When it comes to work that affects the safety of lives and property, failure is not an option. For over 125 years, NFPA has been a proactive safety organization that vets challenges and researches solutions to help people the world over do uncompromisingly good work. Driven by passionate experts, NFPA is a trusted source of information that leads the world in developing guidance and resources for fire, electrical, and life safety.
If you and your company don’t compromise the work that you offer, then you can’t compromise on the quality of information and knowledge that prepare you to work at the highest level. As building materials, technologies, and social challenges change, work with greater efficiency, productivity, and safety by working with superior knowledge.
Our products, services, and events include:
● NFPA LiNK®
● NFPA Conference & Expo®
● Individual Membership, Electrical Inspection Membership
● Fire Prevention Week™
● NFPA 70®, National Electrical Code® (NEC®)
● NFPA 70E®, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace®
● NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®
● Fire Protection Handbook® (FPH®)
● And much more
To learn more, visit nfpa.org.
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Water-Related Disaster? Safety First
When it comes to emergency water removal, mold removal, and flood damage restoration, leave it to the pros. Your professional disaster restoration specialist has the industry knowledge, experience, and credentials to guide you and your family through the entire process. The appropriate treatment depends on the specific nature of the damage in your home and will be tailored to meet your specific needs.
But homeowners, often feeling helpless in these situations, may ask what they can do to help during this time. The answer is simple but important: safety. Taking measures to ensure the safety of your family and your home is advice to heed. Let's take a look at some safety do's and don'ts.
Is The Home Safe?
Determine whether the house is structurally safe to enter or live in; professionals may refer to the structural integrity of the home. If you're unsure, don't enter the house and make arrangements for shelter with the help of local agencies, neighbors, and friends. Contact your insurance company, too.
If it's determined that the home is safe to enter, turn off the power by disabling the main circuit breaker; turn off the main water supply as well. A flooded basement could damage your furnace if the water reaches a dangerously high level. If you have a natural gas supply line, turn that off also; better still, leave that for a professional.
Of course, keep children and pets away from flooded areas; you don't want accidents from slippery, wet floors.
Don't operate televisions, computers, vacuums or other electrical appliances while standing on wet carpets or floors, especially concrete surfaces.
Be sure your valuables are safe. If you will not be living in the house due to the unsafe conditions, remove your valuables including documents and treasured items such as photographs and other keepsakes; store them with a trusted friend or relative. If you are able to stay in your home, move valuables to a dry, safe location.
Is There Mold?
Mold growth is often one of the ensuing problems created by flood damage. The damp conditions in your home after a flood are an ideal breeding ground for these microscopic organisms that spread by producing airborne spores. Those mix with the air inside your house and can lead to health and safety concerns for you and your family. Typical symptoms resulting from mold exposure include everything from respiratory problems and nasal and sinus congestion, to skin, eye, nose and throat irritation.
(Be on the lookout for signs of mold. They vary considerably but may include a smelly odor, a white and thread-like growth, clusters of small black spots; mold can be grayish-brown, grayish-green or white in color.)
Do treat all flood water as contaminated. The water and water-impacted surfaces may not be contaminated but until determined by a professional, don't take chances. Don't track contaminated materials and items into undamaged areas. Do keep children and pets, who are especially vulnerable, out of suspect areas. Absorbent materials such as carpeting and drywall may be unsalvageable after contaminated.
Implementing these tips will put you into action mode versus feeling helpless. More importantly, it will ensure the safety of your family and your home.
But homeowners, often feeling helpless in these situations, may ask what they can do to help during this time. The answer is simple but important: safety. Taking measures to ensure the safety of your family and your home is advice to heed. Let's take a look at some safety do's and don'ts.
Is The Home Safe?
Determine whether the house is structurally safe to enter or live in; professionals may refer to the structural integrity of the home. If you're unsure, don't enter the house and make arrangements for shelter with the help of local agencies, neighbors, and friends. Contact your insurance company, too.
If it's determined that the home is safe to enter, turn off the power by disabling the main circuit breaker; turn off the main water supply as well. A flooded basement could damage your furnace if the water reaches a dangerously high level. If you have a natural gas supply line, turn that off also; better still, leave that for a professional.
Of course, keep children and pets away from flooded areas; you don't want accidents from slippery, wet floors.
Don't operate televisions, computers, vacuums or other electrical appliances while standing on wet carpets or floors, especially concrete surfaces.
Be sure your valuables are safe. If you will not be living in the house due to the unsafe conditions, remove your valuables including documents and treasured items such as photographs and other keepsakes; store them with a trusted friend or relative. If you are able to stay in your home, move valuables to a dry, safe location.
Is There Mold?
Mold growth is often one of the ensuing problems created by flood damage. The damp conditions in your home after a flood are an ideal breeding ground for these microscopic organisms that spread by producing airborne spores. Those mix with the air inside your house and can lead to health and safety concerns for you and your family. Typical symptoms resulting from mold exposure include everything from respiratory problems and nasal and sinus congestion, to skin, eye, nose and throat irritation.
(Be on the lookout for signs of mold. They vary considerably but may include a smelly odor, a white and thread-like growth, clusters of small black spots; mold can be grayish-brown, grayish-green or white in color.)
Do treat all flood water as contaminated. The water and water-impacted surfaces may not be contaminated but until determined by a professional, don't take chances. Don't track contaminated materials and items into undamaged areas. Do keep children and pets, who are especially vulnerable, out of suspect areas. Absorbent materials such as carpeting and drywall may be unsalvageable after contaminated.
Implementing these tips will put you into action mode versus feeling helpless. More importantly, it will ensure the safety of your family and your home.
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
How to Salvage Your Valuables After Serious Flooding
Saving family keepsakes after a storm can be painstaking, but it's worth it
Heavy rain and severe weather can upend your life. And if you're faced with mucking out your house and tearing out saturated drywall, recovering keepsakes and family treasures might seem like a task for a later day.
But saving your valuables can be a race against the clock—mold can form within 48 hours. To help, the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, cosponsored by FEMA and the Smithsonian Institution, has developed guidelines for how to salvage what you want and dispose of what can’t be saved.
The first step is to determine what type of water you’re dealing with—salty, dirty, or contaminated by sewage or chemicals. If your valuables have come in contact with toxic water during flooding, you might have to call a professional conservator because trying to clean them yourself can be a health risk. If the water was untainted, then take steps to reduce the humidity around your items as you work to clean and dry them. Here’s how from FEMA’s checklist:
Save Your Valuables
Prioritize. You may not be able to save everything after flooding, so focus on what’s most important to you, whether for sentimental or monetary reasons.
"We always hear about dollar-amount damages, but often the losses that affect us the most are the ones to which a dollar amount cannot be assigned," says Lori Foley, administrator of the Heritage Emergency National Task Force. "What do you own that you’d miss terribly if you lost it? Photographs of loved ones in frames, albums, or shoeboxes? Books and paintings passed down through generations? Grandma’s recipe box?"
Air-dry. Gentle air-drying indoors is best. Weather permitting, open your windows to increase indoor airflow. If it’s too hot and humid, use fans, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers. Avoid using hair dryers, irons, ovens, and prolonged exposure to sunlight, which can do irreversible damage.
Handle with care. Delicate items can be especially fragile when wet, so be careful when you handle them. Separate sodden materials by removing photographs from damp albums and taking paintings and prints out of their frames. Place white paper towels between every few pages of wet books.
Clean gently. Loosen dirt and debris on fragile objects carefully with soft cloths and brushes. Avoid rubbing, which can grind in dirt.
Salvage photos. Clean photographs by rinsing them carefully in clean water. Air-dry photos on a plastic screen or paper towel, or by hanging them by the corners with plastic clothespins. Don’t let the image come into contact with other surfaces as it dries.
Cold storage. Damp objects and items that cannot be dealt with immediately should be put in open, unsealed boxes or bags. If you can’t attend to items within 48 hours, you can put photos, papers, books, and textiles in the freezer and clean them later.
"In general, you can freeze many items that cannot be dried out in 48 hours – photos, books, documents, textiles," says Foley. "Freezing stops mold from growing, ink from running, and dyes from transferring. Freezing items allows you to buy some time to devote to other activities. When you are able, you can return to the frozen items and recover them on your own time."
Dispose of the Debris
Once the waters recede, residents will be able to go back into their homes and start cleaning up, and piles of ruined household belongings will be put on the curb. Cleanup can take months if not years.
Because mold creates a serious health risk, it’s important to remove wet items from your home as soon as possible. FEMA recommends not waiting for your insurance adjuster before cleaning up. Instead, document the flooding damage on your cell phone or camera. Before dragging debris to the curb, check with your municipality on how it wants you to separate items for the garbage haulers. FEMA recommends sorting items into the following six categories:
For more information and resources, see FEMA’s After the Flood: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures.
Article Source: https://www.consumerreports.org/cleaning/how-to-salvage-valuables-after-flooding/
Heavy rain and severe weather can upend your life. And if you're faced with mucking out your house and tearing out saturated drywall, recovering keepsakes and family treasures might seem like a task for a later day.
But saving your valuables can be a race against the clock—mold can form within 48 hours. To help, the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, cosponsored by FEMA and the Smithsonian Institution, has developed guidelines for how to salvage what you want and dispose of what can’t be saved.
