While the owners of an upscale Ithaca home were across the country on vacation, a broken water line was steadily flooding their home for over two days. The culprit was a toilet supply line that separated in an upstairs bathroom, spreading water throughout the three levels of the home.

The caretaker for the home discovered the damages and the owners promptly reported the claim to their insurance agent. After discussing the damages with the agency’s claims manager, Stanley Steemer was called in to mitigate the damages and turn the loss around.

Sprawling hardwood floors throughout the home were cupping and walls were soaked to the core. To make things more interesting, the walls were lathe and plaster with two layers of plaster, making it necessary to remove all wet walls. Due to the size of the home and extensive migration of the water, a high-output desiccant drying trailer was used to dry the entire structure. This trailer has an output of up to 1,800 cubic feet per minute of extremely dry warm air which efficiently pulls the moisture from the structure and sends it out.

A temporary storage trailer was also delivered to the premises to store furniture and personal belongings while the cleaning and reconstruction phases took place. After a week of intensive work of handling contents, cleaning and demolition, Stanley Steemer had the home dry and ready for reconstruction.

With the walls and ceilings removed from a good portion of the home, the owners are taking this opportunity to remodel their floorplan as the home is put back together.