Also experienced a house fire, my recommendation would be to replace. A set back of 2-3 months will be nothing compared to living with the lingering odor. I don't say this lightly, I had to remove beautiful 100-year old hardwood floors. Maybe get a second opinion from another restoration company. Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: smoke damage

Mooredb:

The smoke odor isnâÂÂt an issue. IâÂÂve seen thousands of wood framed homes with severe smoke damage that was able to be cleaned and sealed. Use Binz, not Kilz for any sealing purposes as Binz seals down to a much finer micron than the Kilz.

Think about it, when homes have fires, if you couldnâÂÂt get rid of the odor, you would need to tear out all wall framing, floor joists, roof rafters/trusses subflooring and anything else thatâÂÂs wood. Basically tear the house down. If a company knows what they are doing, they can clean and seal wood very easily. ItâÂÂs a lot of work but itâÂÂs a simple process.

Your issue is if the wood is stained from the smoke residue. If there is residue on the cabinets, I recommend a good wood refinisher do the cleaning and not a Servpro laborer. You can set stains in raw wood if you donâÂÂt use proper cleaning techniques.

If the wood is stained from the smoke residue then your only choices are to use a darker stain to mask the problem or replace the wood. If you are happy with what you have, I would avoid replacing at all costs as many unforeseen problems, costs and delays can and usually will arise.

After the wood is cleaned, they will stain (unless you are leaving the wood in its natural color) and finish the wood anyway. Either way, they will still be sealing the wood with a urethane product which will lock in any potential odors.

I recommend you have the insurance company pay you to replace the kitchen cabinets anyway. They will subrogate against the electrician who did the work and the electriciansâ insurance policy will eventually foot the costs. This way, you have the option to replace if it becomes a problem down the road.

Most adjusters will allow you to use the insurance proceeds in the area of the claim any way you want. You CANâÂÂT take the additional money and put it in your pocket or build a detached garage. You can use the additional funds (if you decide not to replace the cabinets) for other items such as flooring, countertops, lighting upgrades, etc. etc. etc.

Good luck!

Mooredb:

Just to be clear, the Binz product is a white pigmented shellac. Don't get that anywhere near your cabinets. That product is only used to seal framing, wood subflooring, drywall walls, etc. etc.

IT'S NOT USED TO SEAL HIGH END WOOD CABINETRY. Unless you are going to do something sacrilegious like paint over the beautiful natural wood.

Binz will also off gas very strong chemical odors which are nasty. Make sure you ventilate the property daily (close up at night of course) until the odors dissipate!!!!

Sounds like mepop has better experiences with insurance companies payment than I have. Thus, I strongly encourage to discuss options with your adjuster, agent, and attorney if needed.

My house was torn down to the studs and studs not replaced were sealed. Would not suggest using that sealant on fine woodwork.

In order to seal wood, you need to access - all sides of it. That was not possible with my hardwood flooring due to the presence of underlayment.

Agree with mepop, my experience with the restoration companies is they do is very crude work. They were not able to repair damage to a heirloom table, dresser, and chair that I was hoping to salvage - I am now looking for a good wood restorer who will work for what the insurance co is willing to pay.

Please let us know how this works out for you.

Thank you all for the advice and tips. I hear you about getting the insurance company to flip the bill on the kitchen. My goal would be to keep it as it took 2 months to build it. The entire kitchen is built out of rift cut white oak. The issue is that we didn't use a polyurethane on the cabinets due to the off gassing of high VOCs, instead we use a product called Osomo Wax / Oil which gets absorbed into the wood and doesn't seal anything in it allows the wood to breathe. It's an all natural product and safe... Well so much for trying to build a formaldehyde freeI home. The other thing that makes me sick is that we spent extra money to ensure our home didn't contain formaldehyde building products. All that just went out the door! Contacted Osmo and they said to try an Ozone generator. Our builder is working with the insurance company and they are definitely going after the electrician.

The other issue in the kitchen is that water ran through the channels of the unsealed and ungrouted stone floors in the kitchen and water started seeping up on the sheetrock about 2 inches behind the cabinets. That's not a good sign! As much as in hate to go through this pulling out the kitchen maybe the safest thing to do. But would hate to take a chance and then it smells like smoke or have mold after we dicided to keep the kitchen. Hopefully we will know more after they do their cleaning I hope. not much has been done yet since it the holiday... So they shuold be full force on Monday with the cleaning.

The hardwoods are now starting to cup all on the first floor and up on the second floor they are all covered with a light brown greasy soot. So we have about 4,400 SF of floors rift cut white oak floors and stone that has to be ripped out!!! Crazy... its just so hard to believe how much damage smoke can do. It sure does make you think about putting in a sprinkler system in the house!

