What to Expect When Your Apartment Building Floods

7/8/2021 (Permalink)

What to do After an Apartment Flood in Charlotte, NC?

There is no doubt that Charlotte, NC, has grown to become one of the best places in the nation for young adults to start their careers. Oftentimes, your professionals will resort to apartment-style living arrangements either by themselves or with a roommate or two. Amenities and perks that come with signing a lease with an apartment complex are great until disasters like a building-wide flood occurs.

When an apartment building floods, damage can be quite extensive and overwhelming for both you and apartment management. Here, we will prepare you for what to expect if there is flooding in your apartment building.

1. Water Damaged Ceilings

When flooding occurs on one of the upper floors of the multi-level building, water in the ceiling is to be expected. The water flow will have no choice but to drip down and seep through carpet or hardwood and penetrate subfloors before affecting the apartments below.

1. Water Damage to Floors

Anticipate replacing and drying wet carpets or pulling up hardwood floors.

1. Electrical Issues

Flood water may have found its way into your unit through light fixtures or poured out of electrical sockets. If there was major flooding, it may be necessary to turn off the power for a designated period of time until it has been determined safe to turn it back on.

1. Possible Mold Growth

Mold thrives in damp to wet environments, so it is no surprise that mold begins to grow in as little as 48 hours after water damage occurs. Keep an eye out for mold emergence, even after the flood’s initial impact is taken care of.

1. Loud Equipment

Your apartment management team will likely call their preferred water damage restoration company to assess the damage and properly clean up and repair the property, and we hope it is SERVPRO of South Mecklenburg County that is assigned to these tasks. Commercial grade fans and dehumidifiers will need to be stationed throughout the building and possibly inside your unit for 3-5 days so be prepared this process.

1. Demolition

Water is likely to freely flow between the floors of the apartment building, so the water damage restoration plan may include opening up ceilings, pulling carpets up, removing trim and moldings, and possibly removing portions of wet walls. As stressful as it may sound to tear apart walls and ceilings, these actions are taken in order to avoid a widespread mold problem later on.

1. A Flooded Basement

If the apartment building houses a basement where tasks such as laundry or storage take place, these amenities might be off-limits while it is in repair. Do not try to enter the basement until it has been inspected and deemed as safe.

1. Possible Need to File an Insurance Claim

While you won’t have to worry about structural damages or the cost of drying out the complex, you may have to foot the bill for any damage to personal belongings. If you find yourself in this situation, you will have to file your own claim with your renter’s insurance.

If a flood or any other element causes damage to your Charlotte, NC property, you can count on SERVPRO of South Mecklenburg County to tend to your restoration needs. For more information about our services, contact us at (704) 840-6112.

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