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 |  | Small Ceiling Repair: $30-$300 |  | Flooded Basement: $500-$10,000+ |  | Flooded House: $7,800-$70,000+ |
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Water or excess moisture can harm a home and its contents, and cleanup should be started as soon as possible.
Typical costs: | - The cost of water damage restoration is based on several factors. These include the size of the affected area, the extent of the damage, the materials and water type. There are three categories -- the least expensive to clean up is category 1, which is clean water from a faucet or supply pipe. Category 2 is gray wastewater with minor contaminants, such as overflow from a dishwasher or washing machine. Category 3 is black water, containing sewage or other toxic debris.
- Fixing a small area of water damage in a ceiling due to a leaky roof can be $100-$300 to patch the sheet rock, or $30-$50 for do-it-yourself materials -- not including the cost of fixing the roof and repainting the ceiling.
- Drying a flooded basement can cost $500-$10,000 or more, depending on the size of the basement, the depth of the flooding and the water type (clean, gray wastewater or black/toxic). See How Much Does a Flooded Basement Cost. Depending on where the appliance is located in the house, cleaning up after a faulty water heater, washing machine, dishwasher or air conditioner averages about $5,000, according to HomeOwnerNet.
- Damage from a burst water pipe can cost $5,000-$70,000 or more with an average insurance claim costing $15,000. See How Much Does a Burst Pipe Cost.
- If an entire house is flooded with storm water, the National Flood Insurance Program provides a flood damage simulator[1] to predict the total cost based on the height of the water. For 1-4 inches of water, the estimated cost is $7,800. For 9-12 inches, the estimate is $18,930. At 18 inches, the estimated cost is $26,285..
- Water damage might be covered by insurance. Flood insurance typically covers damage from a natural disaster, when outside water or mud overflows an otherwise dry house. Homeowners insurance does not cover floods, but may cover water damage caused by minor individualized disasters, such as a hailstorm smashing a window or a broken water pipe spewing water -- as long as the problem wasn't caused by a lack of standard maintenance. The Insurance Information Institute discusses the difference between flood insurance and homeowners insurance[2] .
Related articles: Burst Pipe, Flooded Basement, Mold Inspection, Mold Remediation, Debris Removal, Homeowner's Insurance
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What should be included: | - A restoration company should follow the standards of care of either the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification[3] or the Restoration Industry Association[4] . A company representative will inspect and evaluate the affected area, often using water-sensing equipment such as probes and infrared tools to determine the source of the problem and the extent of the damage.
- Restoration includes pumping and drying the affected areas, and sanitizing and deodorizing as needed. The Maryland Attorney General's Office provides a Consumer Guide on Restoration Companies[5] .
- Before entering a house filled with standing water, turn off the power -- but never turn the power off while standing in water. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides guidelines for entering a flooded house[6] . FloodSafety.com describes how to clean up after a flood[7] .
- Wood, plaster and other materials absorb and retain water. They must be either dried and sanitized, or removed. DIYNetwork.com explains how to repair a water-damaged wall[8] . Do-It-Yourself-Help.com describes how to repair water-damaged plaster[9] , drywall[10] and lath plaster[11] .
Additional costs: | - If the house and furnishings are not quickly dried and restored, there can be additional problems with mold or dry rot. See How Much Does Mold Remediation Cost and How Much Does Dry Rot Repair Cost.
- Installing a simple water alarm or a whole-house shut-off system can help prevent problems. Battery-operated units that sound an alarm when a sensor detects moisture can cost $10-$115. A system that shuts off the water to a single appliance if a leak is detected is $50-$150. Whole-house systems with a shot-off valve on the main water supply are about $500-$3,000.
Shopping for water damage restoration: | - The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification offers a searchable database[12] of certified water damage restoration specialists.
- If the water damage might be covered by insurance, contact the insurance company as soon as possible, and follow up with a written notice of the facts related to the claim. The Texas Department of Insurance lists tips for handing water-damage claims[13] .
