Water, Sewer, & Winter
Damage Restoration

Water damage to your home may or may not be covered by your insurance, depending on your specific policy.

Generally, home insurance covers “sudden internal” water damage. This accounts for things like a leaking roof, toilet or sink overflow, and vandalism.

If water damage is the result of a flood or any sort of neglect on your part, however, your homeowners insurance policy usually won’t cover the repair costs.

It’s best to get in touch with your insurance provider directly to confirm what is and isn’t protected by your current policy. You can typically add extra insurance coverage for floods in $5,000 increments for about $50 a year.

Water damage costs vary greatly depending on the severity of the damage to your property. Generally, the sooner you find and report a problem to a professional, the less it will cost to repair your home or business.

Every individual case of water damage is unique, and it’s difficult to predict every associated cost until the repair is underway. If you have specific questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

We wish we could give you a straight answer, but the truth is that the amount of time it takes to repair water damage to your home or business depends on the circumstances each individual scenario. Some cases of water damage can be easily repaired in less than a day, while other severe instances will require up to a few weeks to completely restore.

The biggest factors are the size of the affected area and the amount of time the damage has been present. For example, if you catch a small leak right away, we should be able to repair within the same day. If, however, your basement floods while you’re gone on vacation and you don’t realize it until the water has completely soaked through your drywall, the process will take longer.

We’ll work with you at the start of your restoration process to come up with an anticipated timeline so that you can plan accordingly.

Water damage can happen extremely quickly. Your home or business will experience initial effects right away, like visible damage to personal property and behind-the-scenes wear on materials like drywall and carpet.

If left untreated, water damage can cause further problems down the line. Most commonly seen is mold accumulation, but structural damage to the integrity of your building can also occur.

It’s vital that you get in touch with a professional to take care of any water damage to your home or business as soon as you notice it. We’re proud to have the best response time in the industry, and we’re available 24/7 for your restoration needs!

Immediate effects of water damage can be noticed as soon as a leak or flood occurs, and if left untreated, the damage will quickly get worse over time.

Mold is a common problem when water damage is not noticed and taken care of promptly. In addition, leaving water damage in the walls or ceiling of your home and business has the potential to cause severe structural damage that can be difficult to repair.

For this reason, it’s important to reach out to a professional to restore your building immediately after you notice any signs of water damage. We’re available 24/7!

While water damage can cause immediate damage to your home or business, it’s not always easy to notice the subtle signs that it’s happening. Some events like major floods are impossible to miss, but if you’re dealing with a smaller water damage problem here are some things to look out for:

• A damp smell, especially if accompanied by early signs of mold that might look like spots of dust or dirt.
• Cold rooms that have a difficult time retaining heat. This not only increases your energy costs — it’s also an indicator that the inside of your walls might be damp.
• Discoloration on ceilings or walls, especially if it appears in streaks.
• A sound of dripping or running water in a place you usually don’t hear it, which can indicate that water damage is happening behind-the-scenes.

Sometimes water damage is inevitable, like when a massive storm strikes with little warning. Often, though, there are steps you can take to prevent your home or business from being damaged in the first place.

• Regularly check for cracks and leaks. It doesn’t take a large opening in your roof, ceiling, or walls for water to get through and cause damage. If you notice anything that looks unusual, get it checked out immediately.
• Clean your gutters at least twice a year. If water can properly drain from your roof, the chances of it building up and leaking into your home are quite small.
• Keep your sump pump in working condition. Basement sump pumps do wonders for preventing floods from damaging your lowest level by keeping water levels low. Perform annual sump pump maintenance checks to make sure yours is always up to the task. It’s also a good idea to have a backup sump pump in case something goes wrong with the first one — we recommend a battery-operated unit in case the power goes out.
• Make sure your yard allows water to drain away from your home. Certain types of landscaping can help reduce the risk of a flood damaging your home by helping water drain away and out of your yard.

Frozen pipes pose a significant water damage risk to homes and businesses. When water freezes, it expands, creating pressure that causes your plastic or metal pipes to burst open. You might not notice at first because the ice is held in place, but when the temperatures warm up again, all that frozen water will melt and leak into your space. Your home or business might experience severe damage before you even realize there is a problem.

Not every pipe in your home or business has an equal risk of freezing when temperatures drop in the winter. The ones you should pay close attention to are those that run against exterior walls with little to no insulation; those in uninsulated indoor spaces like attics, garages, and basements; and those that are directly exposed to the cold, like swimming pool or water sprinkler supply lines.

To prevent frozen pipes from wreaking havoc in your home or business, you should follow a few steps:

• Keep exterior doors to uninsulated parts of your home firmly closed, set your thermostat at the same temperature during the day and night, and seal up any cracks or holes you notice right away to keep the indoor temperature steady.
• Run a small amount of water through pipes you think might be at risk.
• Open cabinet doors regularly so that warm air from the other rooms in your home can circulate around bathroom and kitchen sink plumbing.
• Consider insulating any areas that currently aren’t.

If you believe you have a frozen pipe, the best thing to do is call a professional restoration company right away. They will be able to tackle the issue quickly without risking further damage, especially if the pipe is difficult to access or has already burst.

If a pipe is frozen but hasn’t yet burst, you might be able to thaw it yourself by keeping the faucet running and applying heat with an electric heating pad or hair dryer. It’s important to be extremely careful with these electric devices near water, so we generally don’t recommend doing this on your own.