I'll keep you posted on how the builders risk insurance plays out..good to know that if there is extra funds that we might be able to use it for further upgrades.

Thanks again for the tips...trying to keep our mind off it and work on the landscaping! Lot to do there.

Mooredb:

You are bringing other issues to light that give me concern. Your kitchen cabinets having been waxed will likely change my previous post. Answer to follow in the last paragraphs.

Cleaning and sealing after a fire will introduce VOCâÂÂs to the home. DonâÂÂt fret however as the solution to pollution is dilution. Making sure the property is ventilated well with fresh air for a sufficient amount of time should remedy that.

The rule for water mitigation is typically 72 hours before microbial growth can occur and it becomes a black water, demolition issue. Clearly 72 hours has passed and the property isnâÂÂt sufficiently dried if wood floors are starting to cup and water has wicked up behind the cabinets and the drywall is still in place.

Yes, you need to pull the cabinets, cut out the drywall and properly dry before moving forward. However, IâÂÂm going to shut up here. You canâÂÂt be diagnosing these issues over the internet on a forum.

You need to be discussing these issues with a very good restoration contractor. If you had one, you would not be asking these questions here.

A franchise (McDonalds type) cleaning company that the insurance company brought in wonâÂÂt likely give you the necessary experience and level of service necessary for your situation. Trying to get a fine meal from a McDonalds isnâÂÂt going to happen no matter how many people they serve. Neither will a custom home builder or remodeler as they donâÂÂt have the depth of experienced.

Find a hotshot restoration contractor who has successfully completed some high profile and complex projects in your area and verify those references. They are out there but unfortunately there are far more knuckleheads than professionals.

Hi mepop.

Have you had experience in dealing with builders risk insurance? I was wondering what happens if we have extra funds left after repairs are completed? Let's say we decided not to replace the kitchen but the insurance gave the builder that allowance. Do insurance companies come out and inspect the work? Do they work off a draw system like the bank or do they just cut a check to the builder to complete the work and whatever funds are left can to go into the house for other work?

Thanks

Mooredb:

Careful where you are taking this. IâÂÂve seen people take this path many times leaving them with BAD results and regrets. Regardless of the insurance coverage and what the adjuster, bank, builder will allow. Insurance is designed to make people whole equal to where they were prior to the loss. Insurance is not designed to be a windfall no matter what anyone tells you.

In order to come out ahead in an insurance claim itâÂÂs going to cost you in some way, shape or form. You will either need to hire a public adjuster (not recommended) or roll up your sleeves and prepare to do battle with the insurance company yourself.

If you or a public adjuster does this, plan on significant delays (half a year for smaller claims, a year or more for larger claims) and the costs, distractions and other headaches to your life that go along with it. You may need to file and go to arbitration depending on your state laws.

If you decide not to replace items in the claim, most adjusters will allow you to use those funds elsewhere as long as they are in the vicinity of the claim. The insurance company wonâÂÂt likely allow you or the builder to pocket money without a long drawn-out fight and the delays described above.

I strongly recommend you find a very good restoration contractor who can make sure the home is dry, clean, free from smoke odor and ready for your builder to complete. Make a plan with the restoration contractor, adjuster and builder quickly for what you are going to replace or save and get the project back on schedule as much as you can.

A 2-3 month delay because you need to replace cabinets will look fantastic if you end up losing a year or more tied up in an insurance claim.

Until you said the floor was cupping, I was ready to say clean of the soot, stain and use polyurethane. It should seal in any residual smoke odor.

If it's solid wood you might be able to sand it down flat depending on how bad the cupping is. Polyurethane does not have formaldehyde to my knowledge. The solvent is basically mineral spirits, a low-aromatic (i.e. less toxic), mostly aliphatic hydrocarbons. It's a very thin layer and once it dries the fumes are basically gone. It will not keep seeping out like it would from particleboard or some other thicker material.

The oiled/waxed cabinets could be stripped or solvent washed, it seems like. But I agree with the other poster who said to get a good restoration contractor, not just a quick and dirty cleaning company, to evaluate.

DONâÂÂT SAND CUPPED FLOORING! Cupping occurs when the top of the wood dries faster than the wet bottom. Over time, the wood will flatten out as it thoroughly dries but it can take a long time.

If you sand the floors before they have settled flat on their own, you will end up having crowned floor boards when the wood eventually dries.

If the wood floors are new in the middle of an ongoing project, your only option is likely to pull the floor, dry the subfloor thoroughly and install new. Otherwise, it can take months to get the wood to lay flat.

Good point. Not only will it un-warp as it dries, but it may never return to perfectly flat.

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Justin Keenum , what?