Testing wet attic, wall and floor insulation, removing what will not dry, and replacing it before the house is closed up across Wichita and Sedgwick County.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Insulation replacement after water is the removal of insulation that has soaked and cannot be dried to readings, followed by new insulation before the wall or ceiling is closed. In Wichita the crew reads each batch or fill, decides what stays and records the decision. Calls are answered 24/7.
Insulation is one of the materials a water loss hides most effectively. It can look dry on the surface while the core is still wet, and it holds water against the framing, the sheathing and the drywall around it. Once a wall or ceiling is closed over wet insulation, the moisture stays where no one can dry it.
There are several kinds of insulation in a house, from loose-fill that packs down and loses its loft to batts and rigid boards that hold water in their fibres or faces. Each one behaves differently when it is wet, and the crew reads each type on its own. Some can be dried and kept. Others have lost their structure or their performance and have to come out.
Call (833) 490-5225 at any hour. Tell the phone team where the insulation is, whether it is in the attic, a wall or under a floor, and what type it looks like. Do not pull out wet insulation yourself, because it can be heavy and it can hide wiring. A technician reads the insulation on arrival and explains which parts stay and which are replaced.
Wear a dust mask, eye protection and gloves when handling wet or old insulation, because fibres and dust can irritate the eyes and lungs. Do not walk on attic insulation, which can hide ceiling materials and cause a fall through. Keep electrical wiring in the insulation in view and do not disturb it until an electrician has checked it. Keep children and pets out of the attic and the open cavity while the work is in progress.
The crew reads the insulation in the attic, the walls and under the floor with a meter, and it notes the damp areas on a sketch. Insulation that is only wet at the surface is read at depth where the access allows.
Insulation that dries to the readings can stay, and insulation that will not dry or has lost its shape comes out. The decision is recorded for each area, with the readings that support it.
Wet insulation is heavy and can hide wiring, nails and framing, so it is removed with care and bagged for disposal. The area is checked for wiring before any section is removed, and an electrician is called where wiring is found in the wet area.
Once the old insulation is out, the cavity, the framing and the sheathing are read and dried to the dry level. New insulation is not installed over a cavity that still reads wet, because the moisture would stay in place.
New insulation is fitted to the type that was there or to the type the contractor recommends, and the work is photographed and written in the log. The new material is checked against the scope, and the record is kept for the insurer and the buyer.
Sometimes. Insulation that is only lightly damp, whose structure is intact, and whose cavity can be ventilated may dry to the readings and be kept. Insulation that has soaked through, clumped, matted or lost its shape is removed and replaced.
The test is what the insulation does when it is read, not how it looks. A batt that feels heavy and cold at the centre has taken in water, even if the outside looks fine. Loose-fill that has clumped has lost much of its performance even when it dries.
Insulation that came from a contaminated source, such as a drain backup, is usually removed, because it cannot be cleaned to a safe condition. The crew explains the decision for each area before any insulation comes out.
A closed wall with wet insulation traps the moisture against the framing and the drywall. The damp can stay there for a long time, and it can support growth and damage the finishes, all out of sight. The insulation and cavity must be dry before the wall is closed.
Drywall and paint over a wet cavity look finished at first, and the problem appears later as staining, softness or a smell. The cost of opening a closed wall to find the moisture is far greater than the cost of checking the cavity first.
The crew records the readings in the cavity before the new insulation goes in, and the record shows that the wall was ready to be closed. Keep the record with the repair invoices.
Not always, but it should suit the space and the structure. The contractor can recommend a type that fits the cavity and the way the house is built, and you can ask for the performance of the new material to be stated in writing.
A like-for-like replacement is often the simplest choice, but the crew or the contractor may recommend a different type if the old one was unsuitable for the space. Ask why the choice was made and how it will perform in the cavity.
Keep the product details and the installation record with the house papers. A future buyer or an insurer may ask what was installed and when.
Removal and replacement are usually part of the repair, and the insurer decides how they are covered under your policy. The readings, the photographs and the list of removed material are the evidence for the insurer.
