SF Chronicle: Doomed houses: Water-logged structures often unsalvageable

[Newsjock]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/08/31/FLOOD.TMP

Stacy Finz, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 31, 2005

When the floodwaters recede, the power is restored and the streets cleaned of debris, hurricane-ravaged New Orleans will have to brace for the next wave of destruction -- the wrecking ball.

Much of the historic city, flanked by Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, was under water Tuesday because of a pair of levee breaks caused by Hurricane Katrina. Experts predicted that few of the homes and buildings that have been inundated would be salvageable.

"They probably will have to be stripped to their framing, treated for mold and then rebuilt," said Martin King, technical adviser to the Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration, located in Maryland.

If the structures are not professionally dried out within the next 48 hours, the chances of saving them are slim, said King, a certified restorer who lives in Virginia.

With the water still rising, prompting officials to draw up plans for evacuating the entire city, prospects for making that two-day deadline were bleak.

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[aquart]

1. I so don't want to hear this.

But, at least, they're already thinking about restoration.

[Carolab]

2. These homes are shot.

"But windows, doors and tiles set in mortar beds usually stand up well to flooding."

What a joke. Those windows, doors and tiles are set on framing and subfloors that are wood/composite and cannot stand waterlogging without delaminating/decomposing.

[NYC]

3. Earlier, Jerry Hauer was on television explaining that

the houses are being coated in water laden with sewage and oil. Essentially, he said the houses would have to be gutted to get rid of that.

(I think it was Jerry Hauer.)