Our office with laminate flooring was slightly flooded by an out of order 
sprinkler outside the building.

We have mopped off the water on the floor. However, there is still water 
underneath the floor. Stepping on certain areas would squeeze out some 
water.

Do we have to tear out the whole floor to remove those water, or would the 
water drain down through the foundation? Is there any company specializing 
in this type of work?

The building is a 1-story commercial building.

Here are some photos showing the water on the floor:
http://photographs.smugmug.com/gallery/8337471_B5x7A/1/546490040_VYoRq

On May 26, 7:56=A0am, "james"  wrote:
> Our office with laminate flooring was slightly flooded by an out of order
> sprinkler outside the building.
>
> We have mopped off the water on the floor. However, there is still water
> underneath the floor. Stepping on certain areas would squeeze out some
> water.
>
> Do we have to tear out the whole floor to remove those water, or would th=
e
> water drain down through the foundation? Is there any company specializin=
g
> in this type of work?
>
> The building is a 1-story commercial building.
>
> Here are some photos showing the water on the floor:http://photographs.sm=
ugmug.com/gallery/8337471_B5x7A/1/546490040_VYoRq
How much is your deductable.

On May 26, 5:56=A0am, "james"  wrote:
> Our office with laminate flooring was slightly flooded by an out of order
> sprinkler outside the building.
>
> We have mopped off the water on the floor. However, there is still water
> underneath the floor. Stepping on certain areas would squeeze out some
> water.
>
> Do we have to tear out the whole floor to remove those water, or would th=
e
> water drain down through the foundation? Is there any company specializin=
g
> in this type of work?
>
> The building is a 1-story commercial building.
>
> Here are some photos showing the water on the floor:http://photographs.sm=
ugmug.com/gallery/8337471_B5x7A/1/546490040_VYoRq

How long had the water been sitting?

The water is trapped between the slab & the laminate ....get someone
(you?) after it with a shop vac.

After you get readily vac'd water, prop the vac floor style nozzle in
the "lowest" spot, leave it running and it will draw the water to it.

 Set up a couple 20" box fans & also turn up the heat.

Of course there are water damage / flooding cleanup companies but they
charge an arm & a leg...since their typical MO is to screw some
insurance company.

As Ransley mentioned....insurance deductible?

cheers
Bob

james wrote:
> Our office with laminate flooring was slightly flooded by an out of
> order sprinkler outside the building.
>
> We have mopped off the water on the floor. However, there is still
> water underneath the floor. Stepping on certain areas would squeeze
> out some water.
>
> Do we have to tear out the whole floor to remove those water, or
> would the water drain down through the foundation? Is there any
> company specializing in this type of work?
>
> The building is a 1-story commercial building.
>
> Here are some photos showing the water on the floor:
> http://photographs.smugmug.com/gallery/8337471_B5x7A/1/546490040_VYoRq

Removing the laminate shouldn't be too hard. Mark the pieces on the back so 
you'll know where to replace them.

Depending on the laminate, the water may not bother it at all. 

On May 26, 8:56=A0am, "james"  wrote:
> Our office with laminate flooring was slightly flooded by an out of order
> sprinkler outside the building.
>
> We have mopped off the water on the floor. However, there is still water
> underneath the floor. Stepping on certain areas would squeeze out some
> water.
>
> Do we have to tear out the whole floor to remove those water, or would th=
e
> water drain down through the foundation? Is there any company specializin=
g
> in this type of work?
>
> The building is a 1-story commercial building.
>
> Here are some photos showing the water on the floor:http://photographs.sm=
ugmug.com/gallery/8337471_B5x7A/1/546490040_VYoRq

Ouch.  You can see that the laminate flooring has swelled up at the
edges in places.  That will never lay back down.  Those boards will
have to be replaced at the very least.  It's probably safe to assume
that more will swell up.  The legs of the wood furniture will also
wick up the water ans start swelling or blowing off the finish.  You
should never let stuff sit in water.  I trust you just took those
pictures as evidence and then proceeded to promptly vacuum up as much
of the water as you could.

Most commercial buildings I have worked on had sealed concrete slabs.
You cannot rely on the concrete absorbing much water.  I'd remove all
of the flooring back to where there is no more water in evidence.  A
moisture meter would help determine how saturated the laminate and
concrete are, and would tell you when you had removed enough
flooring.  Put the furniture up on some plastic blocks.  Dry the place
out with fans, dehumidifiers, and/or sweeping compounds.  An AC on a
continuous run will extract a lot of moisture.  Meticulously clean
everything before anything goes back down.  The worst thing you could
do is to put new flooring back down before the place is back to being
bone dry.  Once mold starts growing it's a bitch to get rid of it.

You are looking at an insurance claim.  You are probably looking at a
number higher than your deductible.  Whether you want to make the
claim and risk affecting your premiums will depend on how much higher.

