Month: May 2018

Storm season is coming upon us in Indiana. Here are 4 Ways to Help Prevent Storm Damage:

1. Keeping Trees & Shrubs Trimmed Up: When there is a storm with high winds, it can cause trees, bushes, and branches to be very damaging to your home. Falling limbs from trees can be damaging however even small branches can cause wear on a roof in light breezes.

2. Inspect Roof Periodically: A brand new roof should withstand most severe weather, but if your roof is 5-10 years old or older, it should be checked for loose shingles, nails, and sheathing. Not only can shingles blow off in a storm, but loose nails and sheathing can cause chunks of roofing to be dislodged or create openings for rain and ice to penetrate. If an inspection does turn up any possible leaks, getting them fixed right away will protect your home from damage in severe weather. Roofs that are over 15 years old risk of sudden deterioration or failure in storm situations even if no problems are apparent.

3. Install Gutters & Keep them Maintained: Gutters are supposed to channel water away from the roof and deposit it to a more friendly location to protect a house and property from water damage and soil erosion. However, clogged gutters on the upper floors can cause water to backflow into the home, almost guaranteeing water damage will happen. Gutters must be cleaned and well maintained to prevent costly repairs.

4. Ensure Sealants Are Properly Maintained: Leaking sealants is one of the leading causes of water damage from storms. Nothing causes more damages from storms than leaking sealants. Check all roofing penetrations such as stacks, skylights, and chimneys for decaying sealants and make the repairs as needed. But it’s not just the roof that can leak from bad seals-your windows, doors, and siding can leak when aging sealants are in place. Caulk, tar or silicone to prevent storm damages to your home.

 

When a storm or disaster hits, panic is going to happen. Calling an expert is the next step to take. Letting an expert do what they know how to do is important. In a jokingly but serious manner, would you let your plumber do your accounting? The same concept is what matters for storm restoration.  Blue River Restoration storm damage response and cleanup experts will successfully bring your home or business back to its pre-disaster condition. Our staff is professionally trained in disaster restoration and storm damage cleanup in the Central Indiana region. Storm damage restoration entails a wide range of techniques to bring a property back to its pre-storm condition. Our industry-certified disaster recovery team is fully trained with storm preparedness plans to minimize damage and secure your home after any disaster situation quickly and effectively. You can count on us to be in your area and ready to assist you following any hail storm, tornado, heavy snow, ice storm, or flash flood. We’ll help with your property repair needs so you can be comfortable in your home or business again. We maintain 24/7 emergency services to help address damages right away. With access to more than 15,000 technicians nationwide and the largest fleet of vehicles and equipment around the country, we will secure any size damaged property immediately and efficiently, helping to minimize secondary damage.

 

 

First off, we need to know what hail is. Hail is a type of precipitation in the form of small balls or lumps usually consisting of concentric layers of clear ice and compact snow, as defined by Merriam-Webster. This is caused when the air mass is unstable which happens when temperatures falloff. Hailstones can be up to 5+ inches in diameter. Because of the size that hail can get up to, this is why hail is taken so seriously. Factors such as wind, size, what materials the property is made of if there are any barriers and density add up to how much damage hail can do. Hail has the ability to just splatter or even crack windows. After a hail storm, checking around your property is a good idea. Often it depends on the materials such as shingle surfaces being damaged or a type of metal with dents. Having a professional look at your property can prevent further damages from happening. The dents or dings do not seem as significant as a broken window but they can evolve and become bigger than they seem to be at that moment. Identifying damaged property and contacting your insurance agent about having a professional check does not hurt to prevent further damages.

On average, it takes a 1″+ in diameter of a hailstone to cause damage to common asphalt shingles. Below are what the sizes of hail are indicated as:

• Pea  = 1/4-inch in diameter
• Marble = 1/2-inch in diameter
• Dime or penny = 3/4-inch in diameter (hail the size of a penny or larger is considered severe)
• Nickel = 7/8-inch
• Quarter = 1 inch
• Golf Ball = 1½  inches
• Tennis Ball = 2½ inches
• Baseball = 2¾ inches
• Teacup = 3 inches
• Softball = 4 inches

Over the weekend (May 4-6), Blue River Restoration was called for a broken pipe in an Indianapolis Historic Building at 3001 N. New Jersey Street. Blue River Restoration was able to emergency dispatch onto the site Friday night. When they arrived at the site, the water had been running for 4 hours and immediately was able to save major items that would not be replaceable in this historic building. The importance of projects like these is extremely difficult to replace, meaning that saving original work and true lumber is crucial.  Our team was able to remediate 100% of the original true lumber including walls, flooring, plaster, and trimming in the damaged and affected areas.  This success was huge because of Blue River Restoration’s timing and being able to dry the true lumber in place. These efforts resulted in saving the building from $500,000 worth of property damage and unreplaceable aspects of these types of projects.  The water damage did not cause any structural damage.

 

 

Whether the smoke odor is from a fire in the house or apartment, or from somebody smoking in the area, it needs to go because nobody is a fan of the smell of smoke.  Does not matter if the odor is in your carpet, furniture, walls, doors, or any material that has the odor. Taking these steps will help you get rid of the smoke odor in your home.

The first step in getting rid of the smell of smoke is to get a flow of fresh air in the area. Opening windows while turning on fans will help get a current in the area to start removing the odor.  This cross-breeze will allow the processing of venting out the area to begin. Another trick that might help is to place a bowl of white vinegar in the room. Remember to keep that bowl out of reach from kids or pets for safety reasons. Starting with the structure itself, cleaning the walls and ceilings can be a difficult and often overseen. When picking cleaning products, make sure when picking, the products contain ammonia and glycol which are key ingredients for neutralizing odor. Always remember that these are harsh toxic chemicals and should be handled carefully. Be especially mindful to keep small children and pets away from the area until finished.

After working on the walls and ceilings next comes the floors. Floors are mainly made of carpet, wood, and tile. Carpets are majority fabric and need to be cleaned strong cleaners, shampooed or even replaced.  Hardwood floors need to be cleaned with wood-friendly or products made for wood cleaners. Always remember to get underneath furniture and corners of rooms. Try not to miss a spot.

Other things to touch on and clean are drapes and blinds. These need to be taken down and dry-cleaned. Windows and mirrors can be cleaned with a vinegar/water solution. Always remember to not forget corners and bordering parts such as window frames and sills.

When cleaning your home, whether apartment or house, always keep in mind, you can become accustomed to or overly familiar with the smell. You may not smell it, but it could be there for other people.