Water & Flood Mitigation

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Time is of the essence. If your neighbors or other people in your city have flooded, jobs are usually handled in a first come, first serve basis. Be the first in you area to get your home dried out and back to living condition as soon as possible. If you have flooded, you are probably don't know where to start, but stopping or preventing mold growth is going to be at the top of the list. We can guide you through the entire process.

If your home is insured, the cost for our services will be determine and paid for by your insurance company. All that you have to worry about is your home insurance/flood insurance deductible. If you are strapped for cash, we have options to help you with your deductible also. You can speed the process along quicker by telling the insurance claims adjuster that you already have a licensed, insured, and mold remediation certified contractor. We  use the same software as the insurance company's adjuster so that we can move your claim along faster than other contractors. You will need your claim number, insurance contact info, and a copy of your declaration "dec" page for your insurance policy(s).

Before any content of your home is removed, take pictures and start making a list of everything that was damaged including desks, furniture, appliances, cabinets, clothes, electronics, etc. Your insurance agent will want to know the price, age, condition of all these items. If you plan on buying replacements, search for the current price of these items today and have that information ready also. If you are unsure about anything, call Gulf Coast Contractors. We are experts in dealing with insurance claims and we will be glad to help!

If water came in from the roof/ceiling area, this water intrusion must be stopped in order to clean and dry out the home. We employee a FEMA style of roof coverings to make sure that additional water does not enter the home. This is only temporary. The sun, wind, and rain may damage a tarp after a few good months of exposure. It is recommended to get your roof repaired or replaced as soon as possible after the field adjuster has seen the damage.

This process typically takes a 4 man crew 1-4 days depending on the content to be removed and the square footage of the floor(s) that were damaged. You may have heard this called by many names such as "clean out" and "mud out". Basically, everything that has been water damaged will need to be removed from the home. This includes sheet rock/drywall, insulation, furniture, flooring, cabinets, etc. Most of this will be thrown away. A few items may be salvageable if they were not constructed with fiber board. You will need to specifically identify items that you want to keep and not replace with insurance funds.

We Hepa vacuum the contaminants away so that the mold spores or other contaminants do no become aerosolized and travel into other parts your home or in the air that you breathe.

We clean the remaining material with mechanical cleaning process, a chemical cleaning process, or both depending on the needs of your home. Most contractors and water mitigation companies and franchises skip this crucial step which is often required by standards set by IICRC.

We apply a commercial grade biocide to the remaining parts of the home. This will kill and remaining mold spores and be an inhibitor for future mold growth. Commercial style air movers are strategically placed around the home. This evaporates the water from your framing and saturates the moisture into the air. Commercial grade dehumidifiers are used in the home to remove the water from the air. This water is typically pumped into a sink, toilet, or outside the home

The drying process continues for typically 1-5 days until moisture levels in the wood framing and existing drywall meet the strict local and state guidelines. You cannot guess or feel for moisture levels. The existing material in the home is tested to determine the moisture levels using sensitive testing equipment. Only after the moisture readings are below the threshold in all rooms will the fans and dehumidifiers be removed.

It is recommended to get the roof replaced as soon as possible. If you want to beat the crowd, avoid shingle shortages, and get a new roof installed before anyone else, please discuss options with Gulf Coast Contractors.

It is important to know that no interior restoration should take place until a damaged roof has had a permeant fixed or replacement. Act quickly, as this will allow you to be first on interior repairs and get you back in your home as soon as possible.

 Now that the water has been removed from the home and mold preventative measures have been taken, the home is now ready for Gulf Coast Contractors to add new flooring, insulation, drywall, paint, appliances, cabinets, and trim work.