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What People Are Paying - Recent Comments |
| Posted by: Brisa in Baldwin Park, CA. | Posted: February 20th, 2022 07:02PM |
| Type of Repair Needed: Mitigation after bathroom pipe broke | Contractor: Ezequiel |
I believe I was overcharged. Services: drying the house, removing 2 feet of drywall from two rooms, bathroom, living room and kitchen. Remove all kitchen cabinetry. Mold treatment. |
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| Posted by: Carol1963 in Desert Hot springs, CA. | Posted: August 29th, 2021 08:08PM |
| Type of Repair Needed: Furniture, doors, walls | Contractor: Noone yet |
My comment is I'm still waiting for the insurance company to figure out if they're even going to pay my claim. It's been a nightmare my house is in a destroy everything is unorganized my doors don't shut there's black mold My furniture is all ruined I had three to four inches of water in my house throughout the entire house The insurance company doesn't seem to give a crap. They're too worried that there's some kind of fraud going on instead of actually helping me. I'd never filed an insurance claim before it's been a nightmare! |
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| Posted by: Sharla in Alta Loma, CA. | Posted: August 2nd, 2021 01:08PM |
| Type of Repair Needed: Water damage | Contractor: Tip top Restoration |
Is this alright in costs for the restoration? |
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| Posted by: Angry in La Mesa in La Mesa, CA. | Posted: September 24th, 2019 04:09PM |
| Type of Repair Needed: Flood demo and dry out | Contractor: San Diego |
3 story townhome, 1700 square feet. top floor - 1 br/1b total demo, 3 feet of flooring removed in landing, 3 feet carpet padding and floor boards removed in 2nd br, holes drilled in bath cabinet for dry out, no other damage in Master. Main floor = Living, dining and hallway, complete demo, no demo in kitchen 3rd bedroom or 3rd bath. no stair demo on 2 stair cases. 1 wall dried in garage with 4 foot piece of dry wall removed(basement walk-in level). They charge 5k for the garage alone. I am fighting this amount as it seems outrageous. |
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| Posted by: Retired librarian in Brick, NJ. | Posted: July 19th, 2019 03:07PM |
| Type of Repair Needed: cleaning up water | Contractor: Firstclean |
Outside water spigot was leaking for a short while, found by deck contractor. Suggested plumbers. I called mine, he replaced spigot with a new one but water got into crawl space. "Restorer" recommended by plumber sent a guy who moved in various drying machines for several days after arriving late etc, etc. Cost of $1500.00 and little chance of household insurance repaying. (cost was announced after second visit.) |
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| Posted by: Caddie in ROWLAND HEIHGTS, CA. | Posted: October 13th, 2016 03:10PM |
| Type of Repair Needed: DRYING | Contractor: RESTORATION 1 OF THE FOOTHILLS |
This restoration business was referred by the plumber. They didn't provide an estimate and went directly to claim from the insurance company. After they got denied they submitted the bill back to us asking us to pay over $1500 for their service. They basically just tore open our ceiling (small affected area due to a pipe leak) and put 2 machines at our room for 3 days. Nothing more than that. After they left, there was a big hole on the ceiling still. They were charging extremely unreasonable price for the service they provided. |
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| Posted by: a user in San Diego, CA. | Posted: May 20th, 2016 10:05AM |
| Type of Repair Needed: mitigation and restoration | Contractor: Christian Brothers |
Not sure about pricing, but water mitigation seems high at about 5000. Involved dismantling bathroom cabinetry, cutting off drywall and carpeting that was affected. Then drying room for several days and testing for bacteria levels. Restoration quote at 6000. |
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| Posted by: Incensed in Augusta, GA. | Posted: February 28th, 2015 02:02PM |
| Type of Repair Needed: remediation & mitigation | Contractor: Admiral Steamer of Augusta, GA |
The experience has been an absolute nightmare. There was 1" of water in the kitchen, dinning room and hallway leading to bedrooms. No water in bedrooms. Contractor came in two weeks after incident and insisted on removing contents of entire house, giving assurances that the contents of every single box would be cleaned,sorted, and inventoried. No such inventory was done. Approximately 1/2 of the contents of the house was thrown on the floor throughout the house (clothes, pictures, furniture, brick o brack, kitchen items, etc). In the crawl space under the kitchen, the insulation was removed but the mold was never removed from the wood and the wet insulation was left in the crawlspace. The dinning room furniture was stored in an abandoned house where it was left to rot, untreated. This is clearly a fraud of the worst kind and I intend to fight it. |
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| Posted by: laurens in royal oak, MI. | Posted: November 13th, 2014 11:11AM |
| Type of Repair Needed: restoration | Contractor: Irvin |
Awesome job. Disinfected basement after removing all damaged items, including walls and floors. |
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External Resources: | - www.floodsmart.gov/costOfFlooding/index.html
- www.iii.org/article/do-i-need-flood-insurance-for-my-home
- www.iicrc.org/page/SANSIIICRCS500
- www.restorationindustry.org/sites/default/files/docs/RIA_Certification_Code_of_Co.pdf
- www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/PIC%20Documents/resto.pdf
- www.cdc.gov/disasters/floods/after.html
- www.floodsafety.com/national/property/cleanup/index.htm
- www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-repair-a-water-damaged-window/index.html
- www.do-it-yourself-help.com/repair_wall_water_damage.html
- www.do-it-yourself-help.com/repair-drywall-water-damage.html
- www.do-it-yourself-help.com/repair-plaster-walls.html
- www.iicrc.org/page/IICRCGlobalLocator
- www.tdi.texas.gov/pubs/consumer/cb074.html
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