Avoiding Costly Repairs with Moisture Meters for Restoration

Posted by Tom Laurenzi on May 31, 2017 8:20:06 AM

Extensive water damage can require costly repairs to a building’s structure, or the replacement of household furniture and electronics. This is why many smart home owners and business owners rely on professional water damage restoration services for thorough inspections following a water damage incident.

To perform their tasks efficiently and make sure that there’s no excess moisture hidden in a structure, restoration experts need to use specialized tools. They need to use restoration moisture meters.

Using moisture meters for restoration work can help improve efficiency and thoroughness, while also preventing costly repairs in the future. Here’s how:

Finding Hidden Moisture Pockets

Although some signs of moisture intrusion are obvious to the naked eye, others may be impossible to see.

These hidden moisture pockets can, if left unchecked, cause damage to wood, insulation, and other building materials over time. Restoration moisture meters can be used to check the moisture content of wood flooring, insulation, and other materials to quickly identify moisture pockets so they can be dealt with as needed.

Preventing Unnecessary Tear-Out & Replacement

Stripping out undamaged flooring or walls is expensive and wasteful. However, without a quantitative assessment of the moisture content of said flooring or walls, it is difficult to accurately sort out compromised building materials from uncompromised materials.

Moisture meters for restoration can be used to check all of the building materials in a room with water damage, sorting out has needs to be replaced from what can be salvaged. This means less labor for tear-out and fewer building materials that have to be ordered for replacement.

In all, restoration meters can help minimize repair costs following severe moisture damage.

Pinpointing Moisture Intrusion Sources for Repair

Finding and fixing the source of a leak is crucial for preventing repeat damage in the future. While some moisture intrusion sources cannot really be fixed, such as floods from severe weather, others can.

For example, a leaky pipe can be a constant source of water damage that incurs consistent damage. Finding this pipe and fixing it could easily prevent hundreds or thousands of dollars in damage in the future.

Another source of moisture intrusion  that can cause issues for a building would be cracks in the exterior walls near the foundation. Through these cracks, moisture can seep in, attracting insect infestations and encouraging mold growth. Tracing moisture from the interior of a structure to the exterior makes these cracks easier to find and seal.

Eliminating the source of moisture intrusion is usually much less costly than continuously finding and fixing moisture problems over and over.

The Good News for Restoration Companies

Minimizing repair costs and preventing future problems can benefit restoration companies, just as much as it does home and business owners, for a number of reasons:

  1. Reputation. By preventing issues and minimizing costs, restoration companies can build a positive reputation with their customers. This can lead to more business in the future as customers come to trust the restoration experts for their efficiency and thoroughness.
  2. Reduced Costs. Minimizing the extent of repairs helps restoration contractors save money on materials and labor—which can mean increased profits for restoration work.

Of course, to realize such benefits and to ensure thoroughness, restoration companies need to have solid, reliable moisture meters for their work—ones that can detect moisture in a variety of different materials such as wood, drywall, and insulation with pinpoint accuracy.

Learn more about using restoration moisture meters by checking out our free guides today!

Click Here to Download The Restoration Guide Now

Topics: restoration professionals

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