Should my Alhambra house be repaired or rebuilt after the fire?

Smoke can reach every room while the fire stays in one or two. If the framing in the burned area tests sound, a repair is the usual course, with cleaning or removal room by room as the wipes direct. Structural damage spread through the house can make rebuilding the better value, and we write up both from the same visit.

Can you check my insurance scope for an Alhambra rebuild?

Yes, and the wipe plan gives the comparison something solid. An estimate may call for cleaning where the residue calls for removal, or leave out rooms well away from the fire. Each room's result goes beside the matching lines, we mark where they part ways, and you forward that marked estimate to your insurance carrier.

What does the wildfire code require when I rebuild in Alhambra?

The wildfire chapter reaches only parcels the state has placed on its fire hazard maps. If yours is one, the rebuilt exterior needs Class A roofing, vents listed against embers, tempered panes in the windows, siding that resists ignition and protected eaves. Plan review at the City of Alhambra settles the question for the address. On any other lot, each of those parts can be added and priced separately.

Fire Rebuild & Reconstruction in Alhambra

Alhambra fire repairs priced from wipe tests in every room, so cleaning, sealing and removal follow the residue each surface holds. Fernhill Builders.

Call the office Request a written scope

Wiping the top of a door with white cotton shows where soot went in a damaged Alhambra house, so that is the test we run first. We repeat it on a ceiling fixture and a supply register in each room, starting at the end of the house farthest from the fire and working toward it. The color left on each wipe divides rooms we can clean from rooms whose finishes have to go.

Reading the wipes

Wipes are bagged, labeled by room and laid out on a floor plan, where they sort into no residue, a light film and heavy deposits. Places a walk-through misses get a wipe of their own, including closet shelves, the inside of kitchen cabinets, the attic hatch and the return air grille. A finish that looks clean but leaves a gray mark on the cotton is noted. When a deposit is oily or unusual, a sample can go to a lab before the scope is settled.

From residue to scope

Rooms with no residue need new filters and a basic clean. A light film comes off with dry chemical sponges and then a damp wash, after which walls and ceilings get a sealing primer that holds back odor. Heavy deposits on porous surfaces, such as acoustic ceilings, carpet and insulation, mean those materials leave the house. Ducts in a heavy room are cleaned or replaced as their own item. Wiring, framing or mechanical work is permitted through the City of Alhambra, and every quote line ties back to a wipe on the plan.

About our Fire Rebuild & Reconstruction service Services in Alhambra