Contractors across the U.S. face a new rule and new expense—mandatory home sprinkler systems. The Florida Wires reports that some states now require homes built after January 1, 2011 to have sprinkler systems. This poses a burden on the home construction industry, which is down more than 90 percent in some states, such as Connecticut. Contractors argue this safety feature should be voluntary.
International Code Council Reasoning
The International Code Council states that the new regulation applies to homes and townhouses that are fewer than three stories high. The rule is an attempt to be proactive. The Florida Wires article reports that, according to the Insurance Institute, 2,100 people died in one- and two- story homes in 2009, and 9,300 house fire-related injuries were reported. Mandatory sprinkler systems help wet combustible materials, thereby benefiting the elderly, disabled and children who may not be able to escape a fire quickly.
Home Builder Resistance
Home contractors argue that, unlike smoke alarms, studies have not proved that sprinkler systems improve the safety of a home. Moreover, a sprinkler system could raise the cost to build a home by up to $10,000. Many contractors fear that a home with a sprinkler system will look less attractive to prospective homeowners because of the unfounded fear that the sprinklers will go off by accident. Building sprinkler systems are notoriously known to cause enormous amounts of water damage within homes and offices, often by causing damage to electronic equipment, carpet and furniture.
The issue regarding the cost of home safety will continue to be a debated topic. Fortunately, there are disaster restoration services available to help business and homeowners who have experienced water damage from a sprinkler system. Services offered include the recovery ofwet documentsand the proper drying ofwet books and photographs. However, regardless of the safety features a home may have, families still need to practice fire safety techniques to prevent fires, as well as create a stay-safe plan in the event a fire breaks out in the home.
The cold weather months are some of the wettest of the year. Consequently, the extra humidity creates the perfect environment for mold to grow in a home. While your works of art, photographs, antiques and family heirlooms may have the protection of the roof in your home, they may be susceptible to mold damage if you do not display or store them properly.
Areas to Avoid Displaying Valuables
Laundry room: the washer and drier create a humid environment that can tarnish fine metals, warp paper and be an ideal breeding ground for mold.
Bathroom: water and moisture are always present in the bathroom. Hence, the reason many household mold and mildew removers are targeted for use in this room.
Kitchen: keep all art and photographs away from the sink area, food preparation and cooking surfaces and the areas around an oven and dishwasher. The heat, moisture, food particles and oil in a kitchen will cut the life of your valuables short.
Near windows: windows tend to reflect the weather outside, especially if not sealed well. It is best to keep your heirloom books, photographs and antique findings off a windowsill.
By heating vents, air conditioners, radiators, air purifiers and humidifiers: while practical for maintaining a constant temperature in a home, these items are not art-friendly.
By a hot lamp or in an area that receives direct sunlight: the sun’s UV rays will quickly fade any art it touches. Hot lamps can cause art and photographs to become dry and crack.
The ideal, low moisture temperature for art, antiques and family heirlooms is 66 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your valuables in the same environment you enjoy—one that is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Should your antiques, photographs and art experience mold damage, contact a restoration specialist as soon as you notice the problem. These professionals have state of the art equipment that can clean, dry and restore your irreplaceable valuables.
Beginning in August 2010, Rapid Refile will have a new vacuum freeze dry chamber. The chamber within it is the most sophisticated vacuum freeze dryer to be installed in America. It has the following features and advantages:
A capacity for large or multiple projects: thus allowing Rapid Refile to get big jobs done in a shorter amount of time or serve several clients at once
4 to 8 day drying cycle for fast turnaround
Programs or “recipes” for low operating temperatures to preserve rare and fragile materials:
This is ideal for restoring wet documents, medical documents, film, damaged photographs, heirloom books and more.
Recycling flush tank to reduce waste by 90% and promote our commitment to environmental responsibility
Moisture probes and weight scale to show the progress of drying and significantly reduce the harmful effects of over-drying, which can seriously threaten the longevity of paper files and library books
One of the worst nightmares of a file clerk in a hospital or even a small-town doctor is finding patient records and other medical documents damaged by water, humidity, mold or a fire. When medical documents are damaged, they will only get worse with time. To help those in the medical field solve this dilemma, Rapid Refile provided instructions on what to do to recover critical medical documents in Facility Care magazine.
Hire a document restoration vendor. Choose a restoration company that offers in-house reclamation services. Doing this will improve the lines of communication between the client and the vendor and speed up business continuity.
Provide a HIPPA partnership agreement to a representative in the recovery firm. This will allow the restoration company to inventory the wet documents, remove them from the affected area and stabilize the damage. Joe Perko for Rapid Refile states, “Recording the location and order of documents ensures a proper chain of custody and enables an efficient reintegration of documents once reclamation services are complete.”
Begin the document reclamation process. Restoration specialists should load inventoried boxes into a monitored freezer trailer so they can immediately be reclaimed at the document reclamation center. At the center, professionals will either vacuum freeze dry or desiccant dry the wet documents and wet books. In addition, restoration professionals may reproduce files digitally so they can provide copies of these important documents to the client quickly. The restoration company should provide the client with a Certificate of Destruction.
Governor Sarah Palin has issued a disaster declaration for parts of Alaska that have been affected by spring flooding. These areas include the Yukon, Kuskokwim, Kobus and Susitna rivers. Ice jams in the Yukon River have caused the flood levels to rise up to 34 feet above flood stage.
In Eagle, Alaska, large pieces of ice (some the size of houses) have destroyed as many as 10 homes and a couple of log cabins that were knocked-off their foundations floated down the river. Up to 16 restaurants and businesses have suffered flood damage and damage from the large pieces of floating ice. It is estimated that 30 people are now homeless as a result of the water damage.
When the ice jam in Eagle releases, it is expected to flow down to the city of Circle. A flood has been issued for the communities along the Yukon River and will remain in effect until Saturday.
Not all has to be lost to a flood. Wet documents and wet books can many times be recovered by a restoration specialist. Restoration specialists can also help dry buildings and other items to help prevent the damage that mold can cause as a result of the water damage.
Contractors across the U.S. face a new rule and new expense—mandatory home sprinkler systems. The Florida Wires reports that some states now require homes built after January 1, 2011 to have sprinkler systems. This poses a burden on the home construction industry, which is down more than 90 percent in some states, such as Connecticut. Contractors argue this safety feature should be voluntary.
