Upper Cape Cod Summer Home Gets Expert Water Clean Up by SERVPRO

At first glance, this Upper Cape Cod summer home does not look like it has much for SERVPRO to do in the way of water damage remediation. However, when the narrator from SERVPRO pans to another view in the downstairs living room, it is plain to see that there has been a large amount of water damage repairs needed due to extreme cupping of the hardwood floorboards after a pipe break in the Upper Cape Cod property.

Cupping is a natural reaction of the wood to exposure to water. SERVPRO runs many air movers and dehumidifiers to rapidly pull the moisture out of the boards in the Upper Cape Cod summer home. On a case-by-case basis, drying the wood floorboards can resolve the cupping. In other situations, the boards may require removal or get refinished to bring them back to their original condition. Specialized drying applications SERVPRO relies on, such as floor mats, the black square items in the video, lay upon wet surfaces and force warm, dry into them. This action assists embedded moisture in rising from within the wood and encouraging the floorboards to return to their natural shape.

The Water Damage Began in the Attic Due to Burst Pipes

The SERVPRO video pans up the stairs, which also appear wet, to the second floor where the emergency services water damage team is at work. After a pipe burst in the attic of the Upper Cape Cod property, the water migrated downward, affecting the lower levels of the home. It is obvious in the video that the summer home needs a large amount of water damage remediation in the attic as the hardwood floorboards needed removal by SERVPRO to dry the subfloor underneath. The pipe between the water heater and the boiler burst due to the attic being uninsulated and low temps in the Upper Cape Cod area. 

The second floor of the home required an extensive amount of controlled demolition, as seen in the video. The water ran from the attic through the ceiling and down the walls affecting much of the second floor. The SERVPRO technicians have taken down the sheetrock on the walls and ceilings in all but a single room shown in the video. The rest has been stripped down to the framework in the Upper Cape Cod house, and both air movers and dehumidifiers are running to dry the exposed studs and subfloor. Using their advanced moisture detection equipment, SERVPRO techs can determine if the water seepage is severe enough to require removing the flooring to dry the subfloor. Luckily, one room on the second floor needed surface drying, only saving the homeowner the expense of replacing the flooring in that area of the Upper Cape Cod property.

Fortunately, the video shows the completed repair to the pipe in the Upper Cape Cod property, This type of water cleanup situation will not continue. SERVPRO techs can also recommend additional improvements to lessen the chances of the attic temperatures dropping during the cold Upper Cape Cod winters, such as insulating the attic and wrapping pipes for other proactive measures to avoid water removal services in the future.  

The video is a good example of how SERVPRO handles multiple floors of water damage restoration in Upper Cape Cod homes at once so the water damage restoration process can get completed as quickly as possible. The good news is that our team can if the customer agrees, complete the cleanup and continue with the build back, all one seamless service.