It is unpleasant to contemplate, but fire and water damage are a frequent plague for the home. This does not necessarily entail the entire home being flooded by an outside rise in water, or the entire house burning. In these cases, the house itself, or what is left of it, would not be worth repairing. What is most likely to occur, and is what most often happens to every home sooner or later, is that a small fire or amount of water will do damage to some part of the building. Most fire accidents are in the kitchen, and involve the stove top. Fires in the oven will quickly be extinguished by the lack of oxygen, and the metal encasing will prevent damage from spreading. The stove, however, is a more dangerous ballgame. A cooking or frying dish, if left untended, will quickly evaporate under the heat, and will then begin to smolder. Without moisture to draw off the heat, it will become progressively hot until it combusts. Anything rich in oil, such as hamburger grease, might actually break down into an explosive and send burning bits everywhere. Damage is typically to countertops, the floor, and the ceiling above the stove. The stove itself may or may be ruined, or may escape without a scratch, as if to mock you. Water damage might come from a broken faucet. Water gets all over the cabinet and the floor, and both become saturated and result in floor damage. Water can come from unexpected sources, too. There was one circumstance where a refrigerator was allowed to run in a warm kitchen, and through successive years condensation from the fridge dripped onto the floor and ruined a section of wood. Water and fire damage can occur in unexpected ways, but the good news is that most problems are easy to solve. A little wetness can be dried, even if it means tearing the carpet up and allowing the bare wood to vent. A damaged cabinet can be repainted, and holes in the floors can replaced by cutting out the bad section. The entire floor does not need to be stripped, just the bad parts (even though some contractors might try to sell you otherwise.) Ruined places in the ceiling can as easily be cut out and plastered, and appliances can be changed. You can restore your home from the effects of fire water damage. Â
