Commercial Water Damages

5/23/2023 (Permalink)

Larger is always worse when dealing with water damages.

The damage will typically be worse the more water is moving through the area. Because there are so many more pipes in a commercial structure, water damage there, has the potential to be far more severe than it would be in a private residence. The likelihood of a water loss increases with the number of bathrooms, appliances, and irrigation systems present, whether due to a pipe that has frozen or one that has not been properly maintained.

A commercial loss also means that additional equipment will be required to dry up the area.

Additional equipment necessitates the need of additional labor to move it. This pattern may keep building, demonstrating how quickly expenditures can go up for commercial projects.

A significant water loss is harmful due to the cost of doing business while it is occurring.

A store or site not being able to operate for several days, weeks, or months during times might result in a catastrophic loss of revenue, which will further exacerbate a water loss. To speed up the restoration process, SERVPRO of Fredericksburg employs all available tools. For instance, collaborating directly with insurance companies, providing building services, and utilizing cutting-edge tools to speed up the restoration process!  Call SERVPRO of Fredericksburg when you are in need of a restoration company for your business.  Whether that be a large building, or small family owned or home-based business, we are here to help, here in the community. 

SERVPRO has been helping businesses in Fredericksburg for over 25 years. 

We know what we are doing and will have your company up and running in no time.  Let us worry about all the paperwork, hard work, and labor.  You just worry about running your business as normal, we are here to help you, always. 

ERP Emergency Ready Profile & Why It's Needed.

5/23/2023 (Permalink)

We face hurdles in life all the time, and as a business owner, you are aware that you must continually overcome fresh obstacles that develop throughout the day. The majority of the time, these difficulties don't affect your regular business operations, but if a calamity occurs, everything in your organization could be forced to shut down completely until the disaster is dealt with properly. Depending on the severity, possibly being a burst pipe, a fire in the break room, or a flooded first floor might put the business on pause for days, weeks, or even months. After significant building damage, a business frequently never fully recovers.

There is no way of being able to predict when water damages, fire or any crisis will occur.  However, planning for the worst helps limit secondary damage and cut down on the amount of time your business remains closed to customers and the general public. A SERVPRO Emergency Ready Profile (ERP) is a free evaluation with the following goals: 1) Reduce damage from emergencies; 2) Create clear lines of communication and give the go-ahead for work to start; and 3) Assist your company in recovering from any unforeseen events. The ERP is not a replacement for your current plan but rather an addition to it.

An ERP is a free evaluation of the facilities at your organization and any potential risks to their structural integrity. An ERP profile is created by recognizing high risk situations unique to your facility and considering available responses. An illustration would be a restaurant that poses a high danger.  The Emergency Ready Profile is a free evaluation of the facilities at your organization and any potential risks to their structural integrity.

As a leader in the restoration world, SERVPRO of Fredericksburg can send staff to the scene as soon as we receive a call. By designating SERVPRO of Fredericksburg as your Priority Service Provider, we will be able to react to your disaster quickly and get your business up and running faster than expected.  

SERVPRO of Fredericksburg, faster to any size disaster. 

General Cleanings In Commercial Buildings & Why It Is Necessary

5/23/2023 (Permalink)

Businesses in the Fredericksburg region need to give cleanings more consideration. 

The majority of businesses employ daily porters or overnight cleaning services, but with the spread of dangerous diseases, everyone should be thinking Deeper Cleaning Services and Health Safety.

Some fun facts to consider about germs and bacteria include the following:

• As bacteria, germs are so tiny that they can only be observed under a microscope.
• In contrast to popular assumption, germs are not a different category of "bug". Instead, the word "germ" refers to a broad category of organisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites like protozoans and helminths. The terms "germs" and "bacteria," for example, refer to the same thing, so saying "germs and bacteria" is incorrect.
• Literally wherever you look, there are germs to be discovered, including the air, water, food, and surfaces. They also coexist with and inside plants, animals, and people.
• The human body is host to 1,000 different types of germs. While some of these microbes help us stay healthy, others might become harmful if they multiply at an unsafe rate.
• On our elbows and fingertips, there are anywhere from 2 to 10 million germ units at any given time! And these figures frequently increase by two or three after certain actions, such as using the restroom... You should also be aware that if we don't wash them off or kill them with personal disinfectants, these germs can remain on the skin for up to three hours.
• And speaking of toilets, they are not even the surfaces in a home that are the most contaminated. Cutting boards, remote controls, mobile phones, keyboards, and computers all have many more germs per inch than toilet seats.
• In a single day, one bacterium can expand into more than 8 million germs. They spread that quickly.

