In recent months, the team here at EnduraFlood has watched with heavy hearts as homeowners in the Southern part of the United States have struggled with the devastating aftermath of Helene and Milton. We've also been encouraged to hear from some of our past clients in the storm paths who were able to dramatically mitigate damage with help from our waterproof drywall.
After the installation of our easy-to-open drywall systems designed specifically for homes in coastal regions and low-lying, flood-prone areas, homes withstand water exposure to eliminate the need to tear down or repair sheetrock. This allows homeowners to bounce back much faster when devastating weather strikes. It can mean the difference between throwing life into a complete tailspin indefinitely and getting back to normal in a matter of days or weeks.
While EnduraFlood has the utmost confidence in our products, we are still always amazed to hear just how quickly our customers are able to return to normal when the unthinkable happens. Many homeowners with EnduraFlood drywall report that they spend just a day per room to get fully moved back in.
Recently, a homeowner from Fort Myers Florida named Albert contacted us to let us know that he was able to fully restore his home in just three weeks after it was overtaken by 18 inches of water during Helene and Milton. We wanted to share a little bit about Albert's experience as both a Florida resident and EnduraFlood customer to help anyone who is now left wondering how they can protect their home and feel comfortable with the decision to continue living in an area that is vulnerable to extreme weather.
Living the Dream
Like many transplant Floridians, Albert was drawn to Florida by the weather and lifestyle. He purchased property in the state to fulfill a retirement dream of enjoying better weather and a lower cost of living compared to his home state of Virginia. Albert was especially motivated to head South out of a desire to stop paying high heating bills in the winter.
"One thing is that the weather is much nicer, utility bills are much lower than in Virginia because in Virginia you always have to have the heater on or the air conditioner on, and the utility bills tend to be a lot higher," Albert shared with EnduraFlood when explaining how his quality of life has improved since relocating to the Sunshine State.
A Twist of Fate
Everything was going according to plan. Albert purchased a property near the water in a neighborhood full of homes from the 1960s and 1970s that had been untouched by flooding and water damage. The longevity of the neighborhood gave Albert confidence that he had found the best of both worlds because he was near the water while also being protected from flooding. He adored the fun of being on a canal right by the river with a dock to call his own!
He took pride in the fact that his dock could bring his boat to the Caloosahatchee River in just three minutes. He also enjoyed direct access to the Gulf. However, something changed several years ago that caused Albert and his neighbors to wonder if moving here had been a big mistake. His neighborhood has severely flooded three times in the span of just two years.
Hurricane Ian marked the beginning of Albert's quest to protect his home. After evacuating and weathering the storm safely, Albert returned home to discover that his home wasn't quite as lucky. The 3.5 feet of water that had rushed into his home from the nearby river had destroyed furniture, carpeting, drywall, appliances, and countless possessions. The construction process took an emotional and financial toll on Albert. He describes the process as being traumatic.
"I mean having to clear the whole house, and destroy the kitchen cabinets, take out your bathtub, I mean everything, because everything behind those items was drywall," Albert recalls. The process took much longer than expected. Ultimately, Albert was forced to demolish a larger portion of his home to mitigate the water damage.
Rethinking the Building Process: Finding a Better Way to Protect Florida Drywall Against Flooding
"I hired a construction, demolition crew, and they charged an arm and a leg, but they took everything out, you know, everything under 4 feet," recalls Albert. "All the drywall was taken out, most of the furniture was thrown away, and the floors had to be thrown out because it was laminated flooring." When all was said and done, Albert had lost two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to rehabbing his home. The ordeal sparked Albert's curiosity. He wanted to know if there was a way to avoid such a major overhaul if his home should ever be flooded again.
"Well, if you didn’t have a porous material like drywall, then you wouldn’t have the extent of damage and you don’t have to take everything out," Albert shared while explaining the initial thought process that led him to EnduraFlood. After doing research, he came upon information about EnduraFlood. He quickly pivoted his rebuilding strategy to use EnduraFlood instead of simply reinstalling the same type of drywall that he had just watched be destroyed.
Two Hurricanes Later
Two major hurricanes have hit since Albert reconstructed his home with EnduraFlood. The difference between post-Ian recovery and more recent storms has been like night and day. Albert shares that Helene and Milton dumped 1.5 feet of water in his house within a period of two weeks. However, he didn't end up embarking on a recovery period lasting several years and costing six figures like he did with Ian. This time, he was back to normal in just three weeks.
"Whereas now the cost is much, much less because I didn’t have this drywall that, you know, it was a domino effect with the drywall because drywall needs to be taken down so everything needs to be taken down," Albert shares with a sense of relief. What makes the process with EnduraFlood so different?
Albert shares that the process after Ian was intensive because everything needed to be completely torn down and reinstalled. With EnduraFlood, the installation does require you to carefully measure all of the boards. While the initial installation process takes a little time, repairs when the next storm hits are dramatically streamlined because you can simply reuse all of the cut-to-size boards and materials after removing them to check for mold or hidden water behind the boards or in the wall area. EnduraFlood's easy-to-remove design makes it easy to check, clean, and reinstall. There's no need to rebuild your drywall!
What About the Looks?
One question the EnduraFlood team was eager to ask Albert was if he was happy with the look of his EnduraFlood boards over regular drywall. Albert feels that EnduraFlood boards look really nice. He even says that they give his home an aesthetic advantage over drywall.
"I really like the look of the Enduraboard and it makes it look different, it’s not, you know, kind of a - with drywall you just have, you know, one look, and it’s more monotonous, and I actually like this look better than just having drywall," he shares. Albert also points out that he likes the fact that you can choose from several aesthetic options and paint the boards any color you like. However, he was so happy with the basic look that he opted not to paint his.
The EnduraFlood Promise is Peace of Mind
"It definitely gives me peace of mind because, you know, if - I know now that if another hurricane hits and I get a flood, that’s a survivable event, you know, that I’m not gonna have to go in a hole financially, and that it just takes a reasonable amount of work to restore to the previous condition, you know, because right after both Milton and Hilene, I did have to throw out some furniture, a couch and some other things, and I had to get all the carpets professionally cleaned, but within 3 weeks, you know, I was able to restore the place back to normal pretty much," Albert shares when finalizing his thoughts on how EnduraFlood has given him the confidence to embrace his life in Florida without fears of the future.
As a believer in EnduraFlood, Albert now highly recommends EnduraFlood to his friends and neighbors. He confides that he wishes everyone he knows would install a system like this to avoid the traumatic experience of watching their homes be destroyed by water damage.
His experience of watching his home undergo massive reconstruction following Ian has caused Albert to believe that people need to "start thinking differently" when it comes to what they use to build their homes. Are you a homeowner who is concerned about what future unpredictable storms could mean for your home? We developed EnduraFlood waterproof drywall to help homeowners in all parts of the country save their homes. What if you could avoid years of rebuilding and hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovations? Contact EnduraFlood today to learn how our systems get homeowners back to normal at a pace of one day per room.