We Are The Experts You Can Trust In Hartford After A Flood

11/11/2019 (Permalink)

The roof gave way from a severe wind storm and broke the ceiling tiles and debris scattered in this room. We arrived right away to begin restoration.

Flood Damage Affects Wood Flooring In Your Hartford Area Home

Obviously, the faster we remove water, the less damage it can do. However, it also helps to work with a professional who knows how moisture affects different materials to dry them properly. Permeance and exposure time are two significant variables professionals use to determine the amount of damage to specific materials. 

The time it takes the homeowner to respond and how they react to flood damage in their Hartford area property play a severe role in the quality of the restoration they receive. The same goes for the response time of your restoration expert, 24-hour emergency cleanup and restoration services are an absolute must when dealing with this type of damage on your property.

SERVPRO technicians understand how wood naturally contains moisture; the average moisture content of structural wood in North America is 10%. Wood expands when it absorbs excess moisture and often warps. Expanded boards push against each other and buckle at the joints where boards meet, or at the wall. The amount of buckling depends on how much moisture gets absorbed and the type of wood that exists.

Buckling and warping may become permanent, requiring replacement if not dried properly. Refinishing cannot remove this type of flood damage. Therefore, SERVPRO technicians use a variety of equipment to extract water and dry saturated wood floors in a quick, efficient manner. 

• Cupping occurs when water gets absorbed through the bottom or sides of the wood. The edges raise, or “cup” slightly.
• Crowning can happen when the top of the wood holds more moisture than the sides or bottom. Wood arches upward in the center, creating a bowed shape. 

Particleboard, plywood, and oriented strand board (OSB) are durable enough to withstand some exposure to moisture. However, these materials are at-risk, if put together with glue that can dissolve in water. In such cases, plywood may delaminate while particleboard and OSB disintegrates, and all three can swell, warp, or buckle.

Moisture affects wood framing within your structure, in rare situations, wood warps to the point of disrepair. Finishes on wood affect both the absorption and evaporation rate by making the wood’s surface less porous.

At SERVPRO of Newington / Central Hartford, we stand ready to answer your call, providing expert cleanup and flood damage restoration services you can trust. (860) 667-9191.

See more about Hartford.