Restoration Experts Talk About Drying Water Damaged Wooden Frames in Wayne Properties

2/21/2020 (Permalink)

After a major water loss event, we made flood cuts to expose and dry the structure of this home.

Applied Structural Drying of Water Damage for Wooden Frames in Wayne Residential Properties

Construction engineers build most residential properties onto a wooden frame. These make up the composite structure of interior walls as well as staircases floors and ceilings. Crawlspaces allow underfloor access to these frames, but they exist throughout the structure of your home. In some water restoration projects, these essential structural elements can absorb moisture. Typically, these situations occur in severe water emergencies or when water saturates a property for several weeks before the homeowner realizes.

The impact of water damage in Wayne to the frame of your home can be hard felt. When water absorbs moisture, it expands, which can result in warping. These effects can threaten the structural integrity of your home and may become noticeable in the form of cracking plasterboard or ceilings. In extreme cases, SERVPRO technicians may need to remove drywall as well as insulation to assess the extent of damage to wood framing using a moisture meter.

The natural moisture content of the woods is around 12 percent. Above 16%, there is a possibility of mold growth, whereas long-term exposure to moisture above 20% can result in dry rot. Being able to access and dry a framework in the home can be an essential part of mitigating water losses. Fortunately, most woods reach a final saturation point where the wood can no longer absorb any moisture; however, failure to dry out the frame can cause significant harm to the structural integrity of your property.

It is not likely that the framework inside your home reaches a point of buckling beyond repair. Wooden frames that absorb large amounts of water do need professional restoration to return to a suitable dry level. SERVPRO can achieve this by increasing the temperature in the material using air-movers with heating elements as well as lowering the vapor pressure above the surface of the wood. At SERVPRO, we can mobilize qualified applied structural drying (ASD) technicians to ensure that the infrastructure of your home remains free from warping, dry rot, and mold growth.

Severe water emergencies can cause structural damage. Contact SERVPRO of Wayne at (973) 546-4977 for applied structural drying services.

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