When you are going to purchase a used vehicle, you have enough problems to worry about most of the time. The problems of what kind of vehicle you want, what kind you need, what color it should be, whether it should be a manual or automatic transmission and even where to purchase the vehicle from can be quite time consuming. Something most people do not think to ask when they purchase a used vehicle, however, is whether or not the vehicle has ever been underwater for any period of time. Most used car dealers and individuals are hesitant to mention this information and sometimes an insurance claim is not filed. This means that the flooding of the vehicle is not recorded in its vehicle report that you can get from companies like CarFax.com, so even if you order a report and it shows all the other damage to the car, the flooding may not show up. Damage to a vehicle only shows up if a claim was filed on it and this tends to be a problem, especially when the damage is as hidden as flood damage can be.
Take a look around the inside of the car first. Look in the glove box and check for signs of rust in there and around the floor near the seats. The vehicle should not have a musty smell inside or a clean, air freshener smell. You should smell next to nothing. The musty smell is due to mold growing in the carpet or the upholstery. If you smell air freshener, this may be an attempt by the dealer or owner to hide the musty smell underneath it. Be wary of cars that have been treated with air freshener. Also note whether the upholstery matches the rest of the car. It may have been taken up and replaced to hide water damage.
The engine is not safe, either. Sand, silt, and mud can seep into an engine along with the water and ruin it.
Make sure that all the electrical components in the vehicle work as they should, such as fuel gauges, the battery gauge, oil light, and etcetera. If these do not work as they should, you might be facing some water damage.
Check the trunk for rust around the tail lights, as well. Mud or silt inside the car in this area or around the seats in the car can be a sign of flooding, as well.
As always, you should get a mechanic that you trust to do a complete inspection of the vehicle so you can be almost certain that the car is in decent shape before finalizing the purchase.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Water Damage and Structural Inspection
Whether you are buying a new home or are considering possibly selling your old one, you need to know that the home is a good value for the price. Sometimes you might want to have someone professionally inspect the home for you to alert you of anything that might need to be repaired or any changes that might need to be made to the home, but this is not always the case if you know what you need to look for. There are several different things you should keep an eye out for when you do your own home inspection either before you buy or before you sell.
The dirt around the foundation of the home should be slanted away from it so that any rainfall will flow away from the home instead of settling around the foundation in a pocket. This water will seep down into your basement, if you have one. Downspouts should have extensions that will further help direct water away from the base of the home.
Go away from the home and stand a fair distance from it and just look at the structure. Taking someone with you is a good idea because a second opinion is usually wanted. Ask yourself and the person you took with you if the home appears to be tilted one way or another. The structure should not appear to be unstable. After you to this, go inside and be certain that all corners are at a right angle where they need to be. Go into the living room and in other rooms of the home and jump in the middle of it. If the floor flexes or shakes at all, you may have a problem.
Check kitchen and bathroom fixtures for leaks and for quality. Also note whether there is a steam vent in these two rooms so that steam is allowed to escape the home and not cause water damage to the walls and ceilings.
The roof on the home should not need to be replaced in at least the next five years unless you are unhappy with just the appearance of it. It should not require many repairs, if it requires any at all. Water damage can occur to the attic beams, the insulation, and the drywall underneath. Note that if fiberglass insulation gets wet, it becomes useless and needs to be taken out and replaced.
The house should have a central heat and air unit and if it does not, locate the furnace and determine what type it is. Determine how many rooms of the house do not have access to the heater, if there are any.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.
The dirt around the foundation of the home should be slanted away from it so that any rainfall will flow away from the home instead of settling around the foundation in a pocket. This water will seep down into your basement, if you have one. Downspouts should have extensions that will further help direct water away from the base of the home.
Go away from the home and stand a fair distance from it and just look at the structure. Taking someone with you is a good idea because a second opinion is usually wanted. Ask yourself and the person you took with you if the home appears to be tilted one way or another. The structure should not appear to be unstable. After you to this, go inside and be certain that all corners are at a right angle where they need to be. Go into the living room and in other rooms of the home and jump in the middle of it. If the floor flexes or shakes at all, you may have a problem.
Check kitchen and bathroom fixtures for leaks and for quality. Also note whether there is a steam vent in these two rooms so that steam is allowed to escape the home and not cause water damage to the walls and ceilings.