Locals are worried about staying healthy and are aware of all the potential hiding places for germs. 

What places do you frequent every day? You might travel to the Food Lion grocery store, the office, restaurants, the Planet Fitness gym in Corners Corner, the Paragon movie theater, schools, or the Central Park mall.  Infectious illnesses may thrive in these densely populated areas.

Common Causes of Commercial Fires and How you can Help Prevent them

5/10/2022 (Permalink)

Commercial fires can be devastating and deadly.  Because many commercial buildings are attached to one another, a small fire can end up doing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage.  From destroying structure to business equipment to family members lives, fires are not to be underestimated or forgotten about.  Fire safety in commercial buildings is a topic that should be of priority when training employees and maintaining the building and facilities.  Some common causes of commercial fires include heating sources and HVAC, cooking, smoking on the property, and electrical malfunctions/ wiring.  Over 90% of commercial fires are caused by one of these 4 factors. 

To avoid Heating/ HVAC fires, get your system cleaned and maintained properly and frequently.  Debris in ducts, or malfunctions in the units can cause fires to start quickly.  Have a routine inspection done of the complete heating system of the facility to prevent fires from starting this way.

To avoid cooking-appliance fires, practice safe cooking techniques.  Of course, for Restaurants, Chef training is required and employees should practice fire safety and be reminded of proper training when it comes to fire safety and cooking often.  For Offices, break rooms normally have a variety of cooking appliances.  These appliances should be replaced frequently and inspected regularly.  This will lower the risk of a fire caused from a cooking appliance, in a commercial building.

To avoid fires from smoking fires, no smoking on the premises would be preferred.  If employees and or customers want to smoke, having a smoking section outdoors and away from the building is the most reasonable way to prevent fires from smoking tobacco products.

Similarly, to Heating and HVAC fires, electrical fires can be prevented by frequent inspections of electrical wiring throughout the building.  This may be a tedious task, but a fried or burnt-out wire can cause a fire in just an instance. 

Fire safety in commercial buildings is nothing to joke about as it can cause some devastating results. If a fire does occur, call 540-373-7000.  SERVPRO of Fredericksburg specializes in Fire Restoration and can make it “Like it never even happened.” 

How SERVPRO Handles Mold Remediation in Commercial Buildings

5/10/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO handles Mold Remediation 

SERVPRO of Fredericksburg takes on huge jobs, such as complete Apartment buildings flooded to fires in Executive Offices.  Another service we offer to commercial buildings is mold remediation.  One might ask, what does the mold remediation process look like in a commercial business. 

First, SERVPRO does not hesitate when starting a mold remediation job, our teams are quick to respond and start work. Our crew chief will scope out the extent of the mold damage, in very rare occasions, testing to “find” the microbial infestation may be needed, as the damage is typically evident. Our SERVPRO team will then set up containment zones using physical barriers and negative pressure air scrubbers to filter and exhaust the microbial debris to the exterior of the building and away from areas that are unaffected. Our team members practice EPA approved industry safety procedures, including them removing the mold affected areas while wearing personal protective equipment, also known as PPE.  So, if you see plastic containment and men walking around in full microbial suits, do not be alarmed.  A zombie outbreak has not happened, we are simply removing all and any microbial growth from the building.

Contingent upon how deep-rooted the microbial (mold) colonies are, SERVPRO of Fredericksburg teams will sponge, scrape, or blast the mold off and out of any infected surfaces. An applied yet principally non-damaging tactic is soda blasting, using the finely granular sodium bicarbonate to power off the microbial growth. SERVPRO teams remove and properly dispose of all mold and cleaning residues, occasionally removing a porous surface if the mold has heavily penetrated the surfaces. Our team will also vacuum using HEPA-equipped suctioning tools to remove any leftover bits of mold or cleaning agents. SERVPRO oxide is a common chemical used in mold remediation that contains agents to ensure microbial growth will not return.

8 Types of Insurance Policies for Commercial & LLC Businesses to Consider

5/4/2022 (Permalink)

Depending upon the type of business and industry you are in, your business may require different types of insurance.  

Listed here are 8 different types of insurance that many small businesses get to protect them from a variety of saturations and mishaps.

1. General Liability Insurance (GLI)

General liability insurance helps protect your business from claims that it caused:

• Bodily injury to someone else
• Property damage to another person’s belongings
• Personal injury, like defamation or insult

2. Commercial Property Insurance

Commercial Property Insurance is used to protect the building your business runs out of along with the equipment you use to run your business.

