ok i came up with a few more questions

[davegillfishing]

again thanks for taking the time to help..

someone mentioned a moisture map..i am picturing a actual drawing of the effected areas and as they dry marking them when they dried and how long it took in pretty good detail...
was that goofy or am i on track.

also when you need to go check on the flood and move the blowers and furn to help with the drying do you charge for every trip or is it all worked into the flood price?

i would assume on aq large flood that you would need to go almost everyday or every other day to move things around as they dry.
dave

 

[topnotchman]

In our ASD class we did a moisture map in every room. Its all about documentation really. Each wall would have a letter like "A" and would document the moisture content in wall "A". The other wall would be "B" "C" ,etc. And each day we would document the drying process then to dry standard. We do what meter we used, the scale, and location. Each day should show progress of drying, if not obviously make adjustments.
We do this on our jobs. It helps for documentation reasons and plus if the adjuster tries to complain about the price you can show him/her your documentation to justify why the air movers & dehu's were there for those days. I had an adjuster request this actually, and after I gave it to him, I got paid in full no questions asked.

I believe you should go every day to check on it. We bill for this. I think its called a monitoring charge, but also you could call it a service call to go check on it. The good ol question "Is it drying?" cant just leave it for 3 days and come back if its not drying IMO.
Sounds like your on the right track. Good luck.

 

[Jack May]

Dave a course will go a long way to answering a lot of your questions, including supplying you with basic paper trail ideas to get you started.

I know you're going to do one, so not having a go at you.

A paper trail is very personal I believe. What works for you, may not for me and visa versa. I usually re vamp my system regularly and did so as recent as April this year.

1 have 5 sheets taht go into an empty folder. The initial information sheet that tells me anything from the details of the callout, the time spent doing inspection versus extraction verses uplift/equip setup etc. It also has info on it like what type of carpet, underlay (pad) type of installation, type and number of matching transition bars, size of the room verses the area affected etc etc. It tells me what pieces of equipment are placed on the job. (each has it's own number so easy to track them on and off each job.

2nd sheet is a 3 part service call sheet that is filled out every trip regardless the time spent or what was done. This includes an area for marking what equipment is added or removed from the job.

3rd is a grid paper where the tech can draw the room(s) to scale and show areas affected, location of initial equipment, number areas of concern for tracking drying etc.

4&5 is a contractor request (including our Health and Safety policy) form that can be used for subbing out work that we don't or can't do.

Each page has a small space at the top left hand corner for our printed label. Each job has 7 labels printed out that include all the essential job/adjuster details taht go on each page and the folder to make the whole thing easier.

Jobs always get checked at 12 or 24 hours then usually daily from there till done. Most shouldn't be going over 2-4 days unless you have structual drying problems or delays from the adjuster making a cll etc.

Hope this helps.

John

 

[davegillfishing]

yep..it is pretty much as i thought. lots of notes and information about progress..
is a non invasive meter mandatory for a light (meaning 2-3" of moisture at bottom of walls) or can i start off with the dri eaze invasive moisture meeter that beeps when
moisture is detected. i use a hydroshark to check carpet but would like to be able to know if the water wicked up a little..i will not jump into anything
before i take my classes but i would think that if you get to the flood in a matter of hours of it happening and it was a floor flood..meaning that all the water was
directed at the floor the only problem you will have is some wicking up the walls a little and if you get it sucked and drying fast it shouldnt wick too much..as long as i can detect it
and it dries out all should be fine..and please dont think i am downplaying the situation..i am talking about mild light duty stuff.

 

[topnotchman]

yep..it is pretty much as i thought. lots of notes and information about progress..
is a non invasive meter mandatory for a light (meaning 2-3" of moisture at bottom of walls) or can i start off with the dri eaze invasive moisture meeter that beeps when
moisture is detected. i use a hydroshark to check carpet but would like to be able to know if the water wicked up a little..i will not jump into anything
before i take my classes but i would think that if you get to the flood in a matter of hours of it happening and it was a floor flood..meaning that all the water was
directed at the floor the only problem you will have is some wicking up the walls a little and if you get it sucked and drying fast it shouldnt wick too much..as long as i can detect it
and it dries out all should be fine..and please dont think i am downplaying the situation..i am talking about mild light duty stuff.

I believe the Hydrosensor's detect moisture levels of 17% moisture content and up. You really should get a non invasive meter. You dont have to poke any holes in the walls with a hydrosensor, and a hydrosensor will only read as deep as you can poke it into the material. I think the non invasive meter is a must, even if its small jobs. Water can wick really fast, even if you're there within the hour. You need to do more then just detect it, you need to know if its drying. A hydrosensor will just say yes or no to it being wet. You need to know HOW wet it is also. Just learn non invasive's limitations in class, like " hmm why does it peg out on the corner of the drywall?"

 

[davegillfishing]

ok i got ya..
i am not arguing i am just asking here...if the meter sounds off solid tone the 2nd day, then beeps the 3rd day and makes no sound the 4th day isnt that a caveman way of doing the same thing..
if it beeps when wet and is silent when dry i know it is not giving you a reading but it is telling you that you were wet and are now dry. i guess it will suck having to cover up all the little holes from the probes..
ok so why will the meter peg itself in corners?

 

[topnotchman]

ok i got ya..
i am not arguing i am just asking here...if the meter sounds off solid tone the 2nd day, then beeps the 3rd day and makes no sound the 4th day isnt that a caveman way of doing the same thing..
if it beeps when wet and is silent when dry i know it is not giving you a reading but it is telling you that you were wet and are now dry. i guess it will suck having to cover up all the little holes from the probes..
ok so why will the meter peg itself in corners?

Its all about depth, I believe you get more of an accurate reading with a non invasive. I wouldn't want to do the "cave man" way with water damage. Yeah you could get by with a hydrosensor, but I would spend the $300+ on a good non invasive meter. Check Ebay and places like that maybe you could pick up a good used one for cheaper. I have more confidence with the meter because it reads further into the material then a hydrosensor would, so I dont have to hope its dry.

And the reason it will peg out on most corners is those meters will peg out when it hits metal, and most corners of drywall have the metal corners to give it a sharp edge. I always test that on a non affected corner like 4 feet up the wall.

 

[davegillfishing]

got ya...that makes sense..
thanks
amd i am going to buy a non invasive meter today.
thanks

 

[topnotchman]

Thats cool, you'll always use it so not a waste at all. Let me know what kind you buy. I like the GE protimeter variety, but there are also some other good ones out there too. Good luck!

 

[davegillfishing]

i got this one from jondon...Tramex Non-Destructive Moisture Encounter Plus.
i will have it tomorrow..says it is very user friendly and was recommended by a few people via im's.
i want to soak a piece of drywall when i get it to see it in action..

 

[Desk Jockey]

Take a piece and let it sit in an inch of water over night and then see how far it wicks up. You can even apply some vinyl wall paper and do the same and see how well it reads through the vinyl.

:wink: