Water Out Phoenix Saves Louisiana Medical Plaza

As with most restorative drying projects the goal or purpose is to dry the structure and contents affected by the water intrusion as quickly as possible with the intent of reducing the amount of damage, and returning the structure to a stable usable condition. The need to meet this goal as quickly as possible in commercial buildings is ever more important since lost revenue due to business interruption can easily soar beyond the physical damage repair estimates of the building itself

Drying hurricane damaged buildings in the gulf region this year was no exception. One case involved a multi level medical building in the New Orleans area which other than damaged windows and some roofing issues all of which had been quickly repaired, the structure was still at substantial risk from water intrusion One week of operating the HVAC system proved ineffective in mitigating the water loss along with real possibility of a long term closure of the building to deal with secondary damage. Business interruption along with misplaced out of work employees would only serve to further decay the recovery effort and restoration of infrastructure to what was once a vibrant economy just weeks prior.

We quickly mobilized trailer mounted Water Out® drying systems to the building and established a complete convectant® structural drying system within 8 hours of initial setup. Within 24 to 36 hours of initial setup notable progress in structural moisture content had been made allowing some areas of the building to reopen and resume normal business operations much sooner than the owner had anticipated.

Due to the ability to rapidly dry a structure, daily monitoring of the convectant® dying progress is important to maintain continuous efficient placement of Water Out® trailers and air movers, keeping them in operation in the most critical areas throughout the structure. Within a weeks time the use of 5 to 12 Water Out trailers, 108 air movers and on average 2 qualified technicians per day restored the structure to a safe, stable usable condition which allowed normal business operations to resume. Initial estimated structural repairs and down time were substantially reduced.

As one can see the obvious benefits to the local economy as one more building which not only provides many incomes for local workers, but critical services that further support the local infrastructure itself can reopen.

One significant reason for the success of Water Out® is the ease of setting up and operating the equipment itself. Technicians like to use equipment that makes their workflow easier and more productive, and knowing that there will be a pleased client at the end of the project provides all the motivation needed to keep moral high. As a business owner this translates into lower operating costs and increased profitability while still maintaining a high value and savings to the insurance company and building owner.

Steve Vyrostek, CR, WLS, CMRS