footings as needed with masonry piers, plus necessary anchors, then build a new floor, with new walls on top of your existing block walls at the elevation required. 3-4 months work and done to the style design you want all new.

The cost to elevate your home increases the value of your home offsetting the cost to do the work. We can raise your existing home at a cost of $111-$185 per square foot. The price is based on the structural integrity of your existing foundation and maintaining the same footprint of your existing home.

If you are interested give us a call and we can provide you with a free estimate. 561-597-0021.

10Oct

Shore Acres Pop Up

by Lee Seward Repairing Home, add second story addition, become a realtor, boost real estate earnings, building a house, Construction, construction companies, construction contractor, construction contractors, Contractors, Custom Homes, Flood damage, florida homes for sale, for sale by owner, general contractor services, Home Equity, Home For Sale, Home Remodeling, houses for sale, Housing Market, improve sales in real estate, licensed contractors, local building contractor, local construction company, new home construction, new home florida, new homes for sale florida, Property For Sale, Real Estate, real estate agent, real estate commission, real estate license, real estate market, Rebuilding Homes, Remodeling, Renovation, small construction companies, Subcontractors

Flood Damage Home Solution

Stop dealing with high flood insurance and damage. Raise the house and increase your home/property value.

No More Damage

We can use your existing footprint and build a new home on top of your block walls. We simply add columns and beams to support the new level.

New Second Story Home

This is a proven solution to ending extreme flood insurance premiums and also having to deal with water damage. Starting at $185,000 we can build an elevated home that would have a finished valuation of $950,000-$1,100,000.

Selective Demo

We do not go in and crush your home, we selectively demo your current home. Utilize the existing bones and build off by shoring up the existing frame. This saves you cost and time. Our process is complete for you in under 6 months.

We start with the layout of your existing home and rebuild that layout over the top of your concrete block walls. This is done by adding new columns and support beams.

If you have a Florida home in a flood zone, contact us for a free estimate and stop paying extreme flood insurance premiums. Protect your investment and increase your homes value. Repairing an existing flood prone home is equal to burning your cash. Raising your home increases your net worth.

info@iridiumdev.io

561-597-0021

30Sep

Shore Acres Flooding

by Lee Seward Construction

Sustainable Building

Residential Construction has to be sustainable and resilient. Living in areas where street drains bring in water that floods the street every high tide tide is more than a sign.

It is no longer a question of “IF” but “WHEN.” Spending good money to replace the walls and trim and have to spend more later when the water comes back is wasteful.

Proactive Construction

Painted concrete floors, tile, stone, and throw rugs.

Walls, re-build them as you would a shower. There are so many products out to waterproof your walls (Latticrete is one that I have used and trust since 2010) and floors like a shower. They are applied like paint, roll the waterproofing up the walls a few feet or at least one foot.

While your doors and jambs are removed cover the framing and drywall edges heavily and with fabric applying multiple coats of waterproofing to create a dry envelope. Replace your door frame and casing with a mold proof product, asek etc.

Install a decorative stone or tile over the wall to cover the waterproofing or paint over with a heavy stucco.

Apply a stone or tile base molding from the wall to the floor. There are so many combinations to use that are inexpensive.

Doors, exotic wood doors that are water resistant are very expensive. What I have found as a builder that I always check to avoid sticky doors and warranty work is making sure the tops and bottoms of doors have 3 coats of paint applied. Most painters paint what you see and today you can use your phone camera to click a shot and check. This will help reduce moisture wicking into the door core. If you are going to use paint grade doors in your rebuild, make sure they are painted very well on all edges and sealed. Keep a hammer and nailset handy so the next flood you can pop the pin in the hinges and take the doors off and dry them. This will save your doors from water damage.

Go Vertical

The other Proactive result is to go vertical. Abandon the ground floor, take the roof off add a few lintels and block piers/footings and go vertical. Eliminate the hassle of water damage forever.

Yes the cost is more now, but what do you think you are going to spend on rebuilding? Flood insurance? We all know when you use your insurance the premium goes up after.

We use your Existing House

New homes raised above flood elevation have fractional operating expenses compared to ground floor flood prone homes.

Money is not easy to earn or save. Spend your money on good and not throw it away.

Iridium Development can help you with design, cost, and financing.

Contact us for a free estimate.

info@iridiumdev.io

6Sep

How to Protect your House from Flood Damage

by Lee Seward Renovation

Water Damage

What can you do to protect your home and investment from flood damage.

The best answer is to elevate your home although this may not be possible for older homes. If you cannot elevate than you need to reduce damage and we will give you advice on how to do that.

Flood damage can cause your doors, windows, and walls to cave in. But in Florida there is worse damage that is caused after the water recedes, it is mold. Once your house is flooded and the water recedes mold starts to infiltrate. The longer the items are wet the more intense the mold builds and starts to spread.

The first step to reducing the damage is to remove and discard everything that is wet as soon as possible. Remove everything from the house including drywall, carpet, insulation and wet furniture. Please do this after your appraiser comes out or if you have a long wait then take a careful detailed video of everything before and after.

Once you have removed all of the wet contents then you need to dry the house out and apply a mold killer over everything.

You can find suggestions on the CDC website and bleach is an easy to source product.

Your air conditioning can be used to remove moisture in the home, have your ac running at a lower than normal temp so it continues to cycle and pull moisture from the air. You can also purchase/rent a dehumidifier as well.

Once you dry the home you will need to assess the damage along with creating a list of repairs and itemized costs.

Wood framing needs to be treated so mold does not come back, any wet drywall needs to be removed. Wet electrical wires have to be replaced as well. If you have any low HVAC vents that were flooded they should be replaced or looked at.

You also need to put some thought into this, what will stop this from happening again?

Prevention

Can you prevent future flooding? Maybe or most likely maybe not.

You can prevent future damage and this is what we are going to cover.

Change your design style along with materials. If possible elevate your entry doors and waterproof the sills.

Use cement board in place of drywall, replace carpets with stone or tile, install stone/tile base moldings.

Use rigid foam for insulation instead of fiberglass, raise wires and ductwork,

Use cabinetry that is wall mounted and elevated from the floor (european look).

Try to use materials at floor level that will not absorb moisture. Treat these areas as if the walls and floors are a bathroom shower.

Laticrete makes a water proofing application that is painted on and will seal the floor and the wall. Apply it all over your concrete floor and up the wall making sure the inside corner is covered generously. Cover the water proofing with tile or paint. What you created is a stop for water to penetrate behind your walls and mitigated the damage to contents on the floor rather than destruction of your walls.

For more information or a free consultation, contact Iridium Development 561-597-0021

Tag Flood Damage Home Solution