The roof on the home should not need to be replaced in at least the next five years unless you are unhappy with just the appearance of it. It should not require many repairs, if it requires any at all. Water damage can occur to the attic beams, the insulation, and the drywall underneath. Note that if fiberglass insulation gets wet, it becomes useless and needs to be taken out and replaced.
The house should have a central heat and air unit and if it does not, locate the furnace and determine what type it is. Determine how many rooms of the house do not have access to the heater, if there are any.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.
Water, Concrete, and Your Basement
You may not realize it, but concrete is a naturally porous building material and any water that is seeping through it and into your basement is not an uncommon problem. Unfortunately, since all concrete is porous and water will eventually seep through it, anyway, the problem usually lies not with the concrete itself, but with the construction of it.
Since basements are by nature underground and are areas that are generally pretty closed off from the outside environment, humidity is typically a problem unless you know how to deal with it. It can lead to flooding and excessive dampness, which in turn will eventually lead to mold growth. If your basement in your home is chronically wet, you should do what you have to in order to dry this area out and waterproof it as soon as possible to avoid structural rot.
The first thing that you need to do is check outside your home around the foundation and make sure that the basement is not taking on water from the outside due to clogged rain gutters on top of the house or downspouts that are not properly being drained. Just dumping some more dirt around the base of your home may solve the problem if the leaks and flooding only occurs during times of heavy precipitation. All of the soil around your home should be slanted away from the base so that water drains as quickly away as possible.
Most homeowners simply try to cracks in the wall this by caulking the crack shut, but this will not work. Water still seeps through it and in a couple of years, the caulk will peel away. Hydraulic cement also does not work very well, because it does not bond well to the concrete. Cement will be very rigid while the concrete is always moving, shrinking, and expanding over time. The cement that you place inside the crack will become just as loose as caulking would.
The best thing to do is to about cracks in the basement wall is to use a low-pressure crack injection of concrete. It used to require heavy and expensive equipment to do this, but these days you can accomplish this task with a simple conventional caulking gun.
Since most cracks in basement walls are caused by water seepage and are not structurally dangerous, expandable polyurethane is typically the best choice to repair them with. It does not add any structural strength to the concrete, but simply creates a waterproof barrier. No matter whether the crack is dry or wet at the time you are going to fill it, the polyurethane will still bond to it.
Epoxy injection can also be used, but it will not bond to wet surfaces, among other problems. It should be used only when there are cracks that appear in concrete block walls or big cracks in slabs of concrete.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Houston Fire Damage Water Restoration Contractor companies and
Los Angeles Water Damage and Restoration Services.
Since basements are by nature underground and are areas that are generally pretty closed off from the outside environment, humidity is typically a problem unless you know how to deal with it. It can lead to flooding and excessive dampness, which in turn will eventually lead to mold growth. If your basement in your home is chronically wet, you should do what you have to in order to dry this area out and waterproof it as soon as possible to avoid structural rot.
The first thing that you need to do is check outside your home around the foundation and make sure that the basement is not taking on water from the outside due to clogged rain gutters on top of the house or downspouts that are not properly being drained. Just dumping some more dirt around the base of your home may solve the problem if the leaks and flooding only occurs during times of heavy precipitation. All of the soil around your home should be slanted away from the base so that water drains as quickly away as possible.
Most homeowners simply try to cracks in the wall this by caulking the crack shut, but this will not work. Water still seeps through it and in a couple of years, the caulk will peel away. Hydraulic cement also does not work very well, because it does not bond well to the concrete. Cement will be very rigid while the concrete is always moving, shrinking, and expanding over time. The cement that you place inside the crack will become just as loose as caulking would.
The best thing to do is to about cracks in the basement wall is to use a low-pressure crack injection of concrete. It used to require heavy and expensive equipment to do this, but these days you can accomplish this task with a simple conventional caulking gun.
Since most cracks in basement walls are caused by water seepage and are not structurally dangerous, expandable polyurethane is typically the best choice to repair them with. It does not add any structural strength to the concrete, but simply creates a waterproof barrier. No matter whether the crack is dry or wet at the time you are going to fill it, the polyurethane will still bond to it.
Epoxy injection can also be used, but it will not bond to wet surfaces, among other problems. It should be used only when there are cracks that appear in concrete block walls or big cracks in slabs of concrete.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Houston Fire Damage Water Restoration Contractor companies and
Los Angeles Water Damage and Restoration Services.
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