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Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration


SERVPRO Restores a Clearwater Kitchen After an Appliance Leak

The kitchen is one of the most heavily used and frequented rooms of the house, so when disasters impact these areas, it can have a severe toll on the function of the family. When a broken water supply line to a refrigerator broke, the flooring and subflooring materials became directly impacted. Supply lines are often run out of sight in structural cavities or under flooring to provide a less cluttered aesthetic to the room. When this line split, a steady supply of water continued until the homeowner could sever this connection. In that time, many of the structural elements of the flooring and lower portions of the wall system had become affected by the migrating moisture and absorption.

The Clearwater home in the images would first require a damage assessment. Our SERVPRO of Clearwater South / Clearwater Beach team arrives quickly to begin this mitigation and evaluation of the home. Because it is our commitment to restoring over replacement, the initial steps that our professionals take to evaluate the damage and potential structural issues are critical. Our production manager works directly with the homeowner and the insurance adjuster to find the appropriate restoration approach that meets the customer's projected timelines, budget, and priorities.

Moisture detection can show where pockets and caches of water exist in the affected material. Because engineered wood was used as flooring in the kitchen area, absorption began quickly. As high porosity materials, engineered wood planks can rapidly absorb moisture to the point of deterioration, bloating, and warping. The immediate solution that permitted further inspection of affected materials and subflooring was carefully removing damaged and distorted planks with clean cutting. You can see the results of this controlled demolition approach in the Before Photo.

Drying mats were used in conjunction with carefully placed devices like the low-profile centrifugal air movers shown in the Before Photo to directly evaporate surface moisture on materials like the exposed subflooring. Once the line to the refrigerator was repaired and much of the drying completed, surfaces like the plywood subflooring were evaluated with thermal imagery and other moisture detection tools before reinstallation got underway.

Achieving the look of the flooring in the After Photo utilized the skills of many water damage restoration professionals on our team and our general contractor license. As with many water damage incidents, some degree of repair and build back was needed. The fast response of these professionals reduced necessary tear-out. Carefully contoured lines for demolition made the replacement of damaged planks a clean and seamless approach. Our technicians were able to match the flooring exactly, which made for fewer remodeling needs. Another successful restoration and recovery effort by our experienced SERVPRO of Clearwater South / Clearwater Beach team.