BELFOR Water Damage
Recovery Services for
Home & Businesses
EXPERTISE. CAPACITY. EXPERIENCE.
CASE STUDY PHOTO
Inexperienced or untrained personnel focus on the obvious water
damage, which can lead to even greater problems in an
extremely brief period of time. Trained professionals perform
comprehensive moisture inspections with infrared cameras and
WATER DAMAGE: A PRIMER
moisture detection equipment to identify hidden moisture
Water is the single most long-term destructive substance in the
soaked into dry wall, ceiling areas, wall cavities, plenums and
indoor environment. Structural materials and personal property
beneath flooring materials.
deteriorate rapidly in the presence of excess moisture. Porous
and semi-porous materials are most vulnerable, but non-porous
materials such as metals oxidize and degrade as well. Water is
destructive in both its liquid form and its vapor form. In a matter
of hours, a few inches of water on a floor will not only soak into
porous materials with which it is in direct contact, but also will
evaporate and raise the moisture content of paper materials,
wall hangings and other susceptible materials. The problem
worsens when the source of the water is unsanitary and when
clean-up and drying are delayed.
“Creative Mitigation”
The widow of a San Francisco physician had a supply line develop
A Las Vegas four-star hotel suffered fire and water damage when
a slow leak on the second floor of her stately Presidio Heights
a repair crew ignited roofing materials and portions of Exterior
home. Identifying the source of the problem and providing
Insulation and Finish System (EIFS). The fire burned the exterior
creative intervention in the degradation made the project
façade of the building down to the 28th floor. The fire department
anything but routine. She returned to her home after a three
and the fire suppression sprinkler system limited fire and smoke
month absence to find a pungent mold smell upon opening the
damage to the five upper floors. However, water migrating through
door. Inexplicably, the water supply to the house was shut off, so
mechanical and electrical chases damaged all 32 floors. Offices,
she stayed with friends that night. After not being able to figure
casinos, conference areas and 1,500 guest rooms totaling
out the source of the odor and not detecting any apparent
approximately 650,000 square feet were wet.
damage, she filed a claim with her insurance company who in
MOLD: STOP IT BEFORE IT STARTS
Water problems do not become mold problems if there is a
timely response by qualified water damage professionals. The
window of opportunity to prevent mold development is
measured in hours, not days. The core competence of a
professional water damage contractor is to control mold growth.
BELFOR conducts comprehensive moisture inspections, maps
migrating moisture to document all hidden damage, calculates
required equipment to assure the right balance of evaporation
(fans) and dehumidification, monitors drying progress and
adjusts equipment to achieve maximum efficiency.
turn referred BELFOR.
Hotel management selected BELFOR as the contractor most
capable of immediately deploying vast resources to get the hotel
When choosing a water damage recovery contractor there are
three primary areas to keep in mind: how much experience does
the company possess, do they have enough equipment and
personnel and are they experts at what they do. BELFOR excels
in all three of these areas.
Exper tise BELFOR personnel are trained, mentored and
monitored. BELFOR was instrumental in developing industry
standards for professional water damage services and professional
mold remediation services. BELFOR standards exceed industry
requirements. We have worked on nearly every type of disaster
imaginable and, because water damage plays a part in almost every
one, we’ve become more adept than anyone in the industry with this
process.
An infrared camera and moisture instrument inspection found
back in business as soon as possible. Mobilization began
extensive moisture soaked into wall, ceiling and floor materials.
immediately and 48 hours after the fire BELFOR had the following
Capacity BELFOR’s core water damage business is the residential,
Humidity was over 80% and moisture was condensing on glass
resources on site:
institutional and commercial needs of citizens and businesses in
local markets. No job is too small and no job is too large. BELFOR has
over 2,500 employees in offices throughout North America. We have
the industry’s most extensive inventory of drying equipment. We
have a dedicated National Service Team made up of the most
qualified restoration professionals in the United States. In addition to
our local market equipment, we have a fleet of 53’ trailers loaded
with equipment and supplies strategically positioned around the
country to assure fast response to client needs.
surfaces. Ultimately, a bathroom was isolated as the wettest area.
A plumber pressurized the lines and identified the source of the
• 150 BELFOR personnel
leak. Subsequently, it was learned that the city had turned the
• 1,000 general laborers
water off to the property after detecting unusually high water bills
• Six 53’ mobile warehouse trailers stocked with
and not finding anyone home.
The client’s prized possessions were her 1880 grand piano and
her extensive collection of 19th century first edition books. Both
BEWARE OF “PROMISES”
were showing early signs of mold development and other
The old adage that “if it seems too good to be true, it probably
damage from exposure to high humidity. The books were
is too good to be true,” is something to keep in mind when it
immediately inventoried and transported to a sub-zero storage
comes to drying a building. Many contractors “promise” to dry
facility for stabilization. Due to the value of the collection, the rare
buildings in three days and some claims professionals refuse to
books librarian for U.C. Berkeley oversaw the process. The piano
pay for drying beyond three days. Trained water damage
was too large to move immediately, so a 6-mil poly sheeting
professionals know that structural drying is very site-specific
enclosure was constructed around the piano and attached to the
and one size never fits all. Optimal drying is achieved by
floor. A dehumidifier was ported into the enclosure, which
consideration of the critical variables:
isolated the piano from the damaging high-humidity conditions in
the home and it began to dry the piano. These creative mitigation
• Cubic footage of wet area
“Four-Star Solution”
equipment and supplies
The scope of work focused on business resumption. The
building was divided into sections: least damaged (floors 1-16),
intermediate damaged (floors 17-27) and most damaged (floors
28-32). Crews were assigned to sections and recovery proceeded
concurrently on parallel tracks. Floors 1-16 were back in service in
two weeks and all but the most heavily damaged upper five floors
Experience
BELFOR is the world’s largest disaster restoration
company and has been providing water damage recovery services
for over 30 years. The following two case studies demonstrate how
our vast experience contributes to unique and innovative solutions.
were back in service in less than three weeks. Floors 28-32 were
dried, cleaned, deodorized and readied for reconstruction. It is
estimated that BELFOR’s lightening-quick response, extensive
resources and unique approach to recovering the building saved
BELFOR 24/7 Emergency Number
many millions of dollars in business interruption insurance dollars.
www.belfor.com
steps facilitated salvage of the books and the piano.
• Type and absorbency of impacted materials
• Dampness of impacted materials
• Water removal rating of dehumidifiers
THE BELFOR PROMISE: To do our very best, every
This information is used to calculate the number of required air
building in Arizona in August cannot be compared to drying a
time. To ensure your best interest is always at the
exchanges as well as the number of necessary evaporative air
saturated structure in humid Louisiana at the same time of year.
movers.
There are many factors that influence exactly how a building will
forefront. To stand behind our word and to give you
An
imbalance
between
evaporation
and
dehumidification causes delayed drying or secondary damage
by increasing water vapor in the air. Think about it — drying a
dry and therefore how long it will take to dry.
800-856-3333
our all — every second, every minute, every day.