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Posts Tagged ‘damage’

Flooded Basements in Brooklyn – Drying and Cleanup

November 1st, 2009 No comments

Brooklyn, New York is one of five boroughs in New York, and is the most populous with around 2.5 million residents. The diverse population has allowed for Brooklyn to have a distinct culture, aside from the busy city that it is.

The climate of the city is the humid, continental type, which is commonly experienced in Northern parts of the United States. So, much of the size and make-up of the city affects the climate. Aside from the inland water bodies, Brooklyn is surrounded by numerous water bodies as well. All these contribute to especially chilly winters and hot and humid summers.

Important to take note of is the fact that almost all storm and frontal systems moving to the east of the continent pass or hit the State of New York. This, paired with the close proximity of neighborhood structures, causes a lot of water damage problems come the rainy and stormy seasons. However, precipitation is generally uniform throughout the year.

A direct and probable result from experiencing heavy rainfall and packed neighborhoods is flooding. Full neighborhoods allow for more human waste and less space in general. Also, there is less primacy on the quality of structures because of the lack of workable space—these are causes for floods to gather up when the heavy rain starts pouring.

Once the storms and rain have come and gone, how do you deal with floods in and around your home that are left in their wake?

Before focusing on the water damage in your home, confirm that there are no more water sources that build up so as not to risk re-flooding the premises, causing more damage in the future.

Once the outside is cleaned up, only then can you start with your home itself. Often times, floods gather in basements. Most of the water lines run through here, and, being the lowest part of your property, it is only natural for flood water to gather here.

When going in to the flooded basement itself, prepare all the necessary gear and equipment. Wear water proof and impenetrable boots and gloves, and long sleeved shirts and pants (that are water proof) as well.

The draining proper is also not as simple as it sounds. Deep floodwaters should not be drained all at once. At most, about a foot of floodwater should be drained every eight to twelve hours. This is mainly to allow the structures to dry up and regain some of their strength and sturdiness. If drained too early, the floors, walls and other building materials are left weak and prone to further damage or even collapse.

If your basement houses a lot of chemicals, tools, old furniture, and other foreign objects that you cannot account fully account for in flood water, then it is best to call for expert help.

Trained experts can effectively address basement flooding, account for their safety and yours as well, and ultimately prevent such a thing from happening again. Brooklyn has a wide array of professions and people that are willing to help out in such situations.

Categories: DIY Tags: , ,

Grout Repair Versus Reconstruction

September 19th, 2009 No comments

Grout repairing consists of chipping the old grout away with a device, place in new grout, and then reapplying the same steps employed earlier during the time when the grout was first made. Repairs usually just run along the same side of reconstruction; but unlike the latter, repairs can only cover a small portion of the entire area of the affected grout. Repairs require that you have the exact grout material used in the original grout, or else, you will end up with differently toned grout. This would destroy the aesthetic value of the surface and ruin it.

Grout reconstruction requires the whole of the grout from the entire floor to be ground away, stripped, washed off and replaced with fresh new grout. The difference is you can change colors for your grout, if you weren’t satisfied with your old color, or if you found another grout more suitable for the color of your tiles. You can also consider reconstruction if you want to replace your old grout with a new variety that can resist stains and penetration better.

So the question is, which one is better for you: reconstruction or repair? Of course, just considering one out of the two options without giving thought to this issue would have you a bill a hundred dollars too expensive. There are conditions to be fulfilled.

Repairing is recommended if you’re the DIY type. It costs only a little bit of elbow grease and some grouting material in your part. The local area in concern needs little effort and cost. All you do is remove the old grout, apply the new one and wait for it to dry (employing grout installation techniques of course). The surface has little impact on everyday processes and recovers faster than reconstruction.

Reconstruction is considered if the entirety of the grout is in bad shape, stained or in a state of disrepair. Consequently, if one part of the grout is damaged only, you may still want to consider reconstruction if your grout is 2-5 years old. Its a case of if you fix your grout now, then you better just fix the whole thing. The good thing is, if you want to change your grout color, you can choose this option. If you want to improve your grouts resistance to staining, you can opt to do so. This is the perk of reconstruction.

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