Flooding - The Devastating Aftermath

Rain is something we cannot do without, and here in Ireland it gives us lush vegetation and our '40 shades of green' grass.

When we get too much it's a different story, and thats happening all to frequently in many places. The result can be dreadful flooding especially in low lying areas and river flood plains. 

If your home lies in a floor prone area and it actually happens to you the result can be devastating - not just when the dirty rubbish carrying water is flowing through you home.

The after effects can carry on for months, first getting all that filthy watery sludge and damaged belongings - curtains, bedding, carpets, and furniture etc - removed from the house, then finding somewhere for you and your family to live in the intervening time that it takes to restore the dwelling to if former standard.  

You have a busy lifestyle, right? now add to that the extra work of final clearing up, arranging insurance assessors, getting quotes from builders, painters and decorators and the whole process can soon becomes a complete living nightmare. 

The rectifying work can fall into a number of categories - major remedial work where maybe flooring boards have to be replaced and plaster stripped from the walls which then have to re plastered and skimmed.

Where damage is less severe it may mean replacing carpets, wooden floors and redecorating the house.

Decorating of course cannot begin until the house has completely dried out - and that drying process will be much quicker with the aid of dehumidifiers.

Where it has been assessed that the walls don't require to be chipped back and replastered you may find that existing walls will show signs of water stains, even if the walls are completely dry.

These stains can actually 'burn' through standard water based emulsion paints which are normally used on skimmed walls and are or course unsightly and unwanted. Fortunately there are some really good primer sealers out there that will 'seal' in the contaminants so that the finish coating will remain looking good, - we always recommend using good quality trade paints to showcase your rooms with the best possible finish.

Damp Stains caused by ingress of water - these stains can 'burn' through to outer layers of paint if effective sealers have not been applied as a first coat.

When tackling this problem of water stains we from experience rely on 3 or 4 products, which we list below.

Zinsser Cover Stain Interior & Exterior Primer - Sealer Stain Sealer

This is an oil based primer that dries in 30 mins and can be over coated after 2 hours with any standard oil of water based paints.

PS Zinsser Cover Stain is also excellent for obliterating smoke damage, nicotine/tobacco, tannin bleed, grease and other hard to cover stains.

Crown Trade PX3 solvent borne primer

Crown Trade PX3 is a traditional solvent-based stain-blocking primer that offers protection from alkaline attack.

This product is touch dry in around 4 hours and can be recoated after 16 hours

Zinsser B.I.N Interior & Spot Exterior Primer - Sealer, Stain Sealer

Zinsser B.I.N is a shellac based primer (means clean up with methylated spirits) that is very fast drying - touch dry in around 15 mins and recoatable in 45 mins at normal temperatures. B.I.N can be overcoated with standard emulsion or oil based paints, and also is excellent for many other application such as priming varnish or wood stains to allow overcoating with any paint.

Coo-var Shellac Prime-All

Coo-var Shellac is a reliable alternative to Zinsser B.I.N perhaps with slightly quicker drying times but effectively the same capabilities.

Johnstone's Trade StainAway Matt is an innovative product that is effective against water stains but unique in that it is a primer and finish coat all in one, so you don't need to purchase a separate finish coat. 

StainAway matt is a quick drying water based paint, so enabling easy cleanup and fast application

The touch drying time is 1 hour and is recoatable in 4 hours. StainAway will also tackle other persistent stains including smoke, nicotine among others

We have given a quick overview of some of the specialist priming sealers that are available but we always recommend that you seek the advice of professional painters and decorators who will be able to outline the best course for remedial action after visiting and accessing the building. 

 We hope that these products will somewhat help to ease the effort needed to refurbish and paint your home and that it will remain beautifully decorated without further destruction by flooding.