If you have suffered a house fire and are now eager to repair the damage so you and your family can get on with your lives, here is what you need to know:

How to Repair a Fire Damaged House Step 1:

Whether you choose to restore your property or sell a fire-damaged house, the first step—no matter how big or how small—is to assess the damage.

If the fire was very small you may be able to do this yourself. If the damage was bigger, however, then you will need to have a professional home inspector come in and examine your home.

The reason you need a professional is because when it comes to fire damage there is often more than meets the eye. There could be significant damage behind walls or in the air ducts or to the roof or structure of your home.

A professional inspector with experience examining burned houses will be able to better spot all the damage and give you a much more accurate estimate of the repair costs.

How to Repair a Fire Damaged House Step 2:

The next step, after having the inspector look at and assess the damage to your burned house, is to isolate unsafe areas in the home.

This is important to do because you don’t want to be cited for a city code violation, which will cost you money. It can also make you speed up the repair process, which can lead to even higher costs not to mention a high amount of stress.

With this step, you should first secure the outside of your fire damaged house. Then block off any particularly dangerous areas so that they can’t be accessed by anyone who comes on to your property uninvited.

If your house has suffered a larger fire there could be fire, smoke and water damage that pose a risk to the health of anyone that comes around your property. So be sure to seal off doors and windows and isolate those areas that have been particularly hard hit.

How to Repair a Fire Damaged House Step 3:

The third step when repairing a fire damaged house is to remove water from the home and dry the affected areas.

Failure to do this could result in hazardous mold growth, which could endanger your and others’ health and cause even higher repair costs in the future.

Soak up all excess water and use fans to dry wet building materials.

How to Repair a Fire Damaged House Step 4:

The next step to repairing a fire damaged house is to remove smoke and soot.

This is a job that is best done by a professional. Soot and smoke damage contain hazardous chemicals that can harm your health. For example, these chemicals can cause respiratory irritation that leads to difficulty breathing as well as skin and eye irritation. For this reason, those who perform smoke and soot removal need to have experience and wear proper safety gear.

In addition, not removing the soot and smoke properly could endanger the long-term health of anyone living in the home.

So be sure to take this step very seriously and hire a well-respected, professional company to remove all the soot and smoke.

How to Repair a Fire Damaged House Step 5:

Following smoke and soot removal it is now time to sanitize and clean up the property. Determine what items are salvageable and which ones to get rid of. If you are not sure about certain parts of the house you can consult with the inspector who assessed your home.

Remove all items deemed unsalvageable and take them to the local dump.

How to Repair a Fire Damaged House Step 6:

It is now time to proceed with the actual repairs. Most often this will involve hiring a professional contractor. You should interview several candidates and select the one with the best reputation and who seems like a good fit for you and for the job.

The selection of a contractor is vitally important to the success of the repair process. You need someone who is reliable. Unreliable contractors can cause project delays and cost overruns. For this reason you should ask for the names of and talk to several of the contractors past clients.

The Bottom Line of Repairing a Fire Damaged House

Repairing a fire damaged house can be a very stressful process. It can be expensive and it can take a long time.

The last thing you want is to have to pay more than expected and/or for the job to take longer than expected.

So take your time and devote as much of your attention as possible to selecting a good contractor. If repairing your home is not a feasible option, you can always choose to sell your fire-damaged house.

Should You Do the Repairs Yourself?

If you consider yourself a talented home repair person and want to do the repairs yourself, experts still advise using a professional because there can often be more damage than originally expected.

If you do perform the repairs yourself, please dedicate yourself to making as thorough and complete repairs as you possibly can. You do not want to just “cover something up” as this will only cause problems down the line for you or other residents of the home.

Avoid the Stressful Repair Process

Many homeowners are deciding to bypass the stressful repair process that comes with having a fire damaged house.

Instead of making repairs they are choosing to sell their house “as is” to We Buy Fire Damaged Houses.

At We Buy Fire Damaged Houses we specialize in buying burned homes. We pay a great price and we pay fast so that you can have the money you need to get on with your life.

With We Buy Fire Damaged Houses, there are no:

• Seller commissions
• Stressful wait
• Hassles
• Expensive repairs

We are experienced in helping homeowners with difficult or rapid real estate transactions. We can help you avoid the uncertainties that accompany trying to sell a home yourself or through an estate agent. These uncertainties can include not knowing “when” or “if” your house will sell or for “how much.”

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Over the past several years, we have helped hundreds of homeowners free themselves from difficulties associated with a fire-damaged house – and now we are ready to help you as well!