After we left for the day, we received a call late at night from security. There was a flood at our building. One of the toilets overflowed really bad and it flooded an entire floor. We had a water extraction company come out on emergency, however the walls and floor were so saturated. Even though the vendor tried to dry everything up for us, it appeared that the damage was already done. Things to do when you notice a flood in your commercial property include finding and stopping the leak, extracting the water, and contacting a contractor an evaluation.
Finding And Stopping The Leak
Leaks can be extremely scary. The scariest ones are the cases when you can’t find the source. We were lucky that the toilet was overflowing. If the leak had come from the bottom of the toilet that might have been hard to find in a flooded bathroom. Sometimes the best option is to shut off the main water to the area. If you can’t isolate the area, then you will have shut off the water to the building. The property manager will know where everything is and if there is a building engineer then they can assist with shutting things down. Our first person on-call was a building engineer. We also had evening security, so there was always someone looking over the property, and at times we would come to work the next day and hear about a disaster that happened while some of us were fast asleep.
Extracting The Water
After the water flow is stopped, the next issue is to extract as much water as possible. You want to catch the water before it penetrates too deep. Water that gets to the carpet base is not safe for walls. Sometimes the base has to been removed, and then you can only hope the water went no further. Keep as much water as possible away from the walls and remember to keep emptying your wet vacuum. We kept a few wet vacuums. We tried to have at least one per building and it could always be found in the first floor janitor’s room.
Contacting A Contractor
If the amount of water is over whelming, place a call to your local disaster relief vendor. They can help with extracting the water. Good companies also have an emergency line since most emergencies happen after hours. After they have helped to remove the water and placed the industrial fans out to dry the area you have a day or two to build your plan. Your vendor will check for remaining moisture, if your walls are still heavily saturated beyond what they can save, you will need to contact your contractor. If you’re dealing with commercial flood damage san diego ca, you should get your walls and floor evaluated as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Flood damage is not good. May of us in the southern areas of the US cross our fingers every storm season because we don’t want to face the potential damage that a storm could cause. When I lived in an apartment, my floor was soaked for weeks after a storm. It turns out it was a window leak, that no one ever came to repair. I’m sure there is a very unpleasant surprise behind the walls of that room. Commercial property is no different. If you notice a flood in your commercial property you should locate and stop the leak, extract the water as quickly as possible, and contact your contractor.
