Flood damage restoration: why flood water is not a bigger burst pipe

How flood damage restoration works

1. Muck out, and photograph before you do. Silt, debris and saturated contents come out first, because nothing can be assessed or dried underneath them. Photograph every room and the exterior water line before anything moves, then keep a written inventory as items leave. On a flood claim the evidence you create in the first day is most of the claim.
2. Remove what absorbed, keep what can be cleaned. Flood water is treated as grossly contaminated, so porous material that was wetted comes out rather than being dried: carpet and pad, insulation, particle board, drywall to above the water line, and most upholstered contents. Solid wood, concrete, masonry and tile are cleaned, disinfected and dried in place.
3. Drying a building that is full of water it absorbed. Masonry and concrete hold water long after the air feels dry, so flood drying runs longer than a clean water loss and is measured on the materials rather than on the room. Rushing this is how flood repaired walls bloom mold in the first warm month. The readings, not the calendar, end the job.
4. Flood repair and building back better. Reinstatement is the chance to raise services, use materials that tolerate a wetting, and move what matters above the water line. Some of this may be fundable within the claim and some will not, but the cost of doing it at rebuild time is a fraction of doing it later.

NFIP claims, proof of loss and the water damage repair estimate behind it

Flood is excluded from standard homeowners policies and is covered by an NFIP or private flood policy instead, which is the single most expensive surprise in this trade. An NFIP claim runs on its own documents and deadlines, and the proof of loss is a sworn statement of the amount claimed, so it needs the inventory, the photographs and the contractor estimates behind it rather than a guess made under pressure.

Common questions

Does homeowners insurance cover flood damage restoration?

No. Surface water entering the building is flood, and FEMA is explicit that standard homeowners policies exclude it. Cover comes from an NFIP policy or a private flood policy, which usually has to have been in place before the event.

Why is home flood damage repair slower than other water damage?

Because more of the building has to come out and more of what is left is masonry, which releases water slowly. Add a claim that runs on its own documents, and a contractor market that is busy after a regional event, and the timeline is set by three things at once.

What is a proof of loss and when is it due?

It is a sworn statement of what you are claiming, supported by your inventory, photographs and estimates. It has a deadline under the policy, and extensions are sometimes granted after major events. Start assembling it on day one rather than at the deadline.

What can be kept after flood damage cleanup?

Hard, non porous items generally, after cleaning and disinfection. Sentimental paper and textiles can sometimes be salvaged by a specialist, and it is worth asking before discarding. Porous structural material and upholstered contents that absorbed flood water are removed.

Is carpet water damage restoration possible after a flood?

The carpet almost never, the building often. Flood water arrives carrying whatever it crossed, so absorbent material that took it up is removed rather than cleaned, and what stays is what can be cleaned back to a hard surface.

Is flood and water damage restoration one contract?

Usually two, because the money comes from two places. A burst pipe runs through the homeowners policy and rising water through a flood policy, and a building that took both ends up with two scopes and two timetables.

Claims data by state

• Water damage claims in Arizona
• Water damage claims in Florida
• Water damage claims in Georgia
• Water damage claims in North Carolina
• Water damage claims in Texas
• Water damage claims in Washington