Hello all,
It has been a while since I posted but I have a large problem. I am leading a group from our church that is going to Mississippi to rebuild a flooded church. My experience has never included massive flooding. The church is of relatively new construction and I am gathering this from an email from the pastor saying we need to replace hollow core doors. I have not been able to speak to him directly because comms are still a mess in that area. There apparently is no basement to deal with and the water line was 3-4 feet high in the building. The church members are working at removing the doors, carpet, and bottom 4 feet of drywall on the walls. My questions are these:
1. What must be done concerning drying times and mildew prevention?
2. Will all the electrical wiring and devices have to be replaced?
Any and all help and advice will be appreciated. We leave next Thursday to head down, so I will be busy loading the tool trailer, rounding up material, etc; but I will try to answer any email or posts.
Thank you
Replies
In my limited experience with flooded house I would say that if the place can be dried out the wiring might be OK. NM is rated for limited exposure to water. But chemically contaminated water might be an issue. Careful observation for jacket, insulation or conductor corrosion or deterioration would be called for. I would pull the plates and pull out, but not disconnect, the devices so they can dry out faster.
If the devices, switches and receptacles, are cheap, old or appear corroded, I might crack open a few to check for interior corrosion, replacement would seem wise. Might be better to just go ahead and replace them. Devices are not very expensive. If the interior drywall or plaster has to be replaced replacement is the way to go as they will be in the way.
GFIs and breakers will need replacing even heavy humidity and resulting condensation can cause dangerous interior corrosion or loss of lubrication. Not worth the risk on safety equipment. The panel needs to have the cover removed even if the water only got close. I would draw a diagram of the breaker placement and remove them so the buss bars and panel interior can dry faster. After everything dries it all needs to be inspected and tested.
I would be tempted to use a megger to check the integrity of the existing cables once they were dry. Aluminum feeders bear watching. If they are easily accessible and relatively short I might want to replace them just to be safe. Long runs in difficult locations would be lower on the list for automatic replacement but signs of interior corrosion or denaturing of the insulation would demand replacement no matter how hard it may be.
If the interior finish surfaces have to be removed, even if it is just the bottom foot or so, rewiring might be something to consider even if the wiring isn't water damaged. If the wiring is a few decades old rewiring if a good idea anyway and if the drywall and/or ceiling are down it is the perfect time to do it.
after it is demoed.. and cleaned and dried...i'd spray all of the framing with Bora-Care, in a 1 to1 mix
then i'd start to put things back together
if it flooded, that means it's right on the coast, and that means salt water was in the building. as usual, i dont have answers, just more questions. as a rule down here (baton rouge) we cut the drywall out above the water line, take out the insulation and carpet, let dry, then go back with wainscotting.
Gather up some box fans. With the doors and windows open, determine which way the natural air flow is. (Dangle a strip of TP if it's not strong enough to be obvious.) Then rig fans in the openings to help it along.
-- J.S.