Demolition |
Rebuilding |
|
| Since the fire our primary focus has been on the
rescue and removal of whatever possessions survived. Now we are
beginning to turn the corner from the "archeological phase" to the
recovery phase. Even the demolition part is good. Seeing the charred
remains of our house being knocked down and hauled away is a relief
because it is one step to us being back in our home! The house was officially totaled, as were most of the contents. A multitude of items, while they appeared OK were either coated with an oily deposit of smoke or damaged by water, which probably caused more losses than either fire or smoke The archeological phase consisted of digging, identifying, cleaning, cataloging, and storing things that were "dug up". With every shovel of rubble some little thing would poke through. The real decisions would involve whether its value was worth the time and effort that would be required to clean it. Some things, such as glass or metal objects not damaged by heat, cleaned up well (“Mean Green” brand cleaner is an amazing product). Wood and other such porous items were not as lucky. The smoke produced by the fire was filled with tars, plastics, and an oily, witches-brew of other vaporized construction products. It found its way into every crevice and deposited onto every surface you can imagine, and it not only resists cleaning, but it has an odor that is unmistakable and sickly. Our clothing, most of which was in the master bedroom closet fared reasonably well. Fabrics, such as clothes, can often be commercially laundered and deodorized successfully. While many fabric items were rescued using one or more of a variety of products, the most impressive of which was Oxy-Clean.
|
||
|
|
||