Consequences of Water Damage in Office Buildings

What Are the Causes of Office Water Damage and What Are the Consequences?

Property managers of office buildings are often aware that water damage can be truly consequential. After a flood, your tenants who run the offices can suffer substantial losses to equipment, furniture, records, and even a loss of income from downtime in operations. Any of these can severely impact the company’s finances by creating a time-consuming restoration or work stoppage. 

As the office manager, it is imperative to understand the costs associated with restoration. Mitigation will affect a company’s finances, and the office buildings will require water extraction, cleanup, and renovation of the water-damaged building. The costs of these services can vary depending on the status and quality of the insurance that covers the property. The fees will solely be the property owner’s burden if the office is not covered under an insurance policy.

But there are far more consequences to this situation than just financial ones. Water damage in an office building can lead to poor indoor air quality and mold growth. These specific phenomena have been linked to detrimental effects on the health and well-being of employees. Studies show that employees subjected to poor air quality are two to three times more likely to develop respiratory issues. 

Tips to Prevent Costly Commercial Office Water Damage 

The most effective way to avoid costly water damage is to invest time into preventative measures for the office building before any disaster strikes. Since water damage can come from various sources, it’s essential to have the building regularly inspected to prevent leaks and related issues.

One way to prevent office water damage is to create a system to monitor floods. No matter the location of your office building, having a flood warning system in place can be imperative to predicting floods. Causes for floods can vary from internal plumbing failures to overflowing rivers to melting snow. 

Also, did you know that most property insurance policies do not include coverage for flooding? This type of coverage is sold separately through FEMA. Water damage restoration can be costly. Ensure that your insurance policy adequately covers your commercial property. Water damage insurance providers can deal with the costs if your property gets damaged by a flood in the future.

In the long run, the measures to prevent water damage are considerably less expensive than those to restore water damage after the fact. Have a professional inspect your office at least on an annual basis. The inspector should be looking for signs of leaks or other symptoms that predict water damage. They can perform leak detection in several ways, such as monitoring humidity and using spot sensors.

A final step you can take is to perform regular maintenance on the facility to ensure optimal condition. As the manager of a commercial office building, consider creating a preventative maintenance schedule to ensure the property is safe and secure. Inspect different parts of a commercial building at different intervals. Check the doors, windows, and gates for signs of wear. Furthermore, recoating the roof every five years can help prevent damage.

Causes Of Officer Water Damage

1. Natural Calamities
   It’s weird but that is it natural calamities can happen ranging from harsh weather conditions and and many others can cause water damage in office, this is particularly so if you live in an area prone to harsh weather. We have wide range of weather conditions that can cause office damage notably among them is floods and hurricanes. During hurricanes and floods, water levels tend to rise above normal height. This water then finds its way into your office.
2. Damaged Plumbing Systems
   Just like human being get sick too your pipe can take a day off too, plumbing works transferring water from one point to the other can cause havoc. Unfortunately, though these pipes are meant to last, they’re prone to damage for several reasons.
3. Damaged Roof
   A roof encompasses your entire office complex. Any damage to it will allow water to enter your building. A damaged roof is one of the causes of water damage. What causes roof damage? One is rusting roofing joints, especially the area around the roofing nails. A rusted roof becomes thin with time, and its strength reduces. The rusted area becomes delicate even to moderate rainfall. This’ll create holes, which allow rainwater entry into your building. Holes on your roof can also result from excessive force from falling objects.

4. Poorly Installed Gutters
   Gutters serve to drain water from your roof and down a downspout. Wrongful installation of these gutters becomes an issue and can lead to water damage on your premises. What’s the right installation procedure?
5. Wrong Piping Systems
   The effectiveness of your plumbing systems largely depends on design and installation techniques. If you seek a non-professional plumber’s services, water damage is one of the issues you’re likely to encounter. They might use the wrong pipe size for your system. A diameter too small will lead to excessive water pressure, causing your pipes to burst. The water will lead to water damage.

Contact Puroclean for Commercial Office Water Damage Restoration Services

The professional restoration experts at PuroClean help commercial property managers whenever water damage strikes. Water damage from any leak is an issue best solved by professionals, so call your local PuroClean office when your property requires these services.