Discovering Smoke Damage 60 Years Later

5/24/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO can restore your property after experiencing smoke damage

I recently got a call from one of our partners in the senior real estate space. The company helps place older adults who can no longer live safely at home in assisted living facilities. They will also fix up your home and sell it to help fund care expenses. As you can imagine, some of these homes are in disrepair and may have been neglected for many years. This is where SERVPRO comes in as a vendor to handle the numerous situations that these homes find themselves in. Last week a home in Belmont, MA was inspected prior to listing the home to find any serious issues that need to be addressed. The home inspector found extensive smoke and soot damage in the rafters of the attic. The homeowner, a 99-year-old holocaust survivor, was shocked to hear this and stated there has never been a fire in the home since she lived there in 1962. Everyone involved was upset and nervous about what this meant for getting the home listed. They called SERVPRO in to save the day. We sent a project manager out later that day to take a look at the attic and determined there was in fact smoke damage to the rafters but, thankfully no structural damage had occurred. We just needed to prime and seal the rafters with 4 coats of sealant so on a hot and humid day there was no chance of smoke odor being released into the home. We were able to get the work done 2 days later so there was only a 2-day delay in getting the home on the market for sale. Everyone involved was extremely happy with our response time and work. If you need smoke damage restoration or find a surprise during the home buying process, call the pros at 781-861-0500.