James Fleming UWRG Pinellas - Heavy Rain and Home Leaks

After months of drought, Florida is turning the corner into rainy season. Hurricanes could add to the total as well as an El Niño phenomenon forecast for later this year. Those are conditions that could contribute to leaks. We speak with James Fleming of UWRG Pinellas, an emergency restoration company. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Beyond the news. Florida is entering its rainy season and
its hurricane season, and we're also looking a few months
down the road into what is predicting to be a
strong El Nino, and that potentially means a lot of
rain as well. Now we're in a drought. Of course,
when we record this, that could end up helping our lawns,
but it could also mean leaks and other issues affecting

(00:21):
your home or your business or other building. We have
James Fleming with UWRG of Penelis to talk about dealing
with hidden storm hazards like that. They're a company that
does restoration for water as well as fire and other hazards.
James Fleming, welcome.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Hey, appreciate you having us, Gordon.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
And thank you for making the time available. Well, now,
the first issue here we're going to talk about is
roof leaking. And the first sign of that is often
the first one that you see is often the spot
on the dry wall, and that can escalate. But how
do we pick up on those leaks before they get
that far? What should we be looking for as far
as potential signs of leaks in the roof for the attic.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
So you can fly a drone up onto your roof
and have a take a gander of what's going on
up there. That would be preemptive. And then as you
alluded to, you can obviously see the types of spots
and wetness forming if they're.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
If a leak did occur, those are things to look for,
but preemptively you can have a drone flown over your
roof and give a good evaluation.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Now, of course, another source of damage in homes from
water is mold. And where are the danger zones? What
do we need to be looking for when it comes
to mold in Florida homes?

Speaker 3 (01:42):
So I'd like to say you have smart water that's
hidden your Your dumb water so to speak, is stuff
you can easily see. But water that's behind walls, water
that's behind baseboards. Mold likes to grow in dark, damp places.
Those are potential spots. Under vinyl flooring can fester down

(02:06):
there and grow things of that nature. Under cabinet, under
cabin try those are starting points. Another thing if you
have not blown in insulation, but the insulation with the
paper on the back, that's one of the first places
that mold likes to start to spawn.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
Give us a general overview of what the restoration process
is like after a water event. I think a lot
of people we went through hurricanes Helena and Milton in
twenty twenty four, and other people in other parts of
the state have experienced other hurricanes and water events, and
they have some familiar some familiarity with the process. But

(02:48):
you know, I think of those big bands that are
blowing air through a home or a building as you
try to deal with some of the damage and try
to restore a sense of normalcy, But what's what's it like?
What is involved there? And what are you doing not

(03:08):
only to deal with the immediate problem, but make sure
that other problems don't show up down the road after
a flood or a water event.

Speaker 3 (03:16):
Sure, absolutely, Gordon, great question. You know things can be
handled differently contingent upon the severity of the loss. Obviously
the hurricanes that you mentioned pretty much coming in and
doing four foot flood cuts right off rip. But in
just a general loss, if you what we open the

(03:37):
the interview with with like a roof leak that's coming
down a wall, we'd come in, any restoration company would
come in do an evaluation, preferably free like us, and
you know, go over with the homeowner the severity of
what was found and then contingent upon what it is

(04:00):
is then you know the loud fans that you spoke of,
the loud to humidifiers and even air scrubbers can be
kind of loud. But all that goes into the home
again dependent on what's going on, and the goal is
to prevent growth, but prevent mold. But if mold does happen,

(04:23):
then that's a different type of restoration as well. Hopefully
that covered the gamut of what you asked.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
Everybody knows they have insurance. If they have insurance, they
know to document, take pictures before the storm or water event,
and then they often take pictures after the event, and
that's also vital as far as determining the type of
damage from water or mold and what needs to be

(04:53):
done for restoration.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
So another excellent question that a lot of people don't
think of. It's always nice to be prepared and is
as opposed to reactive. The preparedness for storm season is
to video document your house, your personal items and have

(05:18):
it timestamped, because if a loss did occur, then it's
much easier and your claim goes quicker. With that type
of documentation for the insurance company, with the with the
way technology is moving forward, there's companies out there that
actually are made to involve AI and you know it's

(05:42):
new technology, but it'll from my understanding, it'll basically document
for you, maybe even in words some of the items.

Speaker 2 (05:51):
So there's a few few different.

Speaker 3 (05:54):
Companies out there that do that type of stuff that
you could probably easily google.

Speaker 1 (05:58):
James Fleming with you w r G of penelas talking
about restoration and dealing with water and water related events
which are commonplace occurrences during storms and hurricanes, and we're
also looking at the possibility of a rainy winter as
well with the El Nino down the road. James Fleming,

(06:20):
thank you very much for joining us.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Jordan really appreciate you having a song