Hidden Structural Damage in Hoarded Homes: What Cleanup Experts Often Discover

According to the American Psychiatric Association, 6.1% of Americans are believed to struggle with compulsive hoarding. In New Jersey, this means tens of thousands of households suffer quietly in the severe clutter of their own homes, mostly behind closed doors. While the visible conditions of hoarded homes may be alarming, what lies beneath these conditions can be even more shocking; exposure reveals hidden structural damage that poses a risk to the safety of these homes.

Hoarding in New Jersey is much more than a problem with clutter; it can be a deadly premises for decay, pests, mold, and dangerous living conditions. When remediation experts enter a hoarded home, it is not uncommon for them to discover structural deficiencies a homeowner or family member would not have been aware of.

This blog will outline the most common, shocking types of structural damage seen in hoarded properties and why it is necessary to trust a professional like Doctor Fix-It to restore these homes safely and efficiently.

1. Floor Rot and Damaged Subflooring

One of the most frequently identified structural damages in hoarded homes is floor damage, specifically rotting and collapsed subflooring. When countless items and trash are piled high and left untouched for long lengths of time, moisture can easily become trapped underneath. To make things worse, a hoarding situation may involve spilled food or drinks, pet urine, or plumbing leaks that create a maelstrom in every unidentifiable hoarding space. 

By the time the remediation company in New Jersey arrives, for obvious reasons, the subfloor is damaged and visibly sagging. If you let this accumulate, it can sometimes cost you an expensive repair bill or even a total floor replacement altogether.

2. Cracked Walls & Foundations

Hoarded environments can establish conditions that allow for prolonged water exposure and additional weight, two things that can create stress to a house’s structural integrity, particularly in the walls and foundations. Many times, the piles of belongings pushed against the walls disguise cracked walls, bubbling paint, mildew, and even bowing in the structures, which would indicate some sort of foundation issue that is much larger.

Hoarding company in New Jersey regularly witnesses years of neglect that have not only shifted foundation walls but have also separated walls altogether and severely ruined drywall that cannot be repaired cosmetically and thus must be removed. 

3. Mold Growth Behind Clutter

A hoarder’s house is a house with virtually nowhere for airflow. When every room is stuffed to the ceiling with articles and water infiltrates those areas, moisture has nowhere to escape. If any water can infiltrate the home at all, whether from a leaking roof, burst pipe, or simply condensation growth caused by the lack of airflow, the conditions behind piles of things create dark and humid areas where mold will flourish.

Mold degradation, particularly when you are beyond the point of detection and have gone years without proper remediation, can not only deteriorate a floor or wall, but it can also pose a severe threat to anyone who enters that space.

4. Ceiling Collapse Exposure

The weight of the bulky articles that occupy floors in hoarded homes, however, does not always reside in the plane of the floor. The most extreme collections extend into the attic above, or into what would be a second or third-story room. Ceilings can begin to bow or crack from the weight above, especially in older homes that were not made for this kind of pressure.

Many cleanup teams report ceilings that can be described as “ready to collapse” and even some that had already collapsed with drywall and insulation on the floor. Water damage from hidden roof leaks only complicates matters, making wood beams soft and degrading ceiling joists.

5. Hidden Pest and Animal Damage

Rodents, insects, and even larger animals can easily take refuge in hoarded homes, especially with the clutter that shields them from the elements, provides materials to build nests, and offers plenty to eat. Their chewing on the drywall, insulation, ductwork, and other structures builds up over time and later becomes critical.

Hoarding remediation companies in New Jersey see a large amount of structural damage caused by rodent infestation and other pest damage, and it is shocking. From piles of flooring stained in urine to chewed electrical wiring, nests in HVAC systems, and more, pest damage often requires total demolition and rebuilding in parts of the home.

6. Fire Damage and Electrical Trauma

Hoarded homes are a fire hazard due to the volumes of flammable materials. Lots of newspapers, fabric, boxes of items, and trash piled on top of one another, sitting next to exposed wiring or heating sources, are dangerous, to say the least. This poor-level wiring sometimes results in the ignition of small areas of the home, not always reported, as it smolders behind the walls or in crawl spaces, often until its full fury of flames catches the living room on fire.

There have even been instances when a fire damage restoration company in New Jersey could not gain access to or from blocked halls or faced jammed rooms to reach the origin of the fire, leading to extensive internal fire damage.

7. Roof and Attic Damage

The attic is the hiding place of belongings that have been hoarded over the decades. Many attics provide accessible storage for the hoarders’ use of their furniture, bins, old appliances, or complete boxes of old newspapers. And when there are hoarded attics, they have typically been neglected as well, meaning leak detection or pest inspections are not going to happen.

Some water intrusion from an innocuous roof leak can make the situation much worse if it persists long enough, weakening the plywood subfloor, degrading the insulation, or, worst-case scenario, failing the roof altogether. All of these dangers and structural issues generally take years to discover until professionals are finally called in to help remove the contents of the hoarded attic.

Conclusion: Hoarded Homes Hide More Than Clutter

The sheer volume of clutter located in every hoarded home is staggering alone, with the complexities of hazards often hidden within it. Significant structural damage, from rotting flooring to moldy walls and collapsed ceilings, can lead to uninhabitable and unsafe homes. Trying to confront or manage these problems without the help of professionals is not only dangerous but can be completely pointless.

Cleanup professionals like Doctor Fix-It in New Jersey do far more than organize or clear out. Their trained technicians understand the architecture of homes and safely expose, assess, and restore damage that might otherwise be missed by the untrained eye. 

Doctor Fix-It has long been New Jersey’s name when it comes to compassionate hoarding cleanup and structural restoration. With years of experience working with some of the most extreme hoarding cases imaginable, we know the emotional sensitivity, the safety issues, and the restoration challenges that come with hoarding cleanup.

Our fully licensed and insured team provides complete hoarding cleanup services in New Jersey that involve damage assessment, mold removal, odor mitigation, pest remediation, and property restoration. From your clutter being removed discreetly to extensive renovations, anything to restore your home to being safe and livable is possible.

Contact us for compassionate care, safe solutions, and complete recovery.

from Doctor Fix-It https://doctorfixit.net/hidden-structural-damage-in-hoarded-homes-what-cleanup-experts-often-discover/
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