Should I rebuild or start new after a fire?
A house fire can be traumatizing, making it hard to get back on your feet and figure out what to do next. That’s why we’re here to help you pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. AdvantaClean has dealt with the aftermath of many life-changing disasters and helped countless people recover. We can do the same for you.
How Do I Know if My Home is Worth Repairing?
After the fire department has put out the fire and you can safely enter your home, the first thing to do is to get in touch with your insurance agent. They will inspect your house, analyze the damage, and discuss making an insurance claim with you. In addition to the damage caused by fire, smoke, and soot, your property may also have retained water damage from the fire department's hoses. Tell your insurance agent about any valuables that you lost in the fire. They will present their fire report to your insurance agency, and you can begin the process of filing a claim.
Your home may have mostly soot and water damage, or the fire may have gutted it. How big the fire was, how long it raged, and what it took to put it out will determine how bad the damage is. Repair costs will depend on the total damage to your home and how much replacement materials currently cost. While smoke can cause damage to your possessions and home, our main concern is that exposure to smoke and soot can cause damage to your health. Even if the fire damage doesn’t seem too severe, smoke may have gotten so far into your home that professional removal is required.
Should I Just Rebuild Instead?
If the fire was extensive and hot enough to strip your home to the beams, you will have to rebuild from the ground up. Even if the fire didn’t seem to do that much damage, it could still have compromised the structural integrity of your house. If smoke and water damage reached far enough into the framing of your home, it might be too far gone to save.
As devastating as that sounds, you should also remember that it offers you a new beginning. You can recreate your home exactly as it was, or take the opportunity to open up the living area, get a bigger bathroom, or install the giant shower you always wanted.
The Restoration Process
If your home wasn’t too severely damaged and local authorities deem it safe to enter, we can begin restoring your home. Fire damage restoration is not a DIY project. Please contact a qualified restoration company to evaluate and repair objects affected by heat, smoke, and the chemicals used to extinguish the fire. Organizations like the American Red Cross and Salvation Army can help anyone who has gone through a natural disaster or needs emergency assistance.
Restoration companies like AdvantaClean can help you with most of your home’s fire damage restoration. The first step will be evaluating what parts of your home are salvageable and which have been too damaged to save. We will help with the evaluation and removal of items worth keeping. For those too damaged to be repaired, we will help you identify the best solutions for disposal.
We will also extract any remaining water and dry the affected areas. Failure to do so promptly can lead to mold infestations, which will damage your home even more. It also prevents your items from sustaining any additional water damage. Once the salvageable items and standing water have been removed, we will begin smoke and soot removal.
Restoration Services Offered by AdvantaClean
There are many steps to restoring your home and getting it back to livable. It can be intimidating and may take longer than you’d like, but it’s necessary to ensure your safety. A few of the restoration services we offer include:
Fire Damage Clean Up
When the unexpected happens, you need help immediately. AdvantaClean is ready 24-hours a day! The AdvantaClean team is IICRC certified and has the knowledge, capability, and urgency to make the best of a traumatic situation.
Water Removal & Drying
Water damage from sprinklers or fire hoses is common after a fire. If left untreated, the excess water can cause health hazards, create structural damage, or lead to mold growth. Immediate action is necessary to save you both money and worry.
Smoke Odor Removal
Odors can seep into surfaces and seem impossible to remove. So how do we do it? We start with source removal for the cause of the odors. Followed by a thorough cleaning of any surfaces that are contributing to the odors. Finally, we use a chlorine dioxide treatment, ozone treatment, or hydroxyl treatment to ensure all set in odors have been completely removed.
Mold Remediation
While in an ideal world, we would repair, clean, and restore your items before any mold can grow on them, sometimes it’s unavoidable. Fortunately, mold remediation is also one of AdvantaClean’s specialties, and we are also happy to help. You don’t have to deal with all of this alone.
Why AdvantaClean is the Right Choice After a Fire
AdvantaClean has dealt with many kinds of disasters. We’ve been there for hundreds of people, helping them get back to living life as usual. We do our best to make the experience as painless as possible by working carefully and efficiently. Call us at 877.800.2382 if you need help after a fire.
