Structural Fire Damage Cleaning in Fulton, MS
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 puts you in touch with independent, licensed and insured Fulton contractors who clean the bare structure down to sound wood.
- Soda blasting, dry ice blasting and wire brushing
- Every stud and joist probed for char depth
- Cleaned wood encapsulated against lingering odor
What Makes Framing Work Different
Close up the walls over dirty framing and the smoke odor bleeds right back through the new finish. Cleaning the structure is the step that decides whether the rebuild smells like a new house or a campfire.
Licensed & Insured Independent Pros
Each contractor on our referral list is an independent, licensed and insured local company. Verify both, and ask whether the crew follows the IICRC S700 standard for fire and smoke work.
Upfront Written Estimates
Blasting is priced by surface area, media and access, and attics and crawlspaces cost more to reach. Get a written, itemized estimate in hand before any blasting begins.
Rapid Local Dispatch
Day or night, a dispatcher picks up and starts looking for a structural cleaning crew right away. Timing depends on which crews near Fulton are free, and it is often the same day.
Blasting Rigs and Probing Tools
This trade runs on gear most remodelers do not own: soda blast pots, dry ice blasters, tow-behind compressors, HEPA vacuums, air scrubbers and an awl for probing char.
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
This is not contents cleaning and it is not debris haul-out. This page is about the framing, masonry and steel that actually carry the load.
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 suits cramped attics and areas around wiring, but it runs louder and pricier than soda.
- 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. It is slow on big areas but precise where blasting would be overkill.
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 get cleaned and inspected for any heat warping, with doubts sent to the engineer.
Encapsulation and Attic Insulation Removal
Even well-blasted wood can hold faint odor in its pores, so crews roll or spray a pigmented shellac-based or specialty encapsulating sealer over cleaned framing. 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. Expect a vapor barrier to be pulled and replaced if smoke or hose water soaked it.
Have the contractor explain the method they plan for each part of the house. It is common to see soda in open walls, dry ice in the attic and hand sanding near the electrical panel on the same job.
Plan for containment, because blasting throws soot and media into every corner it can reach. 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?
Ring the dispatch line and we start finding a structural cleaning crew near Fulton. It costs nothing to call.
Call +1-833-336-1630How a Structural Cleaning Job Unfolds
- 1
Phone the Dispatcher
Describe what is exposed: open stud walls, an attic, a crawlspace, block or steel. Let us know if an adjuster, engineer or roofer has already visited.
- 2
Mobile Crew on Site
The contractor arrives with a compressor, blasting equipment and containment materials. First they confirm the roof deck and floors will hold weight and that the exposed circuits are dead.
- 3
Probe, Mark and Quote
They test each stud, joist and rafter with an awl, tag it, and flag anything doubtful for an engineer. You get a written, line-item quote listing square footage, method, sealer and insulation removal before any work starts.
- 4
Blasting, Sealing and Walkthrough
After blasting and HEPA cleanup, the framing gets its sealer coat, and you walk the bare structure with the crew lead. Smell the space on a warm day and get photos of each tagged member before anyone hangs drywall.
What Callers Said About Their Structural Crew
The attic fire left every rafter black and the insulation soaked. The crew pulled the insulation, dry ice blasted the rafters and rolled sealer on everything. Two rafters were cut deep enough that they called in an engineer, and those got sistered.
My contractor brother-in-law said all the black studs had to go. The crew lead pushed an awl into each one and showed me the wood was solid under a thin crust. They soda blasted and sealed them, and only three were swapped.
Our basement fire blackened the block walls and the steel beam over the family room. They scrubbed and blasted the block, cleaned the beam and had the engineer confirm it had not sagged. 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. Push an awl into the char, and if it hits solid wood after a shallow layer, the stud is usually a cleaning job. 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 pellets vanish on impact, so cleanup is easier and it works well around wiring, but it is louder and usually costs more. It is common to see both on one job.
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. Sealing dirty wood does not work, so the cleaning has to come first.
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?
Usually yes, though masonry takes more effort than drywall because soot sinks into the pores. Expect alkaline detergents and scrub brushes for light staining and media blasting for thick deposits. Spalling or cracked masonry is a structural question for a mason or engineer.
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 Fulton and Beyond
Calls come in from all over Fulton 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.
