Advice on cleaning up flood-damaged homes when contractors aren’t available

Ryan Lemos waded through waste deep water in a basement on Union Street in Bedford on Sunday looking for a valve.

The renovation contractor had originally been called for the neighbour’s property, but the oil tank had leaked into their flooded basement.

“I couldn’t pump it out into the yard for them because with the oil, it would have been full of contaminants,” said the owner of Ryanovation.

The owners of the house next door saw his rig and came over asking for help because water was still pumping into their basement from a pipe.

“I knew how to fix it, so I waded in there and shut it off – some things you don’t charge for,” said Lemos.

While firefighters, police and paramedics get well-deserved credit as first responders to the weekend’s flooding, a close second would be the contractors called upon to begin repairing the homes around which so many lives orbit.

With so many properties damaged, they are in short supply.

Lemos’ own house in Tantallon was flooded, damaging a finished basement apartment, but with all the calls coming in he hasn’t had time to begin work there.

For those who can’t find help quickly, he’s got some advice.

“I’m hearing from people who can’t get a contractor, can’t get a hold of an adjuster,” said Lemos.

Everything wet has to go

“You need to get on top of it yourself, get family or friends to help you if you can. You need to get the moisture out to prevent further structural damage and mold.”

If it’s a flooded, finished basement, that means everything damp or wet has to go.

The first step is hauling up the flooring, then below that there will normally be a subfloor which also needs to go.

If the basement has drywall, it should be visible how far up the water rose.

If it was only a little way up the wall, contractors will often take an exacto-knife and make a cut at a set height all along the wall. You don’t need to go deep, just the thickness of the drywall itself. The drywall from the cut down can then be removed.

If there’s a vapor barrier and insulation behind that, it’s likely the water transited through.

They can be cut and removed as well.

Don’t cut anywhere around electrical outlets or wires.

Wear a mask and gloves if mildew is beginning to set in.

Also, take pictures before you begin work and every step of the way to document what was there and what is being removed.

“The photos are to show here what it was in the middle of it all, here are the steps I’ve taken to make sure it doesn’t get any worse,” said Jennifer MacLeod, president of the Insurance Bureau Association of Nova Scotia.

“…the next step is, as much as you can safely, we don’t want to put anyone at risk, we ask people to mitigate as much as possible the damage. If you’ve got soggy rotten carpet in the basement, it’s best to get that out so you don’t create breathing hazards or the ability for mold to spread.”

Insurance issues

Many of those affected didn’t have insurance coverage, in part because they live in areas deemed flood prone and so overland water coverage is often not available or comes with caveats.

The province has unveiled a program that will cover up to $200,000 worth of damage for individuals, non-profits and businesses.

John Lohr, Minister responsible for the Emergency Measures Organization, said on Thursday that this program will work much like an insurance claim.

So the request that pictures be taken, receipts kept for work hired out and any other documentation available applies to the provincial program as well.

“Something we know from our experience with (Hurricane) Fiona, we would expect many applications, and we will have to put adjusters on the ground in every case,” Lohr told The Chronicle Herald on Wednesday.

“That just takes time, we’re doing it as quickly as we can.”

Lohr is projecting it will take months before cheques start getting written.

Those applications can be found at Access Nova Scotia locations, MLA offices or online at https://beta.novascotia.ca/disaster-financial-assistance-storm-flooding.

Expect delays

Just as the province’s adjustors and the insurance companies are swamped, Lemos cautions that contractors will be as well.

After the initial damage mitigation is done, he expects many will face frustrating delays waiting on a contractor to be available to begin the work of putting their homes back together.

Lemos has seen both sides of disasters – he served for years as a firefighter in Brazil before moving to Canada.

“It was mind blowing to see no bars in windows, no barbed wire. I thought ‘this is a good place,’” said Lemos.

Years in construction, four children, his own business and own home followed.

Now he said he feels an obligation to help those in his adopted home.

In August, he will sit to write the exam as part of a process that could ultimately lead to him becoming a career firefighter in Halifax.

“I want to help people who are in need,” said Lemos.