Fire and flood restoration is one of our most emotive services. At a time when the worst happens to your building, you want to be surrounded by contractors who know what they are doing to get you back on track.
Both fire damage and flood damage can have a debilitating effect on your business, preventing you from trading – so getting back up and running is a top priority.
It’s often the first stages after fire or flood damage that can have the greatest impact on the speediness and ease of your restoration work. Read this blog to find out how you can ensure that you manage the time following a disaster with an efficiency that saves both time and money.
1. The Immediate Aftermath
The hours after discovering that your property has suffered fire or flood damage are crucial. Once your building is safe (it goes without saying that you should NEVER enter a building that is on fire), you need to contact your insurers.
They’ll want to know the extent of the damage, what property was lost and whether you require alternative premises to work from while the fire and flood restoration works are carried out. Depending on your policy, you may have insurance cover that includes the cost of temporary workspace, but if you don’t you’ll need to think of a solution that enables you to continue working, be that working from home, short-term office rentals or a combination of the two.
Take many, many photos to document the damage, these will help you with your claim. A little forethought goes a long way when it comes to claiming for damaged goods – when you purchase expensive equipment, make sure you photograph the receipt so you always have a digital copy stored safely.
2. The First Steps
You’ll want to get your building back to its former glory quickly – and that’s where our fire and flood restoration services come in. At GI Sykes, our specially trained team of contractors will ensure that whatever damage your property has suffered, the remedial work is handled efficiently and with due care.
When you instruct us to help manage your recovery from flood or fire damage, our work begins immediately. We’ll send out someone to conduct an inspection to see what needs to be done.
In the case of flooding, time is of the essence as any remaining water in your building will be causing further damage. If left, even for a short time, bacteria in the water can seep into the structure of your building causing long-term issues with things like mould and damp.
3. Getting To Work
Selecting a contractor to manage and oversee your fire and flood restoration project is an important task and one that must be done quickly. Using a reputable contractor that has vast experience in such problems means that you can be assured of a professional and reliable service.
At GI Sykes, we work alongside your insurance company or loss adjustors to ensure that things are as simple and straightforward as they can be. Thanks to our outstanding reputation in handling stressful and sensitive restoration projects, we have found ourselves one of the go-to contractors for many leading insurance firms. We can assess the level of reconstruction needed in order to supply you with an estimated cost of repair.
Once the site is ready for us to start work, we begin with the process of clearing and salvaging what we can.
In the cases of flood and water damage, your property may require further drying to ensure that there is no remaining water that can cause problems down the line. For this we use professional equipment to remove all moisture from the floor and walls.
In the case of fire damage, the structure of your building is closely inspected to see whether any walls, flooring or stairs are beyond repair and need to be removed. We also deal with the layers of soot that may be present. Soot is toxic, and if left too long on walls, furniture and floors, it can create secondary damage. Soot is also dangerous to inhale, so this job is really for the specialists.
4. Fast-Paced Work
We know that while your property is out of action, your business is likely suffering. We make every effort to keep your fire and flood restoration moving swiftly. From the initial clear out through to the last coat of paint – you need to know that your building will be habitable as quickly as possible.
This stage of your fire and flood restoration project will take the longest – it’s where your wreck of a building is transformed into a workspace once again. We project manage the whole shebang, so you don’t need to worry about electricians, decorators or carpet fitters – you just concentrate on managing your business the best you can while we take care of thing.
You won’t be kept in the dark though. It’s important that you are kept updated with developments on site, so your project manager will debrief you regularly.
5. Preventative Action
As part of your fire and flood restoration works, we can build in some preventative measures to reduce the impact should disaster strike again. You might think that lightning doesn’t strike twice, but there have been cases where buildings have suffered a second disaster and been ill-prepared – don’t be one of them!
To protect your building against fire, we treat your walls and steel beams with intumescent coatings and fire protection coatings which increase the burn time of your building. This not only creates a longer evacuation window, it also gives the fire service more time to respond.
To protect against flooding, we can use specialist plaster on your walls, move electrical sockets higher and even install flood proof doors.
Fire And Flood Restoration: Do You Need Us?
If you’re looking for fire and flood restoration contractors, chances are you’re in a pretty stressful situation. Getting a reliable, fast-acting contractor on site and at work is as easy as calling 01384 891 341 or visiting gisykes.co.uk.
Whether you’re dealing with flooding, fire damage or even criminal damage, we have decades of experience in restoring buildings and getting businesses back in action.