Though, most of the time this insurance type does not cover certain natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods. Commercial flood insurance and other policies are used to protect against such items.

3. Business Income Insurance

Business income insurance comes in handy when you cannot work due to certain circumstances but you need to still make money to stay afloat.  This insurance can cover lost wages. So, you can use this coverage to help recompense for ongoing expenses, such as rent, employee payroll and utilities. This type of insurance is likewise recognized as business interruption insurance.

4. Professional Liability Insurance

Professional Liability Insurance comes in handy when someone is trying to make a claim against your company stating you made a mistake in your services provided. This type of insurance is also identified as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance.

5. Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Workers' Compensation Insurance gives your employees benefits if they get hurt or sick from their job. These benefits can help with paying medical bills replacing lost wages, covering funeral expenses and paying for continuing care such as medical or mental therapy. In most cases, carrying this type of insurance is required and you will face serious fines and consequences if you fail to obtain a worker’s comp policy.  

6. Data Breach Insurance

Date Breach Insurance, known as cyber insurance, protects your online confidential information and covers you if any information gets stolen or misused by an unauthorized user. Data breach insurance will notify impacted individuals that their information has been compromised along with offering identity theft services.

7. Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Commercial Umbrella Insurance is important as like an umbrella, it helps cover you desperate times.  For instance, when your claim exceeds the coverage limits for some of your liability policies, your umbrella insurance can cover the difference.  

8. Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial Auto Insurance is used by companies who have their employees driving company owned vehicles. It can help cover property damage and bodily injury claims from an accident your business causes, regardless of who is at fault. This can be crucial as car insurance companies do not cover third party incidences where a company vehicle is involved.  This is where your commercial auto insurance kicks in.

Commercial Fire Damage 101

5/4/2022 (Permalink)

Commercial Fires

Commercial fires happen just as often or even more often as residential fires do.  It is critical that a fire safety plan be put into action and visible by all employees that work there.  What to do if the building you are in catches on fire.

• Stay calm, but act quickly. Time is of the essence.  Make those around you aware and escort yourself and them out of the building as quickly as possible.
• Stay low when exiting the building due to smoke and flames. Have others follow your lead.
• If you are trained to use a fire extinguisher, you may do so to either put the fire out, or help guide a path out of the building with. Do not use one if you are not sure how to operate one.
• Call the fire department. When everyone is to safety, call 911 or the local fire department directly. Alert them of any injured people.

Now, everyone is safely out.  The fire is put out. And people have gone home.  But there is still work to do.

• First, you are going to want to get in contact with your insurance company right away. They will be able to walk you through the process to restoring your building. 
• Next, secure the remaining equipment and property in your building. You will want to board up broken doors and windows as property theft is an issue in both rural and urban areas.
• Be aware that smoke damage can still cause problems even if there is no visible smoke. Be alert and self-aware when entering a fire damaged facility.
• Get a SERVPRO professional out to start restoration. This is a crucial ending step.  SERVPRO of Fredericksburg will make this disaster "Like it never even happened." You can rest assure knowing your business is in good hands and will be up and running soon.  SERVPRO of Fredericksburg, here to stay, here to help.

Importance of Safety Plans for Commercial Sites

12/9/2021 (Permalink)

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

Commercial buildings, which include offices, restaurants, shops, and anything retail related or a place that brings in income, have a large number of employees of customers in them every day.  The importance of Safety Plans in case of emergencies in these types of facilities can save lives. 

Safety Plans are put in place in case of emergencies and natural disasters. Without a safety plan, many things can and will go wrong.  With a safety plan, you and your entire company will know what to do, who to call, and how to handle anything thrown at them.  A company becomes a much safer company when a safety plan is put in measure.

For instance, worker safety is crucial when operating a business.  With a Safety Plan and by executing such plan, employees are in much safer working conditions and less likely to have an injuring or fatal accident.  If an incident does happen however, the Safety Plan will have an exact protocol to follow to insure everything is handled in the most proper and efficient way possible. 

A Safety Plan will also contain protocols to follow in case of natural disasters.  A solid Safety Plan will have an evacuation route map, all of the available exits listed, and a step by step what-to-do under certain events.  These events may include a fire, tornado, hurricane, flood or other such disaster.

Here at SERVPRO of Fredericksburg, we have a detailed Safety Plan that is followed and protocols executed daily when using equipment. We value safety of not only our employees but our clients also.

