Water damage restoration in Buffalo

The first hour

1. Stop the water. The main shutoff in most Buffalo houses is in the basement where the service line comes through the front wall, near the meter. For a single fixture, close the valve under it.
2. Kill power to wet areas if you can reach the panel from a dry spot. If you can't, don't wade in.
3. Photograph everything before you move it: wide shots, the water line on walls, the source.
4. Move what you can off wet floors and pull back area rugs.
5. Call your insurer the same day, and write down the claim number.

What drying actually is

A restoration crew pulls standing water, then sets fans and dehumidifiers and checks moisture readings every day until the materials reach normal levels. Drywall that has wicked water up from the floor usually gets cut a foot or two above the wet line so the cavity can dry. Carpet pad usually goes; carpet sometimes survives clean water. Fixr and Bob Vila both put typical drying at about three days.

The type of water matters. Clean water from a supply line is the cheapest to deal with, at about $3.75 to $4.25 per square foot by Fixr's figures. Gray water from a washer or dishwasher runs $4.10 to $6.50, and sewage $7 to $7.50, because more has to be thrown out.

The Buffalo versions

• Frozen pipes. Pipes on outside walls, in crawlspaces and in unheated porches split in a cold snap and leak when they thaw.
• Ice dams. Meltwater backs up under shingles at the eaves and comes through ceilings and window heads. After a big snow.
• Floor drain backups. Heavy rain on frozen or saturated ground overloads drains. Most homeowners policies exclude backup unless you added a water backup endorsement.
• Fast thaws. Meltwater through basement walls. Groundwater seepage is usually excluded from coverage too.

Water damage and licensing

New York doesn't license water damage drying, but mold over 10 square feet is a different story. If mold is already growing by the time anyone arrives, that part of the job falls under the state's assessor and remediator license rules. Ask any company you call which work it does and whether it holds a mold remediation license.