A House In Ruins: What Comes Next
Posted on: 3 March 2018
A flood took out your home. While, for the most part, the structure still stands, it is a mess that cannot be put back together. Mold remediation crews have told you that cleanup to restoration would cost almost as much as what you owe on the mortgage. So, what comes next? What can you do besides file a homeowner's insurance claim and hope for the best? Well, sometimes the best thing you can do in these instances is work, like the following work that needs to be done.
After the Insurance Adjuster Sees the Damage
After the insurance adjuster sees the damage, you can tear it all down. The insurance check should provide enough that you can hire a demolition contractor to demolish the remnants of the home. Demolition only takes a matter of a day or two, especially if they use a wrecking ball. Now the wreckage is something you can start working on alongside the construction cleanup crew.
Cleaning up the Wrecked Remains
Next, you have to rent a few dumpsters into which the wrecked remains of your house will go. The construction cleanup crew you hire can do all the work by themselves, or you can help, depending on how the contractor operates in these situations. Every piece of the demolished house goes into a dumpster. The contractor might have a method to this, such as placing glass in one bin, siding in another bin, wood in the next bin, and so on. If you are going to jump in and help, be sure to follow the contractor's process for cleanup.
Determining What to Do Next When Cleanup Is Complete
The cleanup process will take the better part of a week, even with a crew of ten and a front loader working on it. As you and the crew work, you need to be thinking ahead. What will you do when the cleanup is complete? Was your house on a slab or basement foundation? Will you rip out the foundation, or leave it and rebuild on top of it?
These are emotionally charged times for you, but you will have to make some decisions nonetheless. If you are going to rebuild on top of the old foundation, be sure your construction contractor knows that. If you want to expand the dimensions of the foundation in order to add on to the new house, the contractor needs to know that as well. The sooner you make these decisions, the quicker your contractor can get started on building your new house.
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