R

RicodJour wrote:
> On May 26, 8:56 am, "james"  wrote:
>> Our office with laminate flooring was slightly flooded by an out of order
>> sprinkler outside the building.
>>
>> We have mopped off the water on the floor. However, there is still water
>> underneath the floor. Stepping on certain areas would squeeze out some
>> water.
>>
>> Do we have to tear out the whole floor to remove those water, or would the
>> water drain down through the foundation? Is there any company specializing
>> in this type of work?
>>
>> The building is a 1-story commercial building.
>>
>> Here are some photos showing the water on the
floor:http://photographs.smugmug.com/gallery/8337471_B5x7A/1/546490040_VYoRq
> 
> Ouch.  You can see that the laminate flooring has swelled up at the
> edges in places.  That will never lay back down.  Those boards will
> have to be replaced at the very least.  It's probably safe to assume
> that more will swell up.  The legs of the wood furniture will also
> wick up the water ans start swelling or blowing off the finish.  You
> should never let stuff sit in water.  I trust you just took those
> pictures as evidence and then proceeded to promptly vacuum up as much
> of the water as you could.
> 
> Most commercial buildings I have worked on had sealed concrete slabs.
> You cannot rely on the concrete absorbing much water.  I'd remove all
> of the flooring back to where there is no more water in evidence.  A
> moisture meter would help determine how saturated the laminate and
> concrete are, and would tell you when you had removed enough
> flooring.  Put the furniture up on some plastic blocks.  Dry the place
> out with fans, dehumidifiers, and/or sweeping compounds.  An AC on a
> continuous run will extract a lot of moisture.  Meticulously clean
> everything before anything goes back down.  The worst thing you could
> do is to put new flooring back down before the place is back to being
> bone dry.  Once mold starts growing it's a bitch to get rid of it.
> 
> You are looking at an insurance claim.  You are probably looking at a
> number higher than your deductible.  Whether you want to make the
> claim and risk affecting your premiums will depend on how much higher.
> 
> R
Does the floor have the foam underlayment like residential laminate 
does? If so, even if it is closed-cell, that is a lot of little pockets 
for water to hide in. Can you say mold incubator? Like everyone else 
said- call your insurance agent. I take it you own the building? Only 
sure cure is rip out, dry out, and replace as needed. ServiceMaster and 
similar companies specialize in this kind of work, but at the prices 
they usually charge, self-help demo and hiring a flooring company to put 
down a new floor, may be about as cheap. Taking stuff out is easy, if 
you don't plan on reusing it.

--
aem sends...

james wrote:
> Our office with laminate flooring was slightly flooded by an out of 
> order sprinkler outside the building.
> 
> We have mopped off the water on the floor. However, there is still water 
> underneath the floor. Stepping on certain areas would squeeze out some 
> water.
> 
> Do we have to tear out the whole floor to remove those water, or would 
> the water drain down through the foundation? Is there any company 
> specializing in this type of work?
> 
> The building is a 1-story commercial building.
> 
> Here are some photos showing the water on the floor:
> http://photographs.smugmug.com/gallery/8337471_B5x7A/1/546490040_VYoRq
> 

get a commercial dehumidifier in there STAT.  might already be too late.

nate

-- 
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

james wrote:
> Our office with laminate flooring was slightly flooded by an out of 
> order sprinkler outside the building.
> 
> We have mopped off the water on the floor. However, there is still water 
> underneath the floor. Stepping on certain areas would squeeze out some 
> water.
> 
> Do we have to tear out the whole floor to remove those water, or would 
> the water drain down through the foundation? Is there any company 
> specializing in this type of work?
> 
> The building is a 1-story commercial building.
> 
> Here are some photos showing the water on the floor:
> http://photographs.smugmug.com/gallery/8337471_B5x7A/1/546490040_VYoRq
> 

Short of having a prof. mitigation company handle it, I would have 
rented a powerful wet vac. ASAP.  After that, if still squishy, lay down 
old towels and try to squeeze more water to the surface.  Then, fans and 
dehumidifier.

Not very comparable, but we had a flood in our kitchen, shortly after 
redoing cabinets.  Afraid the plywood cabinets would bulge from water, 
but we got it up fast enough that that was avoided.  Particle board 
would probably have been worse because it expands and then crumbles.

On Tue, 26 May 2009 05:56:18 -0700, "james" <n...@nospam.com> wrote:

>Our office with laminate flooring was slightly flooded by an out of order 
>sprinkler outside the building.
>
>We have mopped off the water on the floor. However, there is still water 
>underneath the floor. Stepping on certain areas would squeeze out some 
>water.
>
>Do we have to tear out the whole floor to remove those water, or would the 
>water drain down through the foundation? Is there any company specializing 
>in this type of work?
>
>The building is a 1-story commercial building.
>
>Here are some photos showing the water on the floor:
>http://photographs.smugmug.com/gallery/8337471_B5x7A/1/546490040_VYoRq

That materials looks exactly what I put in a former office. A floating
material - not terribly expensive. The instruction were to only damp
mop the floor, and to avoid prolonged periods of water at the edges.

Anyway, I would not hire the same installer. Photo 2, enlarged to
"X3Large", bottom of photo shows three rows/courses that are not
staggered.  Each of the 3 boards end on the same line.

4 cents worth now days

"Oren" <O...@127.0.0.1> wrote in message 
news:5...@4ax.com...

> Anyway, I would not hire the same installer. Photo 2, enlarged to
> "X3Large", bottom of photo shows three rows/courses that are not
> staggered.  Each of the 3 boards end on the same line.

Excellent catch.