What should I do first if the Embarras has flooded my building?
Keep away from standing water that is near outlets, cords or the electrical panel, and call the line. Shut off power to the wet area only if you can reach the panel without standing in water. Do not start a wet vacuum or a fan in flood water until a technician has checked it.
Flood water is not clean water even when it looks clear. It has come across ground, roads and yards, and it can carry sediment, sewage and whatever was stored outdoors. That is why a crew treats it with protective equipment and disposal rules from the first visit, and why you should avoid touching it bare-handed or letting children and pets into it.
If you can take photographs before anything is moved, do so. Record the water line on the walls, the level on the furnace or the water heater, and any items that have been in the water. Your insurer will ask for these, and a clear record of the water level is the easiest thing for a technician to provide later.
How long does it take to dry a river-flooded basement?
Drying depends on how deep the water stood, how long it sat, and what the lower walls and floor are made of. The work is finished when readings reach the dry goal on every check, not when the surface looks dry, so the time is set by the measurements and not by a fixed schedule.
Concrete and block hold water for a long time, and so does the wood sill and the framing that touches the foundation. A floor can look dry while the subfloor under it is still wet. Readings are taken at the same points on each visit so that the trend is clear, and the crew tells you when the trend has flattened at the goal.
There is no promise of a finish date, because the building decides it. A technician will explain what is still wet, what the next check will show, and what would change the plan if a reading stops falling.
Will the walls and floors have to be torn out?
Materials that have wicked up flood water, such as carpet pad, insulation and the bottom section of drywall, are usually removed because they cannot be dried reliably. Solid masonry and framing are generally dried in place when the readings allow it.
The decision is made in the building and with you. A technician marks the wall at the height the water reached, cuts a small test opening where the readings are highest, and checks the cavity before anything else comes out. Materials are removed only where they cannot be brought back, which keeps the job to what it has to be.
Wood that is only surface-wet can often be dried in place. Wood that has softened or that shows staining through the grain usually cannot, and the technician will say which is which.
Is river flood damage covered by my insurance?
That depends on your policy, and the insurer decides it. Many standard homeowner policies treat surface water and flood water differently from water that comes from a pipe in the building, so it is worth checking the wording with your insurer before the work starts.
This company does not decide what a policy pays. What it does provide is the record an adjuster normally asks for: the water readings at the start and on each visit, the photographs, the list of removed materials and the drying log. Those are kept so that the insurer has the same facts as the crew.
For questions about a claim, contact your insurer first. The Illinois Department of Insurance is the state agency that takes complaints about insurers, and it is the route to use if a claim is not handled properly.
What does the price depend on for a river flood job?
The price depends on how much water came in, how long it stood, how many floors and rooms it reached, how much finished material must come out, and how easy the building is to reach. The price is explained and approved on site before any equipment runs.
A small amount of water in an unfinished basement and a full flood in a finished lower level are very different jobs, even if they look similar from the top of the stairs. The number of rooms, the access to the lower level and any wet electrical work all change the scope. Each of those is seen in the building, not guessed on the phone.
No figure is given on this site or over the phone, because a number before anyone has seen the water would be a guess. You will be told what is included in the scope and what is not, and you approve that scope before equipment is set up.
