Commercial Flood
In the winter of 2021, Texas experienced an unprecedented storm. The frigid temperatures exposed a widespread power grid that caused a statewide infrastructure failure. The lack of power and deep cold caused frozen pipes to burst in attics and walls, which triggered extensive water damage throughout Texas.
Within 3-4 days after the storm, there was such a high number of large losses reported in Texas that the state was overwhelmed and couldn’t support all its residents. As a result, many homes, schools, and businesses had no power for days and weeks. Therefore, the restoration and plumbing industry mobilized nationally to help the recovery effort.
Project Details
While in Texas, the Z-Team partnered with two Texas schools to help mitigate water damage and relocate large amounts of business personal property.
The full scope of work included over 200,000 square feet of 39 classrooms, two cafeterias, one gym, many bathrooms, and office space. To help us complete the expansive scope of work, 40-60 team members were on-site every day. The team also shipped resources and equipment from Michigan, Florida, Kansas, New York, and Canada.
The keys to a speedy recovery were to tackle the restoration efforts in three phases and store possessions at a secure and environmental-controlled warehouse.
Phase one focused on controlling the environment to minimize secondary damages and bringing in an air quality hygienist to test for asbestos. The hygienist discovered areas of drywall and flooring with positive asbestos test results. After receiving these results, the team secured a licensed environmental partner to address these areas following proper contentment and state and federal laws.
The second phase addressed and relocated large amounts of personal property in the offices, classrooms, common areas, cafeterias, and other rooms at the schools. In the third phase, the Z-Team demolished affected areas to open the structures and remove all unsalvageable building materials. To speed up the restoration process in such expansive facilities, the on-site team systematically completed phases two and three by following the personal property team to release areas to demolish.
Finally, once the team removed all unsalvageable materials, the buildings underwent an extensive drying process with commercial desiccants and industry-grade equipment. The process removed excess moisture from wet materials that make up the structure until it reached a reasonable dry standard.
Results
Each school was delighted with the team’s diligent documentation, frequent communication touchpoints, and the speed Zolman Restoration addressed the mitigation process after the Texas winter storm. One client said, “[The mitigation team] is awesome! Best I’ve come across!”
With the mitigation work complete, 30+ team members will begin putting back all the personal property starting on July 6th. It will take approximately two weeks for each school to return and set all personal property. Within a month, the schools will have their buildings restored and ready for the bell to ring on the upcoming school year.
If you’d like to learn more about Zolman Restoration’s work in Texas, contact Shaun Quinn, Principal and VP of Claims and Business Development, at squinn@zolmanrestoration.com or (586) 713-5485.
