It was a warm, dry Friday night when Peak Construction received a call about a flooded condominium in Fishkill. A water softener was being installed onto the hot water heater in the unit’s closet when the heat from the enclosed space set off the sprinkler system, which ran for forty five minutes.
Water spread across the top level, down through the walls, ceilings, and floors of multiple apartments on the main floor, and continued down into the basement level, drenching over 150 linear feet of the basement ceiling.
Peak Construction was quick to respond to the late night emergency call, immediately setting up air movers and dehumidifiers to extract any standing water. Rescue mats were used to pull water that was standing in between wooden planks in the floor. We used wall cavity drying behind kitchen cabinets and tile back splash, successfully absorbing water so that demolition was not needed.
Our team uses a thermal imaging camera which detects moisture by reading the temperature. This technology is helpful in terms of mitigation because in a heated home, water is going to be thirty to forty degrees colder than the structural surface. While regular moisture meters are definitely useful, hidden pockets of water stand out in a thermal image, painting a visual map of what’s wet without too much invasive probing.
Peak was on site the first night until about two in the morning, returning early Saturday morning to continue the dry out. Because we arrived as soon as we did, we were able to sufficiently dry the condo before more serious damage was done. In situations like this, time is imperative, so if you find yourself faced with a water emergency, don’t hesitate to call Peak Construction!
