The economy of Santa Fe Springs is largely light industry, and much of the city is made up of very large industrial and manufacturing buildings. When water gets into one of them, the problem is not the same as a leak in a house. The floor area is bigger, the materials are different and the business is usually trying to keep running.
Key takeaways
- Santa Fe Springs is largely light industry, with very large industrial and manufacturing buildings, so a water loss can cover a huge floor area.
- Drying a big building takes more equipment, a larger moisture map and a plan that works around operations.
- Concrete slabs hold water and release it slowly, so readings are taken each day until the slab is in range.
- Stock, pallets and racking are moved off the wet floor first, so they stop absorbing water.
- Records of what was wet, when and how long it took to dry support a claim.
Why a warehouse is not a big house
A house has rooms, doors and walls that contain water. A warehouse often has an open floor, high ceilings and few interior walls.
Water in a large open space spreads far across the slab and can reach racking, pallets, stored goods and equipment before it is noticed.
Interstate 5 and Interstate 605 both have exits in Santa Fe Springs, and Telegraph Road, Norwalk Boulevard and Florence Avenue are main streets, so many buildings carry steady truck traffic that depends on the floor staying usable.
More area, more air
A high ceiling means a large volume of air to dry. Dehumidifiers that handle a living room will not keep up with a warehouse, so the equipment is larger and there is more of it.
The goal is the same as in a house: bring materials back to normal moisture. The scale is what changes.
Different materials
Many industrial buildings have concrete slab floors, metal walls and panels, and offices built inside the shell. Each material dries differently.
Concrete holds water deep inside, drywall in an office wicks it upward, and insulated panels can trap it between layers.
Where water comes from in industrial buildings
Water losses in large buildings have a wider range of sources than a home. A few of the usual ones are worth knowing.
- Roof leaks during winter rain, since most rain in Santa Fe Springs falls from November to March.
- Roof drains that clog and let water pond on a flat roof.
- A burst pipe or a failed fitting in a break room, restroom or mechanical room.
- A sprinkler discharge or a broken sprinkler head.
- A water heater or boiler leak in a utility area.
- A backup from a floor drain or a sewer.
The first day in a large building
The first day is about stopping the source, protecting people and getting the stock off the wet floor.
Operations managers do not have time for guesswork, so the response is organized around a short list of decisions.
- Find and stop the source of the water.
- Shut off power to affected circuits if water reached outlets, panels or equipment.
- Move pallets, boxes and inventory off the wet slab and onto dry ground.
- Mark and photograph affected areas, racking and machines.
- Call a crew for commercial water damage and ask for a moisture map of the whole space.
Extraction and drying at scale
Large-area extraction pulls standing water off the slab with high-volume equipment. In a big building this can take a crew a long while because the floor is so large.
After the standing water is gone, structural drying begins. The drying crew places air movers across the floor, sets up large dehumidifiers and, where the building needs it, adds desiccant units to pull moisture out of the air.
The crew takes readings on the slab, the wall bases and any materials that wicked water. Equipment is moved and added as the readings show where moisture remains.
Working around operations
A building that makes, stores or ships goods cannot always stop. The restoration plan can be built in zones so part of the building keeps working while another part dries.
Noise, cords and equipment in aisles are all factors. Forklift routes, loading docks and fire exits must stay clear, and the crew works with the facility manager to set them.
Santa Fe Springs also has food companies, aerospace and defense suppliers and open-air shopping centers, and each type of property has its own concerns.
A food facility cares about sanitation, a supplier cares about clean areas and a retail center wants customers back through the door.
How the drying is measured
Measuring is what separates a dry building from one that only feels dry. The team compares readings to a dry reference taken in an unaffected part of the same building.
Each day the readings go into a log. Equipment is adjusted, and when every material reads in range, the drying ends.
The page on commercial water damage in Santa Fe Springs describes the way the crew handles warehouses, offices and shops.
A building that dries unevenly can leave a damp corner behind a rack or inside a panel. Moving equipment as the readings change is what keeps the drying from stalling.
- Slab readings at set locations each day.
- Wall base and panel readings near the wet edge.
- Air temperature and humidity at several points.
- A written log that shows the trend.
Documents that help with a claim
A commercial claim usually asks what was wet, how large the area was, when the work began and when it ended. The daily log answers each of those.
Policies differ in what they cover and how fast a notice must be given, so it is a good idea to confirm terms with the insurer and the broker early.
The city page for water damage restoration in Santa Fe Springs lists the other services, including roof leaks and sewage backups.