The first step is to determine what type of water you’re dealing with—salty, dirty, or contaminated by sewage or chemicals. If your valuables have come in contact with toxic water during flooding, you might have to call a professional conservator because trying to clean them yourself can be a health risk. If the water was untainted, then take steps to reduce the humidity around your items as you work to clean and dry them. Here’s how from FEMA’s checklist:
Save Your Valuables
Prioritize. You may not be able to save everything after flooding, so focus on what’s most important to you, whether for sentimental or monetary reasons.
"We always hear about dollar-amount damages, but often the losses that affect us the most are the ones to which a dollar amount cannot be assigned," says Lori Foley, administrator of the Heritage Emergency National Task Force. "What do you own that you’d miss terribly if you lost it? Photographs of loved ones in frames, albums, or shoeboxes? Books and paintings passed down through generations? Grandma’s recipe box?"
Air-dry. Gentle air-drying indoors is best. Weather permitting, open your windows to increase indoor airflow. If it’s too hot and humid, use fans, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers. Avoid using hair dryers, irons, ovens, and prolonged exposure to sunlight, which can do irreversible damage.
Handle with care. Delicate items can be especially fragile when wet, so be careful when you handle them. Separate sodden materials by removing photographs from damp albums and taking paintings and prints out of their frames. Place white paper towels between every few pages of wet books.
Clean gently. Loosen dirt and debris on fragile objects carefully with soft cloths and brushes. Avoid rubbing, which can grind in dirt.
Salvage photos. Clean photographs by rinsing them carefully in clean water. Air-dry photos on a plastic screen or paper towel, or by hanging them by the corners with plastic clothespins. Don’t let the image come into contact with other surfaces as it dries.
Cold storage. Damp objects and items that cannot be dealt with immediately should be put in open, unsealed boxes or bags. If you can’t attend to items within 48 hours, you can put photos, papers, books, and textiles in the freezer and clean them later.
"In general, you can freeze many items that cannot be dried out in 48 hours – photos, books, documents, textiles," says Foley. "Freezing stops mold from growing, ink from running, and dyes from transferring. Freezing items allows you to buy some time to devote to other activities. When you are able, you can return to the frozen items and recover them on your own time."
Dispose of the Debris
Once the waters recede, residents will be able to go back into their homes and start cleaning up, and piles of ruined household belongings will be put on the curb. Cleanup can take months if not years.
Because mold creates a serious health risk, it’s important to remove wet items from your home as soon as possible. FEMA recommends not waiting for your insurance adjuster before cleaning up. Instead, document the flooding damage on your cell phone or camera. Before dragging debris to the curb, check with your municipality on how it wants you to separate items for the garbage haulers. FEMA recommends sorting items into the following six categories:
- Bagged household garbage such as food, packaging, and paper.
- Building materials and furniture, including drywall, carpeting, and mattresses.
- Vegetation debris such as tree branches, plants, and leaves.
- Hazardous household waste, including batteries, paints, and cleaning supplies.
- Large appliances such as refrigerators, water heaters, and air conditioners.
- Electronics such as TVs, computers, and stereo equipment.
For more information and resources, see FEMA’s After the Flood: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures.
Article Source: https://www.consumerreports.org/cleaning/how-to-salvage-valuables-after-flooding/
Sunday, February 2, 2025
This Old House | Focus on Framing
Kevin O'Connor and Tom Silva frame an exterior wall on ground and raise it into place. Tom gives a personal history of framing tools. Kevin, Charlie Silva and Heath Eastman talk about different types of recessed lighting, installation of and layout. Electrical panels are discussed. An old ridge beam is replaced with three LVLS sandwiched together in place to support the addition.
This Old House
Thursday, January 30, 2025
This Old House | Demo Time (S39 E18) | FULL EPISODE
Kevin is at one of Charleston's architectural gems, a house called Sword Gate. The wrought iron gates out front have swords welded into them.
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Kevin and Tom meet the builder, Lindsay Nevin, whose company is up for the challenge. Lindsay discusses some of the strict rules to follow when it comes to renovating old houses in historic Charleston. Heat, humidity and water are usually the major issues of these old wooden houses, and the only way to assess the damage is to start a careful demo.
At the Single House project, Kevin finds Tommy and general contractor Mark in the kitchen house. Mark explains his plan to dig out and pour a concrete slab, and they get to work pulling up floorboards.
When it comes to educating the next generation of tradespeople, the American College of the Building Arts, is the only school in the country with a four-year college program which focuses on the building trades.
Meanwhile, demolition is in full swing and Judith's backyard is filling up with debris.
Judith wants to improve the landscaping as well as the house, and she has some favorite shrubs and trees she'd like to use as green screening. Roger meets her to discuss planting options, and then he travels to a southern nursery to find out what plants will work in the sub-tropics. The nursery can ship out the plants as soon as the yard is ready.
