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Homes Impacted By Flood Waters
For Residents Whose Homes Were Impacted By Flood Waters
After natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, excess moisture and standing water contribute to the growth of mold in homes and other buildings.
Be aware that mold may be present and may be a health risk for your family, if your home has water damage due to:
- Flooding,
- Sewage back-up,
- Plumbing or roof leaks,
- Damp basements or crawl space,
- Overflows from sinks or bathtub, or
- High humidity: steam cooking, dryer vents, humidifiers.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website contains information on mold cleanup and remediation in homes, schools and other large commercial buildings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website includes general background information about mold health hazards and mold safety recommendations.
Contractor Information From The Building Department
We are highly recommending you make sure whomever you use in this recovery is a reliable company. Way too many people were scammed after Hurricane Ike in some cases doing more damage than the storm itself; this is the last thing we would wish upon anyone.
1. Make sure whomever you go with is insured. It is advisable that they are insured in Texas.
2. Get a signed contract for the work to be done and the price.
3. Get a copy of their insurance and any licenses they hold.
4. We highly recommend that you DO NOT give your contractor money out front. This is one of the biggest problems when in this situation. Your contract should have a draw schedule for how much you are to pay them at certain points of completion (you may consider using a passed inspection tag as your completion points.)
5. Permits are required on all work with the exceptions of paint, cabinets & flooring coverings. Any structural work will require engineering.
6. Permits must be posted and clearly visible from the street. Please be aware that both individuals doing the work as well as the properties having unpermitted work are subject to tickets and fines.
You may consider having the company doing the work pull permits for the work. This makes the company more liable to call for inspections. Additionally the City of Galveston requires all contractors to register with insurance and bonding (click here for to access the currently registered contractors list online.) This gives you a means of recourse for anyone that doesn't hold up their end of the deal.