Page 648 - 2018 National Home Improvement

2018 National Home Improvement Estimator, All Rights Reserved Page 520

Most hollow wood doors have cardboard spacers between the two veneers. Even if the veneer surfaces
survive a flood intact, the cardboard core will expand, causing the door to deflect. Saturated hollow-core
doors usually have to be replaced.

Laminated wood (such as plywood) tends to delaminate when the layers dry at different rates.
Composition sheathing and underlayment (such as oriented strand board) start to disintegrate when
soaked. Plywood or OSB that has lost nail-holding ability should be replaced.

Concrete block. The cavities in a concrete block wall will drain on their own. Water held temporarily in
concrete wall cavities won't do any damage.

Wallcovering. Vinyl wallcover seals the wall and prevents drying. Wallpaper paste supports growth of
mold and mildew. In most cases, you'll want to remove and discard wallcover that gets wet. But you
may be able to save vinyl wallcover that's only loose at the base of the wall. Peel vinyl off the wall up to
flood level. When the wall is dry and clean, reapply the vinyl.

Paneling. Carefully pry the bottom of each panel away from the wall. See Figure 19-6. Then wedge a
block between the panel and the framing so air can circulate into the wall cavity. Once the wall is dry,
re-nail the panels. On an exterior wall filled with wet insulation, you'll have to remove paneling to get
access to the insulation.

Floor cover. Small throw rugs and loose-lay indoor/outdoor carpet can be hosed off and hung up to dry.
Persian carpet may be worth professional cleaning. Wall-to-wall carpet submerged under rising water
should be discarded. Cut the carpet and pad into strips that are easy to carry. Also remove and discard
tack strips laid around the room perimeter. You'll need solvent and a spudding tool to remove the
residue from foam-back carpet laid in adhesive.

Wall-to-wall carpet soaked by clean water can be float-dried in place. But note that saturated carpet
may shrink when it dries. You'll need a professional carpet kicker if you plan to re-install float-dried
carpet. Resilient flooring (tile, linoleum or seamless vinyl) doesn't have to be removed unless loose from
the floor or unless the subfloor or underlayment has to be replaced.

Prices for floor cover vary widely. If you're discarding expensive carpet, be sure to save a couple of
square feet for a sample the owner can give the adjuster.

Floors. If a crawl space is flooded, pump it out. Remove any vapor barrier or insulation from below the
floor. Both will have to be replaced when the floor system is completely dry. Then begin circulating air
both above and below the floor.

Basement. If a basement ceiling was flooded, you'll have to remove the ceiling finish to get access to
insulation between the floor joists. If wet insulation isn't a problem, drill a hole through the ceiling finish
into each framing cavity. Then dry joist cavities as explained in the next section. Avoid cutting or drilling
near electric lines or pipes.