Water Damage Restoration
Extraction, structural drying and moisture verification after burst pipes, appliance failures and basement flooding.
Learn more →Storm water is a different animal
A storm produces two separate restoration problems. Water coming through a damaged roof is storm damage. Water arriving across the ground, through window wells, through a failed sump pump or up through a floor drain is this page.
The difference matters because storm water is classified as contaminated. It has run over roads, lawns, and whatever a surcharged sewer contributed on the way. Porous materials that took storm water are removed rather than dried, and the whole job runs under containment and PPE.
Colorado's storm water calendar
July and August are monsoon season. Afternoon cells stall over a neighborhood and drop an inch of rain in twenty minutes. Front Range soils are compacted clay with low infiltration, so almost all of it runs off. Street flooding backs into window wells; the first sign for most homeowners is water coming in around the basement window frame rather than through the door.
March through May is snowmelt. Slower, less dramatic, and it raises the water table rather than arriving as sheet flow — so it comes up through slab cracks and cove joints instead of down through windows.
Any time after a wildfire, communities below a burn scar face a distorted risk. Hydrophobic post-fire soils shed water, and a rainfall that would have been unremarkable before the fire becomes a debris flow. That risk persists for several years while vegetation re-establishes.
The cleanup sequence
Pump out standing water. Remove mud and silt while it is still wet, which is a real time constraint — dried silt bonds and has to be scraped. Remove porous material: carpet and pad, drywall cut above the high-water line, wet insulation, particleboard cabinetry and furniture. Clean and disinfect hard surfaces. Then structural drying with daily moisture readings until framing and subfloor hit dry standard.
Contents get triaged. Sealed hard goods, metal, glass and solid wood generally clean up. Upholstered furniture, mattresses, particleboard and paper generally do not.
Sump pumps
Most Front Range basement storm losses trace back to a sump pump that either failed, could not keep up, or lost power in the same storm. A sump pump failure cleanup typically runs $1,500 to $7,000, per the cost guide.
A battery backup pump, an annual test before monsoon season, and a water alarm in the sump pit together cost a fraction of one cleanup. Also check whether your policy carries a water backup or sump failure endorsement, because the base policy usually does not — see the insurance claims guide.
Related: flood cleanup for river and snowmelt flooding, sewage cleanup if the water came up a drain, and disaster cleanup for neighborhood-scale events.
More services
Explore our other services
Fire & Smoke Damage
Soot removal, odor control and cleanup of the firefighting water that usually does more damage than the flames.
Learn more →Mold Remediation
Containment, removal and moisture-source correction when water sat long enough for mold to take hold.
Learn more →Storm & Hail Damage
Roof tarping, water intrusion cleanup and documentation after Front Range hail and wind events.
Learn more →Sewage Cleanup
Category 3 backups handled with containment, full removal of porous materials and disinfection.
Learn more →Structural Drying
Air movers, dehumidifiers and daily moisture readings until framing, subfloor and drywall hit dry standard.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
What is the monsoon and why does it flood basements?
From roughly early July through early September, moisture pushes north into Colorado and produces intense afternoon thunderstorms. The rain rate matters more than the total: an inch in twenty minutes over ground that is dry and compacted runs off almost entirely, overwhelming storm drains, window wells and sump pumps.
What is burn scar flooding?
After a wildfire, the soil on the burned slope repels water instead of absorbing it. For several years afterward, ordinary rainfall on a burn scar produces flash flooding and debris flows far out of proportion to the storm. Communities below recent Colorado burn scars carry flood risk that FEMA maps may not yet reflect.
My sump pump failed during a storm. Is that covered?
Usually only if you carry a sump pump failure or water backup endorsement. Standard homeowners policies commonly exclude it. The endorsement is inexpensive relative to a $1,500 to $7,000 cleanup, and a battery backup pump is cheaper still.
How fast does mud have to come out?
Before it dries. Wet silt can be squeegeed and vacuumed out; dried silt bonds to surfaces and has to be scraped, which takes far longer and damages finishes. If a crew cannot get there the same day, hosing the bulk of it out yourself while it is still wet is genuinely useful.
Free, no-obligation