Our Team Is Available 24/7 To Restore Your Amherst Business After Flood Damage

9/7/2021 (Permalink)

Commercial water damage restoration by SERVPRO is top-notch. Our technicians are ready at a moment's notice.

Restoring Structures with Exterior Block Walls with Flood Damage in Amherst

Many of Amherst's building structures designed as schools for long-term storage are often based on a concrete slab with block walls. Often these walls form the exterior and interior floor plan. The highly durable paint is frequently chosen to protect these walls and give them a more finished, aesthetically pleasing appearance. Although this paint works well to keep rain running off the exterior walls, submersion during a flood can lead to damage.

Block walls covered by typically protective paint on buildings in Amherst can exacerbate commercial flood damage by retaining moisture and prolonging the conditions that harm the contents of such structures. When SERVPRO responds to a customer with a building constructed like this, we explain that we need to bypass the moisture barrier created by the paint. 

A Building's Structure Should Be Taken Into Consideration

The pressure of the water during a flood can affect the stability of walls, including concrete blocks and other mortared bricks. Flood damage can also cause water to permeate the interior of those blocks, especially if paint or other protective coverings become damaged from cracks due to movement or areas where debris scrapes off any paint. 

Once water enters, it continues to spread. Regular drying methods work much more slowly to dry solid blocks. Air passing over the surface does pull moisture out but at a slower rate. We use a technique similar to the one used to drain hollow walls – drilling small holes, called weep holes, in the lowest portion possible of the affected wall. This happens along a grout line, where the mortar is softer and allows gravity to help dry the wall. 

Because brick and concrete blocks can take weeks or months to dry out completely, we might also need to install additional entries into the wall to provide better ventilation. These allow moisture to escape as water vapor, which our desiccant machines can then remove. The spaces these vents create can be filled later and repainted. Our building crew, General Contractor License # MA CS-107843, performs this service so our mitigation teams can concentrate on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and handling the contents of the building. 

SERVPRO of Hampshire County understands that flooding affects your building and your business in a multitude of ways. We work with companies in and near Northampton, Granby, Easthampton, and Ware to mitigate flood damage in all types of buildings. Contact us through our 24-hour services line, (413) 324-1300, year-round for this and other disasters.