It’s no secret that your storefront or office building is often a customer’s first impression of your company. If your building has been damaged, vandalized, or tagged with graffiti, then it may give off the wrong impression. Dealing with vandalism and graffiti is stressful. It’s hard to know what to do or who to call. The first thing you should do after a report has been filed is call in a professional restoration company. This is the quickest and easiest way to get your building back to looking its best.
Below, we cover some of the most common vandalism restoration services available. We’ve also got some tips below on how to prevent further vandalism from happening.
Vandalism Clean-Up and Restoration
The first step in vandalism clean-up is usually to board up the area. Broken windows and doors leave your building open to the elements. A board-up is exactly what it sounds like — boarding up the area. This prevents further damage and allows you the necessary time to discuss repairs with your insurer. When it comes to cleaning up, you can either tackle the job yourself or choose to call in the professionals. In severe cases when vandalism and damage present a hazard, it’s best to call in a restoration company.
When it comes to repairs and reconstruction, call the experts. IIRC-certified technicians can identify the safest and most effective reconstruction strategy for your building. Professional crews can also work faster than a one-person team. That means your property quickly gets back to looking its best! It’s best to tackle vandalism damage quickly, as it can cause a poor first impression for your customers and lower your employees’ morale.
Graffiti Removal
If your building has been “tagged” with graffiti, it needs to be cleaned as quickly as possible. Other graffiti taggers will often follow suit and spray paint the same area with their own tags. Cleaning up quickly helps prevent further graffiti from happening. Your best bet is always to call the professionals. Restoration teams have the necessary equipment to clean a variety of surfaces without causing damage. This can be a DIY job, but it depends greatly on a number of factors. We’ve listed some of the common considerations for graffiti removal below.
- Identify the Damaged Material: First, you need to know what material you’ll be cleaning. This will help you choose the right kind of cleaner for the job. Some commonly “tagged” surfaces are metal, brick, stone, plaster, concrete, and glass . A few of these surfaces have special considerations when choosing a chemical cleaner. Read product labels closely to make sure it’s surface safe for what you need.
- Try to Determine the Kind of Paint Used: Spray paint is the most common graffiti culprit. Some other common mediums include paint markers, permanent markers, and ink markers. Different substances will react better to some cleaners than others.
- Graffiti Removal Alternatives: If you can’t determine the paint used or what kind of material your building is, there are still a few options available. Painting over graffiti is possible, but can be highly inconvenient. You’ll need to color match the paint. You may also need several coats to fully cover the graffiti. Elite Restoration doesn’t recommend using a power washer without proper experience. Pressure washing some building materials can lead to further damage. We recommend always talking to professionals before trying to tackle restoration jobs yourself.
Preventing Vandalism and Graffiti
There’s no way to 100% guarantee that criminals won’t target your home or business. However, there are some steps you can take to make your building a less attractive target. Here are a few suggestions to improve security around your home or business.
- Invest in lighting outside of your building.
- If you already have outside lighting, add motion sensors.
- Protect outside walls with shrubs, trees, and other natural landscaping deterrents.
- Install obstacles like fencing and gates.
- If you can, install cameras on the premises. These can deter vandals and help catch them, too.
Elite Restoration is Here to Help
Elite Restoration’s teams are IIRC-certified. We’re here to provide restoration and rebuilding services for everything from fire to water damage, and everything in between. Contact us today and see how we can help get your building (and your life) back to normal after an accident.