Keep a list of each area where insulation was removed, with its type and its condition. Photographs of the insulation as it was found are valuable, because they show why it could not be kept.
The replacement invoice should show the material and the area it covers. An insurer that asks for the scope will want to see that each area of removed insulation was replaced.
It should perform as the new insulation is rated to perform, once the cavity is dry and the work is closed correctly. The crew cannot promise a change in comfort or in heating and cooling costs, because those depend on the whole house.
Insulation that is wet or compressed performs much less well than dry, fitted insulation. Replacing it restores the material, but the change you notice depends on the rest of the house, including its windows, doors and heating.
Ask the contractor what the new insulation is expected to do in your house and how that is measured. Any figure for performance should come from the product's own information, and it should be given to you in writing.
Loose-fill insulation takes in water and packs down, losing the air that makes it work. Wet loose-fill is usually removed, because it cannot be dried back to its loft. The attic floor is read beneath it before the new fill is laid.
Batts in a wall can hold water in their fibres and sag from the framing. A batt that has soaked is removed, and a batt that is only damp at the top can be dried if the cavity is ventilated. The cavity is read before any new batt is set.
Rigid foam board may resist water on its face but still lets it travel along its joints and the framing behind. Boards are read at the joints and the edges, and any board with water behind it is lifted and the cavity dried.
Insulation under a floor sits in a space that dries slowly, and water in it can reach the subfloor and the joists. The crew reads it from the access, and wet batts or boards are removed and replaced once the space has dried.
Insulation in Wichita is found in attics, walls and under floors, and the crew reads each space on its own. The type and the amount in a house depend on when and how it was built, so the crew checks the actual insulation rather than assuming a type from the age of the building.
Attic insulation is the most exposed to storm damage, because a hailstorm or a failed roof can let water in from above. The 1992 hailstorm that damaged more than 10,000 homes across Sedgwick County is a reminder that the attic can be reached by water from a roof that looked sound from the ground.
Water that comes in through a basement or a crawl space can wet the insulation under a floor. Heavy rain, the October 1998 flood on the Arkansas River and the heavy rain of October 2018 and May 2019 are examples of storms that brought water to the ground level of houses, so the insulation under the floor is checked after a storm as well as after a pipe loss.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent insulation replacement after water, send the form and we'll call you back.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Water that comes through a roof, into ceilings, insulation and wall cavities, extracted and dried across Wichita and Sedgwick County.
Checking and drying water-stained ceilings and soft drywall, with the insulation and framing above them, across Wichita and Sedgwick County.
Checking for mold after a water loss, addressing it once the structure is dry, and getting the scope in writing across Wichita and Sedgwick County.
Asking the City of Wichita building office which repairs after water damage need a permit, before the rebuild begins.
A search of public sources did not find a Kansas state licence for mold contractors, so a licence cannot be used as the check.
A roof leak usually shows as a ceiling stain some distance from its entry point, because water runs along the framing before it appears.
Some water damage repairs in Wichita may need a permit, especially structural, electrical and plumbing work.
It depends on its condition. Insulation that is lightly damp and keeps its shape may dry in place. Insulation that has clumped, matted, soaked through or lost its structure is usually removed. The crew decides area by area and explains the reason.
It is better to wait for the crew. Wet insulation is heavy, it can hide wiring and nails, and the fibres can irritate the lungs. If you must enter the attic, wear a mask and gloves and keep to the framing.
The contractor can match the existing type or recommend a different one for the space. Ask why the choice is made, and ask for the product details in writing.
That depends on your policy and on the cause of the water, and the insurer decides the claim. Keep the readings, the photographs and the replacement invoice, and ask your insurer what it needs.
The crew reads the cavity and the framing with a meter, and records the readings before new insulation goes in or the wall is closed. Ask for those readings in writing.
Damp insulation that stays wet for long enough can support growth, which is one reason to dry or remove it promptly. The mold section of this site explains how growth is checked once the structure is dry.