Over at the Single House, it's time to privy dive. Richard discusses the history of the outhouse in Charleston and what's buried beneath the surface.
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Products and Services from this episode
General Contractor – Charleston Single House
Category: Contractors & Services, Building Resources
Contractor
Renew Urban
http://www.renewurban.net/
General Contractor – Elliotborough House
Category: Contractors & Services
Contractor
Flyway Construction
http://www.flywaysc.com/construction/
Landscape design – Elliotborough House
Category: Landscaping, Design
Contractor
ADC Engineering
http://adcengineering.com
Local Trade School
Category: Building Resources, Miscellaneous, Generation NEXT
Side Trip
American College of the Building Arts
http://americancollegeofthebuildingar...
nursery visit
Category: Landscaping
Side Trip
Fast-Growing-Trees
https://www.fast-growing-trees.com
About This Old House TV: This Old House is America’s first and most trusted home improvement show. Each season, we renovate two different historic homes—one step at a time—featuring quality craftsmanship and the latest in modern technology. We demystify home improvement and provide ideas and information so, whether you are doing it yourself or hiring out contractors, you’ll know the right way to do things or the questions to ask. Our experts including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor give you the tools you need to protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home.
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Monday, January 27, 2025
Insurance Check Up: Homeowners & Wildfires
Friday, January 24, 2025
Some Steps to Protect Your Home From Wildfires
If flames ignite, Cal Fire captain and local resident Scott Green knows that firefighters may be unable to save everything that needs saving. So his rural home protects itself. He shows us how to take defensive steps.
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Mike Fixes Lien Disaster After Contractor Fails | Holmes on Homes 603
Sort out a financial nightmare with Kristine and Terry, whose contractor put a lien on their home after failing to deliver the second story he promised. Follow Mike and his crew as they show exactly how unfinished the job was and then make it right.
Saturday, January 18, 2025
Corrupt Contractor Leaves Family Homeless | Holmes on Homes 406
Learn how a corrupt contractor left Ron and Jill with no money, nowhere to live, and no legal leg to stand on. Watch the Holmes crew work day and night to complete the structure, plumbing, and finish work on their second-floor addition.
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Alltek Restoration's Commitment and Dedication to Client's Satisfaction is Second to None
You can expect a professional staff when working with Alltek Restoration, Inc. We value and expect quality, efficiency, punctuality, cleanliness and courtesy from our team. Our commitment and dedication to our client's satisfaction is second to none.
- Quality work, Integrity, and Commitment
- Prompt completion and timeline.
- Detailed estimates upon invitation to bid.
- Explanation of contract and specification
Alltek has established successful working relationships with qualified and competent professionals, and subcontractors who share our customer oriented philosophy.
Our Guarantee: We warranty all work that is done with your project whether we ourselves do the work or our subcontractors do the work.
Choosing the right contractor is crucial for any project to be successful. We specialize in Emergency Services, Contents, Restoration, and Reconstruction. You can rest knowing that your project's interest is at the top of our concerns. Alltek is committed to providing our clients with the highest quality work and exceptional customer service, while assuring you of a well executed plan to complete your project. You and everyone involved in your project will feel confident we are leading the way.
OUR ESTIMATES
Xactware® is recognized in the claims industry and used by many insurance providers. All of our restoration scopes and reconstruction estimates are generated using the Xactimate estimating software or Xactcontents for personal property.
With our estimating staff’s knowledge, combined with the power of Xactimate, our estimates indicate exact quantities and materials & labor. This is accompanied with a clear description of work to be performed and graphical reference providing you with a clear concise scope of work that Alltek will perform on your project.
PROPERTY RESTORATION | STRUCTURE RECONSTRUCTION
There are many aspects to your claim, that our trained and expert staff will guide you through the process. We provide you with a single claim solution from start to finish. Once you choose Alltek Restoration, Inc. you will have one point of contact for your entire claim. No call centers. You will never be a claim number.
Alltek performs both residential and commercial restoration for insurance claim repairs for both small and large loss. For all properties we provide complete restoration services for the following loss categories:
Fire Damage, Water Damage, Smoke Damage, Storm Damage, Vandalism, Vehicle and more.
BOARD UP SERVICES
Are very common requirements after storm or fire loss. The damages caused by the actual fire and tactics use to extinguish can leave your property with broken or blown out windows, burnt doors or broken doors, ventilation holes in roofs, and structural deficiencies all of which leaves the property open to accessible, in distress, and insecure. We will secure all loss related openings with temporary measures securing the property and temporary structural repairs to help prevent further damages.
Contact our office in Antioch, CA, at 925-732-7208 to speak with one of our construction designers about your upcoming project.
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