Need independent opinions on flood damage

[bird_222]

Ok, the crawlspace under our house got flooded. One company said we needed to have the insulation replaced on the duct work under the house as well as have the plastic removed that covers the ground and get fungicide put down. They want to charge about $8400 to do this (about half just to do the ground/plastic). Another company said we needed to actually replace the ducts which would be about $7000 but he doesn't insulate them which doesn't make sense to me. We haven't smelled any musty odor or anything coming from the air vents. Anyway, my questions are:

1. I assume that HVAC contractors are the people I need to get estimates on for this work correct?
2. What exactly goes wrong with metal duct work when it gets wet that you would have to replace them? Do they rust or something?
3. Do these prices sound reasonable (I intend to get more quotes)?
4. What additional work if any would you need to have done with getting your crawlspace flooded?

Any additional thoughts/opinions are appreciated also.

Thanks

[Molly Brown]

If they have been under muddy water for a while they may have fungal spores growing in them. I=92m not sure how you could clean that out. If the insides are clean of fungus and if the ducts are metal are they insulated on the inside or outside? If they are only insulated on the outside is it fiberglass insulation? If they are not insulated on the inside then there is no reason to replace them unless they are rusted; you could just replace the outside insulation if they=92re not. Are your ducts square or round? If they are insulated on the inside you might as well replace them because they will have to be taken completely apart anyway. There is no reason why you have to have metal ducts installed. You could just have flexible ducts instead.

[Joe]

Do you have flood insurance?

Joe

[Dymphna]

Contact a professional disaster clean up place. They will probably be able to bill your insurance company. Keep track of your work on it also. You can bill those hours against the cost of it for deductible.

[ransley]

A cleaning company makes sense, he only called companies that replace things. Ducts have to be opened to see if there is damage