What to do in the first hour.
Most of what determines the size of a water loss happens before a contractor is on site. If it is safe to do these things, do them. If it is not, leave it and wait for us.
- Shut off the water at the source. The main is usually at the front of the house near the hose bib, or in a box near the street. If you have never found yours, find it now while it is dry.
- Kill power to the affected rooms at the breaker, if you can reach the panel without walking through standing water.
- Photograph everything before you move it. Wide shots of each room, then close-ups of damaged contents. Your adjuster will want these, and they cannot be recreated later.
- Lift what you can. Rugs off wet flooring, furniture legs onto blocks or foil, anything paper or fabric off the floor entirely.
- Call your insurer and open the claim. You do not need an estimate first. Opening it early starts the clock in your favor.
And what not to do
- Do not use a household vacuum on standing water. It is not rated for it and it is a shock risk.
- Do not enter a room where water has reached outlets or the panel until power is off.
- Do not throw damaged items away yet. They are evidence for the claim until they have been photographed and listed.
- Do not assume a dry-looking floor is dry. Water travels under flooring, up drywall, and into wall cavities. Surface dry means nothing without a meter.
What happens when we get there.
The same five steps every time, whether it is a supply line or a slab leak.
Stop and assess
We find the source, stop what is still running, and map how far the water has actually traveled with a moisture meter.
Document
Photographs, moisture readings room by room, and a written scope before anything is torn out or thrown away.
Extract and dry
Standing water out, then our own air movers and dehumidifiers in. Readings taken daily until the structure is dry.
Work with your adjuster
We provide the documentation and the line-item detail your carrier expects, and coordinate directly so you are not in the middle.
Rebuild it
Drywall, insulation, flooring, cabinetry, trim, paint. The same company that dried it out puts it back.
How the claim side actually works.
A water claim is won or lost on documentation. Adjusters approve what they can see and verify, which is why we photograph and meter everything before a single piece of baseboard comes off.
- We document from the first visit. Photographs, daily moisture logs, and a written scope, which is the evidence your adjuster needs to approve the work.
- We estimate in your carrier's format. Line-item detail in the form adjusters expect means fewer rounds of questions and a faster approval.
- We coordinate with your adjuster directly. You should not have to translate between a contractor and an insurance company. The claim stays yours; our job is making sure the scope and the record are accurate and complete.
- You are allowed to choose us. Your insurer may recommend a contractor from their preferred vendor network. In Arizona, that decision is still yours.
Water damage questions.
What homeowners ask in the first phone call.
Neither do we.
Tell us what
happened.
If this is an emergency, call us right now and someone will answer. For anything else, the form is fine.
Request received.
Steven will get back to you. If this is an emergency, call us now and someone will answer.
One contractor, the whole loss.
Soot, smoke odor, and the water the fire department left behind. Structure, contents, and full reconstruction.
Monsoon wind and driven rain. Water extraction, then interior repair to drywall, insulation, ceilings, and flooring.
The rebuild after the loss, which most restoration companies hand off. Drywall, flooring, cabinetry, trim, paint.