Commercial businesses – Water Damage

Often, it’s about one degree of separation.

The Emergency Response Teams at Elegant Restoration often respond to calls with an emergency…

• A frantic Homeowner
• A concerned Business Owner
• Perhaps with a broken pipe, a tree damage to the roof, or even a Car in the Living Room of their home or the Lobby of their business!
• Someone who has a direct, vested interest in preserving either their home or the brick and mortar that is their business.
• One degree of separation from Elegant Restoration

Sometimes, it’s about three degrees of separation.

Perhaps a Property Management Company, with many Commercial properties…

• The Management Company’s business office may not be in the building with, say, a busted pipe, but one of their lessees’ businesses are.
• Their livelihood, even their ability to open for business as usual the next day may be compromised.
• Most often, this type of call is not from the affected business owner, rather from the

Property Management Company who owns the real estate.

• Three degrees of separation from Elegant Restoration

And YES: Occasionally, it’s about two degrees of separation.

• The Maintenance Director of an Assisted Living Facility located in Baltimore, MD 21201, with over 200 residents.
• Or the Director of an Early Childhood Development Center in Woodlawn, MD 21043 with dozens of children and their parents relying on the all-day care they have promised to provide.
• Or, as in the case of this month, a Night Manager of a Non-Profit Group

Home in Windsor Mills, MD 21244, serving Adult’s with Developmental Disabilities

• Two degrees of separation from Elegant Restoration

Rain, Sump Pumps & Flooded Basements

If you subscribe to “Murphy’s Law” and the many variations, sump pump failure and basement flooding almost ALWAYS happens in the wee small hours; not at 1:15 pm in the afternoon.  As was the case here, late in the day, after hours of drenching, soaking rain.

The Non-profit’s Night Manager went down to the basement to check on things.  Clearly, the sump pump had failed; burned up from near-constant running over the last several hours.  And now there was approximately 6 inches of water in the basement!

He immediately called the General Property Manager of all the related Non-profit Group Homes, who then reached out to Elegant Restoration.  He was advised to contact his plumber as fast as possible, to replace the faulty pump to stop the inflow of more water.  Not having a plumber of their own immediately available, Elegant Restoration was able to get someone to the property.

A new sump pump was quickly installed, much of the standing water pumped out through the new pump, and the Elegant Team extracted the remaining, standing water.

You may wonder why this order of events…

When there’s a basement and a sump pump fail during a storm, the water will continue to rise until the sump pump is replaced.  Starting with water extraction and drying FIRST may seem right, but it’s not.  The inflow of water must be stopped, and the pump replaced BEFORE removal of the remaining water and drying can begin:

• Once the storm is over and the rain has stopped, water moving around the foundation will continue for several hours, flowing into the sump area.
• In most cases, the flow of the water entering the basement EXCEEDS the ability to remove it by any other means other than a sump pump.
• It’s most efficient to get the pump working again, as it will then QUICKLY pump the water out, faster than it’s coming in.
• It makes no sense to bail water, when there’s still a “leak in the bottom of the boat”.

Testing & Demo

1. Pump replaced.
2. Remaining water extracted.
3. Drying and dehumidification of the affected areas
4. Demo of the flooring, molding & drywall

*STOP*

When our Team removed the vinyl plank flooring, it revealed old asbestos square tiles.

Before the tile floor demo begins, testing of the old flooring tile had to be completed.

Why?

This property was built in 1962 and had no history of a significant remodel.  Meaning, that the flooring tiles now revealed below the newer vinyl plank, likely contained asbestos.  Many building materials to this day, still do.  As long as these materials are left *undisturbed*, there is minimal to no health risk.  It’s when you start to *disturb* and remove these materials that the potential for airborne asbestos is present, which IS a significant health risk.

Testing is required and was completed, confirming the presence of asbestos in the floor tiles, and safe and appropriate mitigation procedures, including proper PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) are used by the Certified Asbestos Removal Company.  Proper disposal of the removed material completes the process.

Our IICRC-Certified Team of Restoration Specialists & Technicians follow the proper steps and guidelines for proper cleanup of all water damaged materials.

You can’t prevent disasters, but with the Elegant Restoration Disaster ERP Plan in place, you will have a strong relationship with a trusted partner who can assist you in preparing for disaster awareness and rapid emergency disaster recovery.  You can also learn valuable information about your building like where key services and critical shutoffs are located.  With a Certified Trusted Partner who is only a phone call away, you can rest easier, knowing that help is only a quick call away. Our team answers the telephone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

If you want more information about the emergency response plan, reach out to me for more information.

Bob Sansbury,
Commercial Account Partner
Elegant Restoration