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I am looking at a repair job of a house damaged by fire. In addition to the obvious replacement of chares drywall and doors I would like to know:
1. How easy/hard is going to be to clean smoke damage from bathtubs, ceramic tiles and appliances.
2. There is a lot of soot around the house walls. Does the walls need to be replaced or I can just use something like Zinger Bulls-eye or Kilz to cover the soot. My concern is if the primer is going to stick or can it peel after a while.
3. How to eliminate the smoke smell especially from the Air Conditioner. Do I need to replace the ducts and maybe the air handling unit or there is some type of smell killer that can be use to eliminate the smell.
Any other advises that you can provide will be greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
Erick
Replies
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When I was a kid lightning struck my parents house and caused a small fire. The insurance company talked them into cleaning most everything up instead of replacement. We could smell the 'smoke' in the house for years afterward during damp spells.
Went through the same thing a few years ago in my own home after the refrigerator compressor caught fire. 99% smoke and heat damage.
Bottom line was, clean or gut? Being wiser (from my parents own advice) the insurance company agreed to gut the place and start fresh. For the extra money spent I was able to allow everything to air out and bring the house up to the new codes. In the end my property value increased and the house was easier to sell because it had not been 'fire re-conditioned'.
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I'm helping my parents with their fire claim - big fire in one 2nd Flr room, water in and below, and smoke all over.
The insurance co. was very particular that all soft stuff, carpets, curtains, shades, bedding... was totaled. They were also particular about opening all walls that may have had smoke intrusion so that the structure could be sprayed with Kilz or Bin to stop smoke odor. They also spec'd every surface in the house to be cleaned and painted or replaced - and this was 4000+ sqft of house. They *did* spec cleaning, sealing, and painting most undamaged walls, even those black with smoke, where there was no evidence that the inside had been smoked. It is an old house and the the process of bidding, etc has been slow, so there has been about 10 weeks of airing out since the fire, and the smoke odor is very slight now; after a thorough cleaning and painting, of all the surfaces, I think it should be fine.
Rufus
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I am looking at a repair job of a house damaged by fire. In addition to the obvious replacement of chares drywall and doors I would like to know:
1. How easy/hard is going to be to clean smoke damage from bathtubs, ceramic tiles and appliances.
2. There is a lot of soot around the house walls. Does the walls need to be replaced or I can just use something like Zinger Bulls-eye or Kilz to cover the soot. My concern is if the primer is going to stick or can it peel after a while.
3. How to eliminate the smoke smell especially from the Air Conditioner. Do I need to replace the ducts and maybe the air handling unit or there is some type of smell killer that can be use to eliminate the smell.
Any other advises that you can provide will be greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
Erick
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One thing I do know about fire repairs is to seal EVERYTHING with Kilz, otherwise you'll be smelling smoke forever.
Don't try to cut corners. Do it right and complete
Pete Draganic