water damage restoration inland empire Archives - Paul Davis Restoration & Remodeling

Is That Really Mold in Your House?

January 30, 2012 by admin

You don't even have to see the mold, as shown here, to be affected. Even if you can't see it, it's probably there!

You might overlook that little black patch growing in the corner of your room, thinking that it is harmless. We all want to believe that our homes are safe dwellings, but what you might not know is that little black patch could be mold, proliferating before your very eyes and sprouting health risks in your home. Yes, that little black patch could make your home a very unhealthy place. [Read more…]

Warm Weather Follows Wet Weekend in the Inland Empire

January 23, 2012 by admin

It’s been raining off and on for three days now in the counties of Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego and the Inland Empire, and it’s done more than just screw up this morning’s commute for a lot of people on the 91 and the 5. (That said, the skiiers and snowboarders are rejoicing—the snow has finally arrived!)

Right now water could be entering your home from many points, and you might not even know it until the damage is extensive. And although we haven’t had the rain, snow and flooding that Washington and Oregon have had, the rain will have saturated the ground and found its way into any roof or window leaks you may have. [Read more…]

Storms from Northwest to Hit Southern California with Rain—Today

January 20, 2012 by admin

We’ve been talking about this eventuality for some time, and we hope you heeded our warnings. The cold front that battered the Northwest is now knocking at our door, with another Pacific storm hot on its heels.

Down here in Southern California, including the Inland Empire, Orange and San Diego counties, we won’t see much from the first storm, which fizzled out overnight on its way down from Northern California. (Hopefully the Sierras got some snow so we can finally start our ski season!) But the second storm is going to come in right for us, and it’s going to be very wet, and very cold through Sunday.

And don’t put those rain boots away quite yet—Monday will see a third, and last storm hitting, with less rain than at the weekend, but moisture nonetheless. [Read more…]

Do You Need a Water Leak Detection System?

January 18, 2012 by admin

For the past few blogs, we’ve been discussing water leaks both inside and outside the house, as the rainy season has arrived in California. For those of you in places like Michigan, North Dakota, New York (i.e. anywhere else but Southern California), don’t laugh. Yes, we call 36 hours of rain a “storm”. [Read more…]

How to Prevent Water Damage in Your Home: Part One

January 13, 2012 by admin

A washing machine is more dangerous than you think...

There’s ways to prevent water damage in your home that are just common sense—don’t let your 5-year-old run the bath water for themselves, for instance, or making sure you hire a professional install your windows so you know they are watertight.

But there’s smaller, less obvious ways that you prevent water damage by regularly checking the areas that are most likely to suffer from it. Modern homes have plenty of appliances, sinks, showers and other places where water is merely controlled by hoses, taps or buttons. And let’s not even get into how electricity and water do not mix! [Read more…]

One of Tustin’s Oldest Buildings Destroyed by Fire

December 16, 2011 by admin

The firefighters had to cut holes in the roof of the Vintage Lady to let the smoke out and extinguish the fire.

There are rare pockets of historical buildings in Orange County, and Old Town Tustin is one of them. Pass by B Street and you’ll see a magnificent Victorian home, and several storefronts dating from the 19th century down the town’s main drag, El Camino Real.

Sadly, one of those downtown, Victorian stores has been irreparably destroyed. We could, in theory, restore the building and it would look the same, but it would not have its historical pedigree any longer. [Read more…]

SoCal Contemporary Homes and Flat Roofs Can Spell Leaks

November 14, 2011 by admin

Many custom homes in Southern California are built with contemporary styling, and to many architects of the modernist home, this means adding a flat roof. But not all homes with flat roofs are contemporary; some Craftsman, Art Deco and Southwestern style homes also have roofs without any pitch whatsoever. There are also many commercial buildings, especially churches, that have been designed with flat roofs.

These homes look sleek, attractive and distinctive, yet there can be one big problem, even in California: LEAKS. Have you ever wondered why all those homes in the mountains, Swiss Alps or otherwise, have those steeply pitched roofs? It’s to encourage the runoff of rain and snow. In U.S. cities like Buffalo, New York, there is a building code requirement that roofs have a specific minimum slope of 6 inches in 12 inches because they receive a lot of snowfall. In places where there isn’t as much rainfall, like our fair state, there is no requirement for pitch at all, and therefore these architects have free rein when designing these custom homes. [Read more…]