Flooded shop

[Gregg Feldstone]

My shop has possibly filled up with 5 feet of water for an unknown period of time after Harvey hit . Very few of my Machine motors stayed out of the water I imagine . Is it worthwhile to try and change out motors and electronics on major shop machines ?
I'm interested in feedback from anyone who has been through this before and had to try and salvage their shop . Is there any point in trying to work on the handheld machine tools?
Also what might I expect insurance to pay as far as the value of used machine tools and stationary machines?

[Clint Baxter]

My shop has possibly filled up with 5 feet of water for an unknown period of time after Harvey hit . Very few of my Machine motors stayed out of the water I imagine . Is it worthwhile to try and change out motors and electronics on major shop machines ?
I'm interested in feedback from anyone who has been through this before and had to try and salvage their shop . Is there any point in trying to work on the handheld machine tools?
Also what might I expect insurance to pay as far as the value of used machine tools and stationary machines?

Insurance may not cover any part unless you specifically have a policy that includes some type of "flooding" or "sewer backup".

If insurance does cover you, machinery and tools will most likely be depreciated for reimbursement value. "Stock" was the only thing that I received replacement value for, when I was flooded.

You might be ok to replace motors and electronics to make stationary power tools serviceable, but I doubt that the handheld power tools can be economically repaired. You get a lot of dirt when you're dealing with floodwaters.

Best of luck to you. Been there, but was lucky enough to get the majority of my tools out before the shop flooded to over 7' deep.

Clint

[Matt Meiser]

Sorry to hear that. Years ago someone wrote a pretty extensive series of posts on recovering from a flooded basement and what he did to save tools and machinery. I can't recall the person's name or even for sure where it was posted--possibly his own web site. I do recall it being an extensive process. Maybe someone will remember his name and possibly be able to find a copy of that.

[Lee Schierer]

Dominic Greco went through a flood in his shop several years ago, you might try sending him a PM to see what procedures he used to rescue equipment.

[Matt Meiser]

That's the name I was trying to think of.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Here's Dominic's article: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/articles/5/

[Jamie Buxton]

If your shop is in Port Aransas, the flooding is salt water, isn't it? That's even harder on electrical stuff than fresh water.

[Wayne Lomman]

If it's fresh water, motors can be baked to get rid of the moisture, bearings replaced and you are good to go. This also works for some types of electronics. Have been through this a few times where I used to live. If it's salt water, not so much... If insurance pays, get new, if they don't, wash with fresh water as soon as you are able and start rebuilding. Does your government help out if the insurers don't? Find out if they do and start applying. Final point, your tax records are definitely on a bottom shelf in the basement, right? That's not a joke. Cheers

[Gregg Feldstone]

Thanks to all for your replies . We finally got a picture of the house and it may not be as bad as I thought . I will hopefully find out tomorrow .

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Good to hear at least there is a chance the house is ok.

I was asked to do an insurance job to replace all the motors in a shop that had been flooded. I was amazed at how well the equipment fared after being submerged. The motors were all toast, but the mechanics were fine, and had little rust. I declined the job due to the absolute disastrous wiring in the whole shop. There were frayed extension cords run as permanent applications, machines hot-wired to the breaker box, and machines had been jury-rigged in the past. No way was I going to replace motors and then be the scapegoat when something fried due to the way the shop was wired. I do, however, feel the machines themselves were salvageable.

Someone will ask, so here is the answer- We have codes here, but they are not enforced.

[Gregg Feldstone]

well it turns out the house got 45" of water and the garage shop got 65". Only two Festool sanders and my Fine Multimaster stayed dry in their boxes somehow. They must have just floated. I think maybe because they are lightweight? All the machinery in the garage was probably under the salty,mucky,silty garbage from the laguna madre and corpus Christi bay. Maybe some benchtop tools with high motors could be ok. Things are rusting fast. No elec. or water out here....I have been trying to spray everything I can with whatever solvents and rust preventers I can still dig out of the mess. My plan is to get a large metal basin and fill it with the best possible rust prevention fluid I can find and let all the hand tools just soak. Please advise what would be the best fluid to use????

As for the machines I'm at a loss. I don't know if its too risky to try and plug anything into a generator or the extension I will be running over from the neighbor who has power.
Especially 220v machines. Also, I don't want to make things worse. I plan to treat all the metal I can get to on the machines. I used to use topsaver and it worked great with elbow grease for normal situations....but this is different. My sawstop blade wheels still work ok so I need to get a grease/rust preventer on everything ASAP.

If anyone has been through a coastal flood like this please let me know what might work.
Does anyone in the Texas coastal bend area know of someone who can look at machines and possible install new motors?
Thanks!!

[Jim Becker]

Gregg, honestly, it's going to be very difficult to salvage the electrical components on your machinery. You may be able to disassemble, clean, strip and refinish the steel and cast iron, but you're going to want to replace motors, wiring, etc. for sure. That's not as difficult a job as it may seem at first for most stationary machines. The key here is "salty"...that's nearly impossible to clean away and it will continue to corrode things. Hand-held power tools that were in the water are probably toast.

If you have flood insurance, perhaps you can get some cost relief, but if not, it's a sadder situation, unfortunately.

[Matt Day]

I wouldn't rush turning them on. Once things are straightened out a bit more then maybe start disassembling a motor to see what's going on inside.

[Rich Riddle]

It's been years since my electronics career in the USMC, but Jim Becker's likely correct. Your equipment was exposed to much more than simple water and the time/aggravation factor will come into play if you keep trying to fix each item a bit at a time. How many tools are you discussing?

[Gregg Feldstone]

A full woodworking shop under 5 feet of water.