Commercial Fire & Water Cleanup & Restoration Services

12/9/2021 (Permalink)

Commercial Services

SERVPRO of Fredericksburg not only services residential homes, but also commercial buildings.  Services offered for commercial sites include

• Duct Cleaning- We have trained technician that will clean the entire HVAC system and ducts of commercial buildings
• Carpet Cleaning- SERVPRO of Fredericksburg has top quality carpet cleaning equipment, including steam cleaners, to get the toughest of carpets cleaned and disinfected.
• Biohazard Cleaning- Here at SERVPRO of Fredericksburg, we offer Biohazard cleaning of commercial sites for even the ugliest of jobs.
• Commercial Vehicle Cleaning- Trained technicians are ready to clean out any commercial transport vehicles, such as school buses, or any company vehicles that are in need of deep cleaning; biohazard included.
• Fire Damage Cleaning and Restoration- SERVPRO of Fredericksburg offers professional Fire Damage restoration to ensure all soot, smoke damage, and fire odor is eliminated and treated.
• Water Damage Cleaning and Restoration- Our team here at SERVPRO of Fredericksburg has the necessary training and equipment to handle even the largest of water damages caused to any commercial sized building.
• Mold Removal and Prevention- Mold can be tricky to deal with as it can be unseen and hidden.  Our team here has the proper equipment to locate and treat all types of mold to insure disinfection is completed and mold growth will not return.

SERVPRO of Fredericksburg is here for your Commercial needs.  Call us at 540-373-7000 for a quote!

Commercial Heating and Air Cooling Units

5/11/2021 (Permalink)

Commercial Heating and Air-Cooling Units

Commercial heating and air-cooling units are installed in building that are not considered residential, some commercial buildings can be labeled as residential use, examples of residential use buildings are apartment complexes, nursing homes, retirement complexes.

Commercial heating and air-cooling units vary in type and size, to determine the size and how many units are needed to efficiently control the heating and air conditioning for the space size calculations are done using a mathematical formula. The formula used has many factors, the main parts of the formula are based on square footage of the air temperature to be controlled and the BTU’S (size) of the system. There are many other factors, including how many people will normally be in the space, how many windows are in the space.

Placement of units can be in different places, some placed outside on the ground level, some are placed on the roof of the building and others are placed in the mechanical room.

Controlling the temperature in the building, some buildings have numerous offices or tenants and in those areas of the building there is usually a separate thermostat that allows them to control the air temperature for that space. Retail stores and some other commercial building may use a computer program to control the air temperature from the corporate offices.

Maintenance on commercial heating and air-cooling systems should be performed by a licensed and insured heating and cooling company and the air filters should be changed quarterly if not more frequently using a good quality filter of the proper size.

Commercial Services Provided by SERVPRO of Fredericksburg

5/10/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Fredericksburg provides many commercial services that are valuable to the community and surrounding areas. All of our technicians are professional, trained in the services they are providing and we are here for you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays.

When a commercial building needs our services in an emergency you can count on us. When you call our office, you will reach the answering service that will take your information and then dispatch the call to someone who works in our office. Our office personnel will gather all the information from you that is needed to dispatch a crew to your site. We understand that getting a business back up and running as quickly as possible is of the essence, after all time is money.

SERVPRO of Fredericksburg can provide you with emergency services for water damage, sewage back-ups, bio-hazard cleanups, trauma & crime scene cleanup, fire & smoke damages, vandalism and fingerprint dust removal.

For your commercial buildings occasional needs call on us to keep your carpets looking fresh and presentable for your clients and guest. We are also available for HVAC Duct Cleaning and odor removal, mold testing and mold removal.

Remember SERVPRO of Fredericksburg is only a phone call away.

Do you know what type of commercial lease you have on the building or space you are leasing?

4/20/2021 (Permalink)

Do you know what type of commercial lease you have on the building or space you are leasing?

There are several different types of commercial leases. The type of lease you signed dictates what you as the tenant are responsible for and what the landlord is responsible for.

Your commercial lease should be read carefully before signing. Some of the different types of commercial leases and what you should look for are listed below.

