Fire damage and restoration question

[Craig 111]

A potential customer's house was severely burned in a fire. Our GC is gutting it down to standing wood. Basically the whole framing of the house is still OK.

My question is, has anyone done fire restoration on wood? What chems can I treat it with to take out the smell and restore it?

Thanks in advance.

Craig

[PressurePros 248]

TSP and bleach. As long as possible dry/air time and then spray everything with BIN (shellac type sealer)

Now the caveat. I wouldn't put my name on this type of job because so many variables can cause different types of lingering smell or areas untreated can smell literally for decades.

Try contacting Russell Cissell. I have a strong feeling that he will b able to tell you a more definitive path. This was the technique recommended to me after a small shed fire and it seemed to work well but of course I wasn't living out there.

[Littlefield 65]

Cob, dry ice, or soda blast.

[plainpainter 217]

BIN is the only product you can rely on to lock in the smell - that's the product firemen recommend. And I agree with Ken, TSP and bleach to pressure wash it with.

[Craig 111]

OK. So get it wet, apply with mixture of TSP and bleach? Mix how many oz/gallon and dwell time? Pressure wash cold water.

Let it dry thoroughly before application of sealer?

Thanks guys.

Craig

[PressurePros 248]

I don't know that I would pressure wash it, Craig. I would if there were no floors, interior or exterior walls but otherwise I would be wary of wetting some substrate that wouldn't dry easily and causing more problems. I would use maybe 1% bleach concentration and 4 oz of TSP per gallon if I couldn't do a rinse.

The best type of breakdown for that smoke smell is thermal. This is pure speculation but if you could give the wood a steam bath that might work well too (as opposed to the chem route. The only thing that worries me is the ability for the framing to dry out to 10% or less.

[Littlefield 65]

I realize you want to use your pressure washer, but really, Craig, this might be a chance to learn something new.

Soda blasting removes the char, done. No moisture problems down the road, no mold litigation...;)

I would think you need some type of degreaser if you're dealing with soot, something to break down the stuff chemically. I'm not following what bleach is going to do on burnt wood?

[PressurePros 248]

Rich,

My understanding of Craig's post was that the framing was undamaged (ie not charred per se) I also read that the more important sympton here is the need to remove not neccesarily aesthetic appeal to the wood but to prevent that recurring smell which can unltimately lead to restoring a property then having to tear down the entire structure due to that odor. I have read stories where people have tried to rid that smell only to still have it occur (like on damp days) as much as 20 years later.

The more I think about this I think it is a risky propositon and best left to a company like ServPro that deals with this and probably carries the neccessary liabilities. I personally would not mess with this one. Too much risk for the return.