Structural Fire Damage Cleaning in Reading, MI
The drywall is gone, and now you are staring at blackened studs, scorched joists and a charred roof deck. Somebody now has to decide what gets blasted clean, what gets sistered and what gets replaced. Unify Fire Solutions connects you with independent, licensed and insured contractors in Reading who clean the framing, masonry and steel itself.
- Soda blasting, dry ice blasting and wire brushing
- Every stud and joist probed for char depth
- Sealer applied to lock in residual odor
What Makes Framing Work Different
Hang new drywall over sooty, smoky studs and the smell comes back through the paint on the first warm day. Cleaning the structure is the step that decides whether the rebuild smells like a new house or a campfire.
Licensed & Insured Independent Pros
The contractors we connect you with are independent businesses carrying their own license and insurance. Check the paperwork yourself and ask if their process lines up with IICRC S700.
Upfront Written Estimates
Blasting is priced by surface area, media and access, and attics and crawlspaces cost more to reach. Ask for a line-item written estimate before the first bag of media is opened.
Rapid Local Dispatch
A real person answers around the clock, and the search for a crew begins on that call. How fast someone arrives depends on availability and distance, often within the same day.
Blasting Rigs and Probing Tools
Structural crews bring soda blast pots, dry ice units, big compressors, HEPA vacs, air scrubbers and a sharp awl to test every member.
Stay out of a fire-damaged attic, and never walk a charred roof deck to check it. Burned joists and decking can fail under one person's weight, and open wiring may still carry current. Wait for the contractor to check that the structure is safe, and keep people off floors that sit over a burned crawlspace or basement.
Structural Cleaning Services From Rafters to Slab
Furniture and debris are a separate job. It is the work done on the wood, block, brick and steel that hold your house up.
Char Depth Probing and Member Decisions
Pressing an awl into the blackened wood shows how deep the char goes; a shallow crust over firm wood usually means it can be cleaned. When the char cuts deep into a joist or a truss web, the member gets sistered or swapped out.
- Members marked clean, sister or replace
- Structural engineer called in for questionable beams, trusses and headers
- Photos of each marked member for the claim
Soda Blasting
Baking soda media knocks soot and surface char off framing while leaving the grain mostly intact. Expect fine dust and residue that has to be contained and HEPA vacuumed when the blasting is done.
Dry Ice Blasting
With dry ice the pellets sublimate on impact, so there is nothing left on the floor but the soot itself. It works well in tight attics and around wiring, though it costs more and is noisy.
- Hearing protection and ventilation required
- Good choice when residue would be a problem
Wire Brushing and Sanding
For a few blackened studs or a small closet fire, wire brushes, sanding discs and a HEPA-shrouded grinder may be all it takes. Hand work is slower but sensible where a blast rig would be too much.
Brick, Block, Concrete and Steel Beams
Porous brick, block and concrete trap soot deep in the surface, so crews use alkaline detergents, scrub brushes or blast media to lift it. Steel beams and columns are cleaned of soot and checked for warping or sag, which goes to the engineer.
Encapsulation and Attic Insulation Removal
Cleaned framing gets a coat of shellac-based or specialty encapsulant to lock in any odor left deep in the wood. In the attic, smoke-soaked blown-in or batt insulation is vacuumed out with a high-powered insulation vac before the rafters and decking are cleaned.
Crawlspaces get the same treatment on a smaller, dirtier scale: floor joists, sill plates and the underside of the subfloor are probed, blasted where needed and sealed. A smoke-stained or wet vapor barrier usually comes out and goes back new.
Have the contractor explain the method they plan for each part of the house. A good crew may soda blast the open walls, dry ice the attic around the wiring and hand sand a few studs near the panel.
Containment matters here, since blast media and loosened soot travel anywhere the air moves. The crew hangs poly over doorways, masks off the HVAC returns and runs air scrubbers under negative pressure while they work. Ask what the plan is to shield the undamaged rooms, floors and glass.
