Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions Cranston and Providence homeowners ask most often when they call. Every answer starts with the answer.

The basement is wet right now. What do I do before the crew gets here?

Shut off the water at the main valve in the basement if it is safe to reach. Keep power off to any circuit with wet outlets. Carry what you can up the stairs and take photos of everything before anything is discarded. Then leave the wet materials alone.

My basement floods every spring. Is that a restoration job or a drainage job?

Both, in that order. The water on the floor and the wet paneling, carpet, and framing are a basement flooding cleanup job. Stopping the next flood, whether that means a new sump, a check valve, or grading outside a stone foundation, is a separate repair the provider can point you toward.

The floor looks dry. Why is the provider still running fans?

Usually not. Plaster, subfloor, sill plates, and framing hold moisture long after the surface feels dry. The provider keeps air movers and dehumidifiers running, metering the plaster and framing along the way, and stops only when those readings reach the target for each material. That stage, structural drying, is what stands between a soaked wall in a Cranston three-decker and a mold problem a month later.

A pipe froze in the porch and split. What now?

Shut the main valve and leave it shut until a plumber has found every split, because a second section can let go as the house warms. Then the frozen pipe cleanup crew pumps out what ran and dries the wall, floor, and basement below it. Rhode Island porches and exterior walls plumbed before insulation was common are where this happens most.

Water came up through the floor drain during the storm. Is that sewage?

Treat it as sewage until someone tells you otherwise. In the older sewered parts of Cranston and Providence, heavy rain can push the combined system back up through basement drains. Keep children and pets out, do not wade in, and call for sewage cleanup rather than a mop and a fan.

Will my policy cover a burst pipe, a wet basement, or a sewer backup?

What your policy pays is a question for your adjuster, and no one at this site can answer it for you. Many policies cover sudden losses such as a burst pipe, while groundwater seepage and river flooding are usually excluded without a separate flood policy, and sewer backup is often a rider. Have the crew build a file for your adjuster from the first visit: dated photos, the meter readings, and a scope that lists each item.

Can the hardwood floors in my 1920s house be saved?

Sometimes. Cupped oak or pine that is caught early can often be dried with floor mats before it buckles. Floors that sat wet for weeks or that sat under sewage usually cannot. Before anyone decides an old Edgewood pine floor is a loss, the provider puts a meter on it.

The leak came from the apartment above me in a triple-decker. Who pays?

The lease or the condo documents decide, and the answer differs between a rental and a condo conversion. Document the damage, notify the owner or association in writing, and let the ceiling water damage repair crew record where the water came from and what it reached.

My house in western Cranston is on a septic system. Does that change the cleanup?

Yes. A septic backup is contaminated water, like a sewer backup, and the tank or the leach field has to be dealt with before the house will stay dry. The cleanup crew handles the inside; a septic contractor handles the system.

Does Cranston require a permit to put the basement back together?

No permit is needed for the drying and cleanup work itself. Replacing drywall, plumbing, or electrical usually does. In Cranston that is the Building Inspection department, and each city and town in Providence County has its own desk. When the rebuild calls for a permit, pulling it is the provider's job, not yours.

What will the cleanup cost, and can I get a number over the phone?

You will not get a price from this site, and an honest provider will not give one over the phone either; the number comes after they have metered the rooms in your house. Three things set the scope: where the water came from, how many hours or days it sat, and which materials it soaked. Get that scope in writing before the crew starts.

How do I check a contractor in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island requires residential contractors to register with the state Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board, and registrations can be looked up on the board's website. Providers represent their own licensing and insurance; ask for a certificate of insurance as well.

Which towns around Cranston can I call from?

We serve Cranston and its neighborhoods, Providence and its neighborhoods, East Providence, Riverside, Rumford, Centredale, North Providence, Smithfield, Johnston, and Warwick. See the full list of nearby communities.

What do you need to hear from me when I call?

Call (401) 443-9638 now and tell us what you see: where the water started, which rooms are wet, and whether it is still coming in.