Flood-Damaged Home Restored and Re-insulated with Closed-Cell Spray Foam

JUPITER, FL–March 6, 2013–A severe microburst rainstorm produced flash flooding that ravaged sections of Palm Beach County, Florida in December 2012. The town of Jupiter reported nearly 9 inches of rain in only 30 minutes, and a total of 11 inches of rain in a 3-hour period. The deluge left several communities and homeowners with major water damage as a result, particularly for flooring and walls. In the weeks after the storm, the affected areas have seen increased demand for spray foam insulation to replace water-damaged fiberglass insulation, and SprayFoam.com was on the site of one SPF restoration project.

One particular homeowner in a local oceanfront community suffered nearly two inches of flood water damage in their ground floor as intruding rain water simply filled up their yard, which was enclosed by a privacy wall, and seeped into their home.
 
"At first glance we thought the water was coming through doors, but once they were blocked off, the water kept building up to nearly two inches on the entire ground floor of the house," the homeowner said. "It was an emergency situation that came out of nowhere; we didn't know how to stop it or how to get rid of it."

When the storm subsided and the water finally drained, there was yard waste, insects, dirt and worse ingrained into the furniture, walls and carpets.

"Everything on the bottom floor of the house was ruined," the homeowner said, "The carpets, the furniture, the air conditioning units, our sense of security in the home."  

The homeowner called Dean Mitchell Restoration, a local contracting firm that quickly sent over a remediation crew led by Chris Burnett to remove the flood-soaked carpets and other ruined items. The crew quickly began to strip the walls, removing the water-soaked sheetrock and fiberglass batt insulation. The walls were stripped to a height of two feet all around the ground floor of the home. The crew dried the home using a combination of high-capacity driers and heat for over a week.

When the house was finally ready to put back together, the image of the soaked, ruined batt insulation was fresh in the homeowner's mind; there was no way fiberglass was being reinstalled. So, the homeowner set out to find a better solution for insulating the home.

"When we did the research, we determined that closed-cell spray foam would be a good replacement for the soaked and ruined fiberglass, but would also seal the holes in the construction where the flood water seeped into our home," the homeowner explained. "We also found that the closed-cell spray foam is very strong and durable and would provide a structural boost to the existing walls."

So, the homeowner searched for a local spray foam contractor on the Internet, and the first website they came across was SprayFoamFlorida.net, where they found Fort Pierce-based LEED Insulation. When they contacted the company, the owner, Ed Richards, was both knowledgeable and accommodating, according to the homeowner.

On the day of the insulation application, Richards and the LEED Insulation crew were in and out in just a few hours. The crew applied roughly two inches of Heatlok Soy 200, a 2.0 lb closed-cell foam made by Demilec, between the exposed walls studs on the first floor of the home. When the job was completed, the walls were rock-solid and every nook, cranny, crack and gap in the house's building envelope was filled with spray foam insulation.

"I bet all kinds of insects and rodents were coming in at will before the spray foam," the homeowner said. "Now we are protected from this kind of water intrusion ever happening again, and the insects will have to find a new place to dwell."

The home has since been reinstalled with drywall and repainted, much to the delight of the homeowner.
 
ABOUT LEED Insulation: Based in Fort Pierce, Florida, LEED Insulation is a full-service insulation contractor serving the east coast of Florida. Services include open- and closed-cell spray foam, CBS injected foam, blown-in insulation, batt insulation, rigid board insulation, and seamless gutters. For more information, please use the contact details provided below.