# fire damaged remodel



## nwksremodeler (Aug 24, 2007)

I had a potential customer contact me after they had a significant fire in the man cave portion of the home. The fire was contained to an area of 14'x20' of actual fire damage. On the exterior side of the wall it got into the steel siding, patio door, window, fascia, soffit, rafter tails, and roof sheeting. Of course on the interior the sheetrock, paneling, trim and floor covering all took the heat. The remainder of the house suffered from heat, smoke and water damage. I have never worked this type of job and was wondering what pointers you guys could offer. At this point the insurance company is wanting to remove the interior to bare studs and ceiling joist and replace the insulation, sr, paneling and base trim and floor coverings. No doors are on the adjustment sheet which doesn't sound right, unless they are built in somewhere I haven't found yet. In the kitchen the insurance wants to remove the site built cabinets and countertops and clean the smoke from them and reinstall them. Is that even possible?? Can they clean the heating and air system and duct work or should it be replaced also? Once the Interior is stripped bare a company is supposed to spray a coating on the bare studs to "seal" them. Whats everyone's experience with similar situations, was everyone concerned pleased in the end?


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## SLSTech (Sep 13, 2008)

Oh no the doors should be listed, whether it is clean, prime & paint or replace & paint
Whose the carrier first of all?

Generally all the damage is removed & cleaned by a company like ServPro, before others come in & yes the cleaning & spray does work (sometimes they have to come back because they didn't do a good enough job & sometimes they have to come back because the HO still imagines the smell) As for removing, cleaning & reinstalling - that doesn't sound right - if they are site built ones, tell them they will have to be replaced

HEPA negative air machine - use it, this will help in case you kick up any sooty dust from spreading the smell again

What started the fire - i.e. if it is electrical, did they include money for a new run or just an outlet

HVAC - depends, most of the time the affected ducts are replaced

As an FYI, check those line items carefully - they do have line items for almost everything, prep, plastic, lead testing, etc... if it needs to be there, get it added or do your own scope & present them with your bid (I do fine on theirs - but it has the 10 & 10, base service charges, etc... listed in their like it should) (pull a search on Xactimate or Xactware on here - plenty of other threads about it, dealing with carriers, and other tidbits which may help)


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

You are on track with gutting the place. After gutting, heavy charred & sooted wood & water/fire damaged sub floor will have to be replaced. The remaining studs must be cleaned before being sealed. 

If the counter tops are laminate over particle board they will have to go. The PB absorbs too much odor. Removing site built cabinets could prove to be challenging, just depends how they were built & put together. If the area behind them warrants the cabs removed & cleaned it is doubtful the cabinets are any good.

HVAC will have to be evaluated separately by a pro. Very tough to clean & deodorize duct work.

Not sure why they (Ins Co.) would leave out the doors. What about the attic & crawl space? What is the water supply & DWV made of? Pay close attention to electrical, rough & finish, don't forget CATV & phones. 

You will need a good supply of respirators/dust masks, gloves & coveralls. Wear your old clothes as often when you're done w/demo so are they. When you get home strip off away from the interior of your residence or it will smell like a structure fire. Adjusters will try and see what they can get away with & how well you know the game. 

Fire jobs are easily subject to change orders as additional damage is uncovered or discovered ( cabinets, doors, HVAC, plumbing etc) A good digital camera & the ability to use it is important. Be prepared to justify why something (HVAC, cabs, doors, etc.) need to be replaced. When providing documentation use word like "in my professional experience & opinion", "an evaluation by an experienced HVAC Contractor has revealed...", same for an Electrician & plumber. You may have to recommend a Structural Engineer evaluate the structure. Good Luck.


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## nwksremodeler (Aug 24, 2007)

SLSTech

The carrier is American Family Insurance

I also have to agree with R&R of the kitchen cabinets along with any other built in cabinets. Trying to remove them for cleaning and reinstall them seems very impractical. From my experience they generally remove in individual pieces not in nice individual cabinets. 

The cause of the fire is leaning towards electrical. They did put a line item to replace the electrical in that area of the house. 

The adjuster has supplied me with a worksheet with what they are willing to R&R and clean&replace, but was less than willing to supply a $ figure at this time because of the $$$$$$ they are looking at. 

Griz

The way I am understanding the adj. worksheet they are wanting ALL insulation, SR, and paneling R&R the majority of the kitchen falls on an exterior wall so that warrants the removal of the cabinets. You are correct that PB would soak up the smoke for as porus as it is. 

Yeah after being in the house for an hour to look at the damage and layout my sweetshirt was more than rank with smoke. Coveralls, and masks would be a must. 

I can see that change orders are going to be very popular. I just looked and worksheet shows no line item for floor sheeting in the man cave. I would reason that it is ruined from the water damage. As for the crawel space only the front 1/3 of the house actually has one, the back 2/3 has less than 12" between joist and the ground. With that said does that warrant removing the subfloor to "seal" the floor joist? 

It looks for the dollar amount the homeowner is insured for 120K and redoing the 1600 sqft interior, 4 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, kitchen, utility room, and the entire roof inorder to match shingles, a portion of the siding is to be replaced but I doubt it is matchable that it will be a toss up to repair or tear down.


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## modpod77 (Jul 25, 2010)

The first thing you want to do to help rebuild a fire damaged house is strip out any damaged wood. This means any wood that is charred and unable to provide the support it was originally placed for. If you are unsure if a beam or piece of wood needs replacing you can test it out by giving it a hit or two, this of course is only to be done on weaker beams never on a main support beam. The best way to tell if a piece of wood needs replaced is the fact that it is charred black and will often crumble in parts when you grab on to it.


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