Historic flooding all over the Houston area again… streets turned into rivers… overflowing bayous and creeks… people stranded… dramatic rescues… vehicles flooded… tragic deaths… homes flooded… people displaced… thankful for friends, first responders, and Good Samaritans. Some were still renovating from flood waters less than a year ago and were flooded again. Some people had never flooded before.
If you’re reading this article and your house flooded, first of all, I’m sorry. Having experienced a house flooded from Tropical Storm Allison and another house totally flooded from a broken toilet (yes, the original 9-year old ballcock valve split while we were at church, and it’s unbelievable how much water can pour out in a short time!), I empathize with you. You gut your house, put furniture in storage, live in a hotel or two, eat a lot of pizza, have to renovate and rebuild… and dust is everywhere! Life is disrupted, turned upside down and inside out. What’s next?!
When our house was one of thirty-five houses in our area that flooded, some took the time to fix things right and others didn’t fix things right. It’s easy to get impatient when you just want life to get back to normal. It takes hard work, patience, and persistence to do it correctly.
The Houston area, including Montgomery County, will soon be invaded by contractors from far and wide. There will be scams and shoddy workmanship. Delays, shortage of materials, price gouging, and it could take longer than you want to get someone to your home. It happens every time there is a disaster. Who do you call? How do you know who is trustworthy? How do you know if the job is being done right?
I enjoy referring others to tradesmen and technicians I trust … reliable, honest, conscientious, and professional. May I recommend that you hire someone who is local and who will be here when the job is done, in case you need them again. And may I also suggest that one line item in the budget of your job would be to hire an inspector to come look at the house for your job. This can act as a good “check and balance” for your benefit. There are several points in time when this would be helpful and advantageous:
- Before anything is done to assess the situation
- After the gutting is basically complete
- At some point midway through the job
- When the job is about finished
Pick any one or all of the above. After the area / house is gutted, an inspector can look at everything that is exposed and give advice for some things that need to be done. When our house was gutted down to the studs, it was amazing (and disappointing) how much had been done incorrectly when the home was built in 1976 or that needed to be fixed things inside the walls. Receptacles, switches, electrical wiring, plumbing, gas pipe and valves, insulation, and more. When it’s gutted, that is the time to make all things right!
When the job is about finished, have the inspector do a walk-through to inspect the way the work has been done and give you a punch-list of items that need to be completed to complete the job right. This is the same thing that should be done when buying a new home (hire an inspector before you close on that brand new home!).
Hiring an inspector is a wise investment to make sure that your job is done right … that moisture and/or mold is remediated correctly, that the job is initially well-prepared, that the construction / remodeling is being done right, and that the job is finished with perfection.
Inspectors aren’t just a valuable investment when buying a home for resale, but for remodeling and reconstruction, for new home construction, while living in a home for “peace of mind” and before you sell your home.
Stay informed and do it right my friends.