• Gross Lease – You pay the rent; all operating expenses are paid by the landlord of the building but they may recoup their cost with “Load Factors” in the rent.
• Modified Gross Lease – You pay the rent and a percentage of the buildings annual operating expenses. Modified Gross Lease contracts can vary greatly.
• Triple Net Lease – You pay the rent, the taxes, insurance and all maintenance fees.
• Double Net Lease – You pay the rent, the taxes and insurance.
• Net Lease – You pay the rent, some portion of the taxes, insurance and maintenance fees.
• Absolute Lease -You pay the rent, all building expense (Taxes, insurance, maintenance), you also pay roof and structural repairs. This lease type is usually for long term leases.
• Percentage Lease – You pay the rent and a percentage of your monthly sales. This lease type is for retail sales.
• Single Net Lease – You pay the rent and property taxes.

Preferred Vendor List

4/20/2021 (Permalink)

Preferred Vendor List for Businesses

Do you have one?

What is a preferred vendor list? A preferred vendor list is a list of businesses or people that you purchase services or products from. These are the vendors that you have a relationship, an agreement, the one that you want to call or order from when you are in need of what they provide.

Who is usually on your preferred vendor list? That depends on you, your preferred vendor list can be as small or as extensive as you want it to be.

It can include just your utility and maintenance vendors or right down to the restaurants you like to order lunch from, it is all up to. The most gathered information for a vendor and a list of some preferred vendor categories are listed below. You can create your vendor list in many ways, alphabetically is not usually the best way, the best way is usually to create categories.

Once you have created a list it should be shared and stored so that everyone that will be using it has access to it, it should also be accessible from off site in case of an emergency in the building and you cannot get to it.

Below are some examples of vendors you can put on your list and some examples of information to include.

Utilities (Category)

Electricity - Company Name, Phone number, Emergency Phone Number when it applies, Fax, Address, Email, Company Representative Information, Your Account # with the Company

Internet Services – Same as above

Gas Company – Same as above

Water provider – Same as above

Grounds Keeper – Same as above

Emergency Service Providers (Category)

Plumber – Same as above

Emergency Service Providers continued

Water Damage Restoration – SERVPRO of Fredericksburg 540-373-7000

Tow Truck Company – Same as above

Snow Removal Company – Same as above

Office Supplies and Office Equipment (Category)

Xerox – Same as above

Staples – Same as above

Postage Machine – Same as above

Please remember that the above information are examples and usually there are many other vendors on the list.

May is Building Safety Month

5/7/2020 (Permalink)

Building Safety

Building safety month is held to raise awareness about improving building safety in many different categories. Focusing on safer building creates safer work sites for the actual workers, safer communities, safer homes and safer work spaces.

The International Code Compliance (ICC) has a weekly focus for the month of May, week one is Disaster Preparedness, week two is Water Safety, week three is resiliency and week four is Training the Next Generation. All of these topics contain safety that everyone can benefit from.

SERVPRO of Fredericksburg can help our local businesses with Disaster Preparedness, we offer a NO cost mobile app. For local businesses called Emergency Ready Plan. Is your business emergency ready? We can help, call 540-373-7000 to set up an appointment to get started on your Emergency Ready Plan.

Commercial Building Safety Tips

5/1/2020 (Permalink)

Commercial Building Safety Tips

Do you own or lease a commercial building or space? If the answer is yes, I am sure you are already aware of some or most of these tips but here at SERVPRO of Fredericksburg we are about helping our community so hopefully this list will benefit some if not many.

We are always here to help you with your emergency services and non-emergency services, carpet cleaning, duct cleaning, upholstery cleaning, odor removal and vandalism, call us 540-373-7000.

 * Large Companies have Risk Managers

 * Small Companies have Safety Managers 

 * Smaller Companies - assign employees to help with daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly inspections of office space, building space, parking lot and perimeter 

 * Make a master Check List of what needs to be done

 * Break the Master List down to Inside and Outside

 * Determine when they need to be done

 * Assign employee these task

 * Make a vendor list of who repairs any problems that need attention

 * Make it clear to all employees all safety issues should be addressed immediately

What is a commercial Building?

4/28/2020 (Permalink)

Commercial Building

When people think of a commercial building, the most common thought that comes to mind is a business or businesses. When you think of a business you think of generating an income or a profit.

What are the consequences in a commercial building if something happens that disrupts a business or businesses from operating? The income or profits stop generating, so the problem needs to be resolved quickly to get the business operating at normal capacity as soon as possible.

Business owners have come to depend on the SERVPRO of Fredericksburg if they have the unfortunate circumstances of having a water damage or sewage damage in their commercial building. Our highly trained certified technicians are available 24 hours a day. 

Call us immediately and we will work with you to get your business open as quickly as we possible so you can take care of your customers, “Like it never even happened.”