Common Misconceptions About Tree Damage to Your Home in Northern Virginia
Common Misconceptions About Tree Damage to Your Home in Northern Virginia
- Typical homeowners’ insurance will pay to have a fallen tree removed if, and only if, it causes damage to your home or other insured structure on your property (e.g. shed, fence).
- If a neighbor’s tree falls into your property, you are responsible for the portion on your yard. It’s not where the tree starts, it’s where it lands.
- Your homeowners’ insurance will pay to remove the neighbor’s fallen tree that ended up in your yard but only if there is damage to insured property (see misconception #1).
There’s an old saying that goes; “good fences make for good neighbors”. Not if that fence is damaged by your neighbor’s fallen tree! You might live in a friendly neighborhood and consider many of your neighbors as friends, but the truth of the matter is, your neighbor is under no obligation to pay for that tree to be removed from your yard. You may be saying to yourself, this doesn’t sound fair. There are exceptions. If you notice that one of your neighbor’s trees is looking sick or dying and notify that neighbor of your concern, in writing, your neighbor could be held responsible under the liability clause of his insurance policy.
Which Northern Virginia homes are at risk of trees falling on them?
Trees can fall for a number of reasons, bad storms, high winds, disease, saturated ground, etc. Why should I fear falling trees? Trees with a high canopy (top heavy) are more likely to fall than trees that are dense throughout. Trees are heavy, when trees fall, they fall fast, and you probably won’t know it until you hear it hit something. Modern construction (roof truss systems) of roofs do not provide the same level of protection against damage from fallen trees than older homes built using rafters to support the roof. Likewise, homes made with brick offer more protection than siding, but no form of construction can prevent a fallen tree weighing thousands of pounds from causing damage.
What happens when a tree hits my Northern VA home?
When trees strike, they usually hit the roof first causing roof sheathing to collapse, framing lumber to break eventually breaking through the ceiling drywall and entering the living areas of the home. Attic insulation will come with the drywall when it falls and depending on the type of insulation, cause widespread contamination. Historically, the two most common types of attic insulation were either made of fiberglass or cellulose. Today Mineral Wool, sometimes called Rock Wool, is very common due to its inability to absorb moisture. This is important to know because while cellulose is considered the safest, fiberglass and mineral wool can cause respiratory and dermal uptake problems.
How does Restortech address tree strike damage in Northern Virginia?
First let’s talk about what RestorTech does not do. Priority number one is getting the tree off the house. Unfortunately, RestorTech cannot help you with that, you will need a tree removal specialist and maybe one with a crane. The next priority is securing the home. This is typically accomplished by tarping the roof and boarding up broken windows or doors. Very often the tree removal companies can also perform this work. Once the tree is gone and the house is secured and weather tight, you should avoid using rooms where the tree has broken through the ceilings or walls by simply closing the door to the room. Should you need to enter these areas, you should wear a minimum N-95 respirator and be careful not to disturb the fallen debris, inadvertently introducing it back into the airstream. In severe tree strikes it may be necessary to find temporary living arrangements.
Clean up after a tree falls on your house
The next step, though not considered an emergency, is to clean up the mess. That where RestorTech comes in. On typical tree strikes, we can remove the bulk insulation, fallen drywall and framing lumber fairly quickly and easily, but we’re not done yet. The main priority here is to prevent the spread of contaminants and to improve the environmental conditions. We can do this by utilizing containment, installing temporary coverings over any open wall and ceiling spaces to ensure that your conditioned (heated or cooled) air is not trying to heat or cool the entire neighborhood. We can also employ negative air pressure to divert the airborne particulate into a filtered air cleaner (air scrubber) vented outside.
Cleaning up your personal property after a tree falls on your home
But we’re not done yet. Your personal property, including clothing, has been impacted by dust and debris and will need to be cleaned, which is our specialty. Noting the fact that fallen insulation and other debris are skin and respiratory irritants, we recommend a thorough cleaning of all affected contents. This work is best performed in a controlled environment such as RestorTech’s state-of-the-art processing facility. The property in the affected rooms will likely need to be moved anyway so that structural repairs can be made. To get the property to our facility, we offer full-service packing, moving and storage services to help with this phase of the project.
Clothing and bedding are cleaned using an immersion process, Furniture and miscellaneous items (e.g., books, pictures, toys, dishes, cookware, etc.) are hand washed in a mild detergent and rinsed. In certain situations, It may be necessary to bring in specialized experts to clean electronics, wall art and other sensitive items. We can coordinate that as well.
Local Storage after a tree falls on your house
We will store your cleaned personal property in our climate controlled secure facility until such time your home has been fully repaired by a general contractor. Just call our office when you know that your house will be ready giving us a least two weeks’ notice and we will deliver and reassemble your furniture once in place.
Tree Damage Restoration in Northern Virginia
Of course, a tree strike can become exacerbated by accompanying weather. Moisture damage caused by rain or snow is a separate component of the restoration services we provide and must be addressed as such. As far as perils go, tree strikes don’t seem as bad as a fire or flooding, however, there are a surprising number of fatalities caused by falling trees. If you notice a tree in your yard is sick or might be dying, don’t take chances, call an arborist and have it examined, and removed if necessary.