Should You Enter A Severely Damaged Home?
I'm going to save you a lot of trouble, and won't make
you read any more of the article, if you don't want to. The answer to
this question is, ” No.“ If the house is missing most of its siding,
stucco or interior drywall, it doesn't have the structural strength,
that it once had.
I was watching a video the other day and it got me thinking about how
many people actually walk into a home that has been damaged, by either a
tornado, earthquake or even a hurricane. I realize that as a building
contractor, I understand this and as a homeowner, you could look at it
differently.
Just because the house is still standing and everything looks okay,
doesn't mean that you aren't in danger, especially if you choose to
start walking around the inside of the home.
Let's start with the basics of home building here. Some of these homes
should have new bracing installed on the walls, to provide the lateral
strength that was removed, by the forces of nature. Once the exterior
and interior of these walls have been severely damaged, there isn't as
much strength or structural support.
Not only, don't I recommend walking inside of these severely damaged
homes, I wouldn't walk around them or even near them. I'm not trying to
scare anyone, if you didn't do any repairs, this home could stand up for
quite some time.
However, what if it didn't? Why even take the chance?