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<br />out for the wiring, which is usu- <br />ally at the same height as your <br />electrical outlets. If there is wet <br />insulation, you will have to <br />remove the wallboard in order <br />to take out alt the insulation. <br /> <br />Dry ,lte Ce1llag. aad Wall. <br />Flood-soaked wallboard should <br />be removed and thrown away. <br />Plaster and paneling can often <br />be saved, but you still need to <br />get air circulating in the wall <br />cavities to dry the studs and <br />sills. Different approaches are <br />used for different materials. <br /> <br />Wallboard <br />If dirty floodwaters soaked the <br />wallboard at least 4 feet above <br />the floor, take down all the <br />wallboard and replace it. If the <br />water was less than 4 feet deep, <br />remove the lower 4 feet of wall- <br />board. You can fill the gap with <br />new 4 ft. X 8 ft. wallboard sheets <br />installed sideways. <br /> <br /> <br />:::::::--:::::- ' , <br />~~. <br />- ---- ----- ---- - ---- <br />---- --- --- ~---- ---- --~ <br /> <br />If you have Styrofoam insula- <br />tion-or no insulation-and the <br />wallboard was soaked with clean <br /> <br />rainwater, you can dry the walls <br />without removing the wall- <br />board by using the technique <br />explained below for plaster <br />walls. But you will need to <br />remove wet insulation if it is <br />not Styrofoam. <br /> <br />Plaster Walls <br />If the plaster or wallboard is <br />clean and in good shape, you <br />can drill or cut ventilating holes <br />in each wall cavity. Place holes <br />low enough so they will be cov- <br />ered by the baseboard after the <br />wall dries out. Open up the wall <br />on both sides of interior walls. <br />For exterior walls, drill or cut <br />holes only on the inside of the <br />house. However, if there is wet <br />insulation, you will have to <br />remove the plaster or wallboard <br />in order to take out all the insu- <br />lation. <br /> <br />Concrete Block <br />The cavities in a concrete block <br />wall will drain on their own. <br />The water will not damage the <br />concrete like it will wood or <br />wallboard. <br /> <br />Wall Covering <br />Vinyl wall covering seals the wall <br />and keeps it from drying out. <br />Wallpaper paste is also a favorite <br />home for mold and mildew. <br />For these reasons, you should <br />remove all wall covering that got <br />wet and throw it out. (If vinyl <br />wallcovering is loose on the bot- <br />tom, you may be abte to save it <br />by pulling it off the wall up to <br />the flood level. Clean and reap- <br />ply it after everything dries.) <br /> <br />.r <br /> <br />n_ 5 ~lj~ <br /> <br />Dry Out Your Home ~,l'- <br /> <br />19 <br />