- Smell gas?Leave the house. Call 911 or the gas utility from outside. This line is for water.
Before
The storm guide: what to do before the water comes
In the order that helps. Most of it takes an afternoon in the dry months and a few minutes once a storm has a name.
- 01
Step 1: In the dry months
Do these once a year and they are done.
Find the main shutoff, tag it, turn it. If it won't turn, call us before you need it.
Find the sewer cleanout and check its cap.
Note the water heater's make, size and age from its label.
Photograph every room, the heater and the outside walls, dated.
- 02
Step 2: When a storm has a name
Two or three days out.
Charge your phone and save our numbers on paper.
Clear leaves and debris from around the cleanout and the outside faucets.
Ask us about moving a water heater or shutoff if you have been putting it off; crews fill quickly.
- 03
Step 3: The day before
If you are staying.
Fill the tubs and a few containers; you may lose water pressure.
Know where the main shutoff is by touch.
Keep the shutoff tool or a wrench next to it.
- 04
Step 4: If you are leaving
Before the door closes.
Shut off the main water.
Switch off the water heater at its breaker if it is electric.
Photograph the shutoff after you turn it, so you know what you left.
After
First calls, in order
Once everyone is safe. Don't walk through standing water, and don't touch electrical equipment that has been wet.
- 01
Step 1: Emergency services and utilities
A gas smell, downed lines, or water reaching outlets. Leave and call 911 and the utility from outside.
- 02
Step 2: The main shutoff
If a pipe is broken or the house flooded, shut off the main water, reaching it only from dry ground.
- 03
Step 3: Your insurance company
Report the damage, get a claim number and ask what photos and invoices they want.
- 04
Step 4: Us
We stop the leak, check the water heater and the sewer line, and write an invoice that says what failed and what we replaced.
- 05
Step 5: A restoration company
If drywall or flooring is wet, they dry it. We will tell you when a pipe repair has to come first.
Photos
Photographs for the adjuster
Take them before anything is moved. Don't crop or edit them; your phone dates them.
- 01
Wide, then close
Each wet room from the doorway, then the damage up close.
- 02
The waterline
On the wall or the siding, with a tape measure or a coin beside it for size.
- 03
The source
The broken pipe, valve or heater. Keep the broken part in a bag.
- 04
The labels
The water heater's data plate and the tag on any backflow device.
- 05
The outside
The yard, the cleanout, the meter box and any pipe the water reached.
- 06
The invoice
Ours lists what failed and what we replaced. Ask your adjuster what else they need.
This is not legal or insurance advice. Your policy decides what is covered.
Order of the day
How we order the calls after a storm
Roads close and parts run behind. We go to the water that is doing the most harm first, and we tell you the earliest day on the phone.
Water running into the house
Broken supply lines and a flooding line come first.
No water or no sewer
A house with no water or a backed-up line comes next.
Repairs that can wait
Heater moves, valve installs and rental checks follow, in the order you called.
Rather talk it through?
Ask us before the season starts
The dry months are the time to ask. Any work is priced in writing before it starts.