Bare Framing Covered in Soot and Char?
Phone our dispatchers and they begin searching for a structural crew close to Reading. It costs nothing to call.
Call +1-833-336-1630How a Structural Cleaning Job Unfolds
- 1
Phone the Dispatcher
Say which parts of the structure are open now, such as walls, attic, crawlspace, masonry or steel. Let us know if an adjuster, engineer or roofer has already visited.
- 2
Mobile Crew on Site
An independent crew shows up with its compressor, blast gear, poly and air scrubbers. They check that the roof and floor are safe to walk and that power to the open walls is off.
- 3
Probe, Mark and Quote
They test each stud, joist and rafter with an awl, tag it, and flag anything doubtful for an engineer. A written, itemized quote covering area, blast method, encapsulant and attic insulation comes before any work starts.
- 4
Blasting, Sealing and Walkthrough
Once the wood is blasted, vacuumed and sealed, the crew lead walks you through the open structure. Do a sniff test on a warm afternoon, and ask for photos of every marked member before the rebuild closes the walls.
Notes From People We Connected
After the attic fire, the rafters were black and the blown-in insulation was a wet mess. They vacuumed out the insulation, dry iced the rafters around the wiring and sealed it all. An engineer looked at two deeply charred rafters and they were sistered instead of torn out.
I assumed every black stud in the hallway had to be replaced. The crew lead pushed an awl into each one and showed me the wood was solid under a thin crust. Soda blasting and a coat of sealer saved most of the wall.
The fire in our lower level left the block walls and the steel beam coated in soot. The contractor cleaned the block and the beam, then had an engineer check the steel for warping. The basement smells normal again, even closed up.
Your Structural Fire Cleaning Questions Answered
How do crews decide if a charred stud can stay?
The test is simple: they probe it. An awl or screwdriver pushed into the black surface shows how deep the char goes, and wood that is firm just under a thin crust can usually be blasted and sealed. Members with deep char, splitting or a lost cross section get sistered or replaced, and anything structural in doubt goes to a licensed structural engineer.
What is the difference between soda blasting and dry ice blasting?
Soda media is mild on the grain and helps with odor, though it leaves a white dust that needs a full HEPA cleanup. Dry ice leaves no media behind and works well near wiring, but the equipment is noisy and the job usually costs more. Many crews use both on the same house.
Why seal the framing if it has already been cleaned?
Smoke gets deep into the pores of the wood, past what blast media can reach. A shellac-based or specialty encapsulant locks that residual odor in so it cannot off-gas through the new drywall. Sealer only works over clean framing, never as a shortcut over soot.
Does the attic insulation have to come out after a fire?
If smoke reached the attic, almost always yes. Blown-in and batt insulation trap smoke and soot like a filter, and many get soaked by hose water too. Crews vacuum it out with a truck-mounted or portable insulation vac so the rafters and decking can be inspected and cleaned before new insulation goes in.
Can soot be cleaned off brick and concrete block?
Most of the time, but brick and block hold soot in their pores and need more than a wipe. Crews use alkaline masonry cleaners and stiff brushes, and soda or other media blasting for heavy buildup. Heat-cracked or spalled block and brick should be looked at by an engineer or mason.
Do I need a structural engineer for fire-damaged framing?
You may not on a small job, but any doubtful load-bearing member calls for one. An engineer's report on trusses, headers, beams, steel and badly charred joists protects you and supports the claim. Your local building department may also require one before the walls close.
Charred Framing Cleaning Across Reading and Beyond
Calls come in from all over Reading and nearby towns, from older homes with solid lumber framing to newer builds with engineered trusses and I-joists. Attics, basements, crawlspaces, garages and light commercial spaces all come up regularly.
- Attic fires
- Electrical fires
- Furnace puff-backs
- Chimney fires
- Lightning strikes
- Neighbor's fire spread
Should the first contractor not suit you, ring us again and we will connect you with a different one. Get the bones cleaned before anyone hangs new drywall.
