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Disaster Advice Glossary
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Disaster recovery and restoration can be veiled in mystery to the many who have not undertaken specific training. This glossary explains technical terms to assist both report writing and the understanding of those technical terms so often misunderstood.
Definition
| Awl: |
A tool common to carpet layers. Mitigation Note: An awl is also a common tool for water technicians during the pull-up of the corner of wet carpets and releasing the carpet from a tack strip. Health and Safety Note: An awl is always to be used during the disengagement of sewage contaminated carpets from tackstrips. Tack-less strips or tackstrips, that are contaminated with sewage can result in puncture and cuts causing illness and disease. |
| Bioremediation: |
The careful and safe removal of harmful microbiological agents. Education and Mitigation Note: a) In sewage damage backflows effecting buildings, bioremediation is the careful and safe removal of all sewage and bacteria under controlled conditions which are associated with sewage effluents. This includes all coliform bacteria, and porous building materials and contents saturated with sewage. If the building materials and contents cannot be cleaned and disinfected to an acceptable level of cleanliness, then the building materials and contents require replacement with new materials. b) In fungi contamination, bioremediation is the careful and safe removal of all contaminated building materials and contents under controlled conditions which are associated with the fungi contamination. c) In ventilation system cleaning and sanitizing, bioremediation is the careful and safe removal of all dusts and debris in the HVAC supply air ducts followed by sanitizing, removal of all contaminated insulation, cleaning and sanitizing of the previously insulated surfaces, cleaning and sanitizing of coils, condensers, drain pans, plenum, mixing boxes and all return air ducts. d) In areas containing water or sewage saturated ground of a soil floor basement or crawl space substructure, bioremediation is the containment and control of all standing water or sewage, providing negative air out of the substructure where contaminated air does not effect the building's interior air space, and appropriate remediation measures in removing potentially harmful pathogens from the air and controlling pathogens in soil. Bioremediation of contaminated ground under a substructure is a complicated issue where each problem must be based on the conditions presented in each case. |
| Crawl Space: |
a) The lower space of a raised foundation - between the ground and the first floor of a building. In a crawl space building code requires a minimum 18" aeration access from the ground and the floor joists. b) Any unfinished interior access and limited space between floors, containing ventilation, ducting, pipes, cables, or wiring of the building. C) A lower elevation of a building that has not been excavated deep enough for a basement. |
| Crawling: |
A paint condition resulting in the shrinkage of a paint film, or the drawing up of the paint film because of high moisture content or surface tension, to form an uneven film. Crawling is sometimes caused by painting over cold, wet, damp, or dirty or oily surfaces. |
| Sediment as Fines: |
In a flooded building, either from a catastrophic flood or a sewer system backflow, sediment is the fines of soil, sand and clay, that could not be removed, and are now an intrinsic part of the building after a thorough cleanup and sanitization. Most sediment can be removed from buildings, but due to the building porosity, design and engineering, some sediment as fines cannot be removed from subfloors, sill plates, and other building materials without dismantling the structure. Sediment may also be found under the building, in crawl spaces and in basements. See Clean-up, Fines |
| Thin set: |
A type of cementitious material used in the installation of ceramic tile, marble and slate. Restorative Drying Note: Thin set is usually very stable when confronted by a water damage. The issues for thin set and other cementitious materials, is not the thin set itself, it is the substrate base material they are placed on. Education Note: In water damaged buildings where the subfloor is wood, and it is not a concrete slab, wood subfloors and underlayments tend to swell, since they cannot easily dry out on their own. Thin set and the tile floor combined, becomes a vapor barrier, that does not allow the subfloor or underlayment to breathe and dry. Hopefully there is a basement or crawlspace, where special techniques for drying and dehumidifying the subfloor and underlayments can be accomplished. If not, quite often the trapped moisture can cause delamination of the plies of plywood or the release of the bond between the thin set and the tile. |
| Vent: |
An opening which air is allowed to pass through freely. Vents are part of a buildings natural air intake and exhaust system. Vents are common to basements, crawlspaces, plumbing, attic and roof. |
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