Typical jobs across Worcester County

The calls we handle most often: what homeowners notice, what our technicians do, and what to expect.

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7 job stories

Typical job

What homeowners notice: After a hard cold snap, the third-floor tenant of a wooden three-decker hears water running inside the wall of an enclosed back porch. The supply line there froze days earlier and leaked nothing while the ice held; once the water moves again it comes out of the split and runs down through the porch floor into the two apartments below.
What we do: The building main is closed first, then the crew extracts standing water on all three levels and reads the plaster, lath and plank subfloors with meters and a thermal camera. The balloon-frame cavity is opened where readings stay high, soaked insulation comes out, and air movers and dehumidifiers are set floor by floor so the three households can stay put. A licensed plumber repairs the line on a separate visit.
What to expect: The ceilings and framing reach their dry readings over several days of checks, every unit's log and photographs go to the owner for the insurer, and plaster and paint are quoted once the cavities test dry.

4-5 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: A summer downpour saturates the ground around a worker house of the mill era, and water finds its way through the stone cellar wall and across the floor. Cartons of stored household goods are sitting in it, the oil burner and the water heater stand in the same space, and the cellar has no finished floor to protect.
What we do: The technician checks whether the electrical panel and burner are dry before anyone goes in, then the crew pumps and extracts, moves what can be saved up out of the water and discards sodden cardboard and paper. Readings are taken in the sill plate, the lower framing and the stone itself, and dehumidifiers run with air movers aimed along the walls rather than at the middle of the room.
What to expect: The cellar reaches its dry readings after several checks, and the homeowner is shown where water tracked in so gutters, grading and the cellar window wells can be dealt with before the next storm.

5-6 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: During a long, intense rain, dirty water rises through the floor drain of a city cellar and spreads across the concrete and into a carpeted corner used as a play space. The household notices a smell before it notices the water, and a sink upstairs is draining slowly.
What we do: Everyone stays out of the cellar while the water is treated as contaminated. The homeowner is told to stop using water in the house and to ask the DPW which pipe the blockage is in, so the right party clears it. In protective gear the crew extracts, removes the carpet, pad and any porous material that cannot be cleaned, then cleans and disinfects the concrete and the lower framing and dries the space behind containment.
What to expect: The cellar is cleaned, dried to readings and documented, and the owner is pointed at the insurer to ask whether the policy carries a backup endorsement, since sewer backup is generally excluded unless one has been added.

6-7 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: A week of snow on the roof is followed by a sunny afternoon, and a brown-edged stain spreads across a bedroom ceiling below the eave. Snow has melted over a warm attic and refrozen at the cold edge of the roof, and the backed-up water has found its way under the roof covering and into the ceiling.
What we do: The light circuit for the room is switched off at the panel, and the crew reads the ceiling, the top plate and the wall below for how far the water has travelled. Where plaster is holding water it is released in a controlled way rather than left to fall, the cavity is dried with directed airflow and a dehumidifier, and the attic is looked at for the heat and air leakage that caused the melt.
What to expect: The ceiling and the wall below dry to readings, the homeowner has photographs and dates for the insurer, and the conversation turns to insulation, air sealing and ventilation plus a roofer for the roof itself.

3-4 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: A tank water heater in a cellar starts weeping from the bottom seam during the night, and by morning water has crossed the floor, soaked the bottom of a plywood storage wall and reached cartons stacked against it. The tank is old enough that sediment rattles when it fires.
What we do: The technician shows the household the cold inlet valve on top of the tank and how to kill its power or gas, then the crew extracts, lifts the wet contents clear and reads the framing, the plywood and the subfloor above the slab. Air movers and a dehumidifier run with readings logged at each visit, and a licensed plumber replaces the tank.
What to expect: The cellar dries to its goal in a few days, and the homeowner adds a drain pan and a periodic look at the tank to the autumn list, before the heating season loads it again.

2-3 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: A rubber supply hose behind a second-floor washing machine fails mid-cycle while nobody is home. Water runs across the laundry floor, finds the gap at the drain line and comes through the kitchen ceiling below, which sags and drips around the light fitting.
What we do: Power to the kitchen lighting goes off at the panel before anything else. The crew traps and releases the water held in the ceiling through a small controlled opening, maps the wet joists, laundry subfloor and the wall behind the machine with meters and a thermal camera, and dries the cavity and both rooms with air movers and a dehumidifier.
What to expect: The cavity reaches its dry readings, the opened section and the ceiling finish are quoted after the fact rather than before, and a braided stainless hose is recommended for the replacement machine.

3-4 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: Snowmelt and saturated ground keep a cellar sump cycling for days, and then the pump stops. The pit overflows, water spreads across a half-finished cellar floor and wicks up the bottom of the studwork and into the boxes stored along the wall.
What we do: The crew extracts and lowers the water in the pit, then reads the bottom plates, the studs and the lower wall board, cutting back only where the readings say drying in place will not work. Air movers and a dehumidifier run on the open framing, and the household is told what to ask a plumber or electrician about the pump, a backup arrangement and whether a backwater valve makes sense here.
What to expect: The framing and floor dry to readings over several checks, and the owner is warned that standard policies generally exclude sump-pump failure unless an endorsement has been bought, so the insurer is the first call on cover.

4 hours typical visit

Call and tell us what you see. We will tell you what it likely is and what it usually costs before anyone drives out.