A frozen discharge line leaves a sump pit overflowing in a Hamel finished basement
What homeowners notice
After a long cold March, a household hears the sump pump running without pause and then silence. The discharge line outside is packed with ice, the pit has overflowed, and an inch of water is spreading under the carpet of a family room.
What we do
The technician pumps the room out, pulls back the wet pad, checks the base of the drywall with a meter and cuts it above the wet line. Air movers and a dehumidifier run in the closed room, and the homeowner is told to have a plumber look at the pump and the discharge route.
What to expect
Readings on the slab and the wall bottoms are logged each visit until they match a dry wall elsewhere in the house, and the photographs are handed over for the insurer.
High lake water seeps into a Wayzata walkout lower level
What homeowners notice
Lake Minnetonka stays high after a wet spring, and a homeowner notices a damp line along the walkout wall and a musty smell in the carpeted lower level. Groundwater is pushing through the slab joint near the door.
What we do
The technician removes the standing water, lifts the damp carpet and pad, and maps the wet slab and the bottom of the wall with a meter. A dehumidifier runs with air movers while the homeowner is advised to keep the sump running and to ask the insurer whether groundwater is covered.
What to expect
The slab is read again at each visit and the equipment is removed once the numbers hold, with a written note on what was and was not dried.
A split supply line behind a Hopkins bungalow kitchen wall shows up on the thaw
What homeowners notice
After a week of subzero nights, the first warm afternoon brings a drip from the ceiling of a lower-level bathroom and a stain on the wall of the kitchen above. A pipe in an exterior wall froze and split, and the leak began as the ice melted.
What we do
With the main closed, the technician finds the wet path with a meter, opens the wall and ceiling just enough to reach the wet insulation and sets a dehumidifier. A plumber is recommended for the pipe, since the line must be repaired before the wall is closed.
What to expect
The cavity is read until it matches a dry wall, and the dated photographs and moisture log go to the homeowner for the claim.
An ice dam sends meltwater through a Minnetonka bedroom ceiling
What homeowners notice
A heavy snow, a cold week and a mild afternoon leave a ridge of ice along the eave. Meltwater runs behind the shingles, and a household finds a brown stain spreading on a bedroom ceiling and damp insulation above it.
What we do
The technician pulls back the wet insulation, opens the ceiling where it sags, checks the framing with a meter and starts drying with air movers and a dehumidifier. A roofer is suggested to deal with ice, ventilation and shingles, since drying alone will not stop a repeat.
What to expect
Readings in the ceiling cavity are logged until they fall to the level of a dry room, and the photographs are saved for the insurer.
A floor drain backs up in a Champlin split-level during a spring melt
What homeowners notice
As melt and rain load the system, brown water and a sewage smell rise from a basement floor drain and cover part of a finished lower level. The household is told to stay out, and phones city public works.
What we do
The technician in protective gear removes the contaminated water, takes out carpet, pad and the bottom of the drywall, cleans and disinfects the slab, and runs dehumidifiers. Porous finishes that touched the water are not kept.
What to expect
The scope is written room by room, the removal is photographed, and the homeowner is told to ask the insurer whether a sewer backup endorsement applies.
A washer hose lets go in an Eden Prairie townhome and wets the unit below
What homeowners notice
A supply hose behind a stacked washer in an upper-level unit slips off while the family is out. Water crosses the laundry floor, drips from the ceiling below and soaks the carpet of a neighbouring bedroom.
What we do
The technician closes the valve, extracts water in both units, maps the wet drywall and subfloor, and sets drying equipment in each. The household is told to notify the association and ask whose policy responds to which part of the damage.
What to expect
Both units are read until dry, and a single written record of the scope and photographs is kept for the association and the insurers.
A tired water heater leaks into an Excelsior lake-cottage utility room
What homeowners notice
A small puddle by the water heater is mopped up twice before the household realises the tank seam is weeping. Water has wicked into the base of a wall and under a section of laminate floor.
What we do
After the supply is closed, the technician lifts the wet flooring, checks the wall bottom with a meter and dries the area with a dehumidifier and air movers. A plumber is told to replace the tank before the floor is put back.
What to expect
The wall and subfloor are read until they match a dry reference, and the homeowner is advised that insurers may question a leak that ran for a long time.
A frozen sprinkler riser bursts over a Rogers office suite
What homeowners notice
A riser in an unheated mechanical closet freezes over a holiday weekend and splits when the building warms. Water runs across a carpeted office and into the suite below on Monday morning.
What we do
The technician helps stop the water, extracts it, removes wet carpet tile and ceiling panels, and dries the floor and walls with dehumidifiers. Records of what was wet, the hours of equipment and the photographs are kept for the business policy.
What to expect
Moisture is logged daily until the suite reads dry, with a written summary the owner can hand to the insurer and the tenant.
4 to 7 days typical visit
Have the same problem?
Call and tell us what you see. We will tell you what it likely is and what it usually costs before anyone drives out.
