"You wouldn't believe how LOUD it was!"

8/2/2021 (Permalink)

Attic space shows that a tree has punctured through the roof.

Trees were hit hard this past February...when the Ice Storm hit Salem and the surrounding areas hard. Most people with vegetation on their land lost trees, if not to the wind, to the broken branches and trucks giving up due to the heavy weight of the ice pulling them down.

SERVPRO responded to loss here in Salem, that had the occupants still living there, but they had a tree on their roof…in one place, they had part of the tree through the roof. It punctured through the shingles and plywood without any trouble at all. The shear force of the tree smashing through the roof was shocking. The homeowners described it as “Louder than anything they had ever heard” and “Scary”. The water intruded through the broken roof, down through the insulation, saturated the beams and back of the drywall on the ceiling and finally ran down the interior walls in the family room.

The water made its way through the attic, the family room, and finally ended in the garage. The wall in the family room was paneled and painted…the water warped the paneling beyond repair and the paneling and drywall in the family room had to be replaced. The garage also had part of the drywall of the ceiling removed to treat/dry behind.

Overall, most of the damage was secluded to the roof, family room, and garage. Once we got the non-salvageable materials removed and dry, it was just finishing touches from there. As you can imagine, we had to wait until the roof was secured/not leaking before we did any work. Throughout this time, we stayed in touch with the customer, the insurance, and the vendors involved. This home had good insurance in place that covered the losses due to the storm. If you haven’t checked up on what your policy covers, ask for a review with your agent. Going into a storm and dealing with damage from a storm is much more manageable when you know how the process goes, and what you are covered for.

Below is a press release issued by oregon.gov and includes insurance tips for ice storms/winter storms.

Oregon.gov provides insurance tips after Ice Storm