When your wonderful designer home falls victim to a natural disaster or accident, your first reaction (after you’ve had a good cry) might be to sell up and get out. But before you take such a drastic step, consider your options. Restoring your home could be a better solution, and if you were insured, it may even be pretty cheap to do. Keep a cool head – even if you do decide to sell up, you’ll be able to command a much better price if you’ve had restoration work done – and with that process out of your way, you might just fall in love with your home all over again.
1. Your First Step: Call Your Insurance Company
In the moment, it’s easy to feel too upset about what’s happened to remember that your insurance company can help. But before you call a company like Woodard Cleaning and Restoration to come and see what can be done, a call to your insurance company is in order. Ask them whether you can start the mopping up process now or whether they want to send an assessor out first. If they seem to prefer the latter option, remind them that you urgently need to attend to your home, preventing further damage. For example, you need to limit water damage, and the quicker you can act, the less that damage will be.
2. Get Expert Home Restoration Help
Whether it’s a fire or a flood, chances are that water damage is a real possibility. After all, fire departments still rely on water to put out house fires. Your usual household cleaning equipment won’t suffice after a fire or flood, so professional restoration services are needed for damage control. The company you call should be ready to act fast, and must have industrial-strength equipment to get your home dried out. With these basics out of the way, you can begin the painful, yet necessary process of repairing the rest of the damage.
3. Call an Electrician and an HVAC Technician
Both floods and fires can cause serious damage to your home’s electrical infrastructure, rendering it unsafe to use until an electrician gives it the thumbs up. Whatever you do, don’t try turning on any electrical switches or outlets after a fire or flood until you’re absolutely sure it’s safe to do so. When making this call, ensure that the company you’re dealing with is ready to treat your situation as an emergency. While you’re at it, get someone to go over your HVAC system. The same basics apply.
4. Get Help With Structural Restoration
No matter how great of a DIYer you are, you may not even be aware of all the things that need to be done after a fire or flood disaster. Repairs and steps taken to limit structural damage could even involve removing drywall, removing insulation and lifting flooring. It’s a big job and taking weeks to do it will not only leave you feeling overstressed and depressed, but also result in further damage that could have been prevented. Ensure that the contractors you choose have experience in addressing water or fire damage. This is one of those tasks that regular home handymen can’t cope with effectively and where spending a little more could save you a whole lot.
5. Start Making Your Home Look as Good as New
After damage control which, be warned, will initially look like even more damage, it’s time to start picking up the pieces. Once the structure is adequately restored, you can start work on making your house a home again – or you can put it on the market in the knowledge that it looks saleable instead of looking like the disaster area it was not too many weeks ago.