Water Damage Restoration in Norristown, PA

What did the Schuylkill do at Norristown during Ida?

The river reached a record level at Norristown early on September 2, 2021. The same storm gave eastern Pennsylvania roughly five to ten inches of rain in about six hours, according to the USGS. Upstream, nearly 200 homes were flooded in Upper Providence Township alone.

By late October 2021, 537 people in Montgomery and Chester counties were still without homes and living in hotels, the Inquirer reported. That is a reminder that flood damage does not end when the water goes down. That figure came from a news report on two counties, so it does not describe Norristown alone.

Flood is excluded from a standard homeowners policy. A separate flood policy is required, and it generally takes 30 days to take effect. River water is Category 3, so the crew removes wet porous materials. The flood damage cleanup page explains the steps.

What do hillside rowhouses and stone twins do in rain?

Older brick rowhouses, stone twins and apartment buildings fill the hillsides above the river, and many basements are cut into the slopes. Nobody has counted them for this page, so read it as a general pattern. A basement cut into a hill takes water from uphill as well as from the plumbing, and heavy rain finds the low side.

Cast-iron drains and early copper or galvanized pipes are common in houses of this age. A leak can run through a party wall into the next house, and plaster ceilings hold water that does not show on the surface. The rowhouse and twin water damage page describes how a technician traces water through a shared wall.

Stone and brick foundations let water through cracks and mortar joints after long rain. The stone basement water damage page explains what the crew can dry and what belongs to a masonry trade.

Hillside houses add one more habit worth knowing. Water that runs down a slope in a storm finds the downhill basement wall and window wells first. Clear leaves from window wells and gutters before heavy rain, and point downspouts away from the foundation.

How are apartment buildings and storefronts different?

A county seat has a lot of buildings with more than one occupant: apartments, offices and ground-floor shops with homes above. When water gets in, it travels. A burst line on the third floor can wet the second, and a leak in a shop can reach the apartment above or the shop beside it.

Light-commercial and multi-unit jobs begin with a walkthrough, and the price is quoted after it, not from a list. The commercial water damage page describes how multi-unit jobs are scoped.

If you manage a building, tell the crew how many units are affected, where the shut-off is and who has keys. Access is often the slowest part of a multi-unit job, and having a manager available helps.

A tenant who finds water should photograph it, move belongings off the floor and tell the landlord in writing. Who pays for what is a lease and insurance matter, and the crew does not decide it.

Who issues permits, and what should I ask a contractor?

Norristown is a municipality in Montgomery County, and building, plumbing and electrical permits come from its own office, not the county. Emergency drying usually needs none, but rebuilt walls or electrical or plumbing changes can.

Registration with the Attorney General is expected of most Pennsylvania home improvement contractors, and a written contract above $500 must carry that number. Look the contractor up on the Attorney General's site before you sign.

After a flood, ask any contractor for the registration number, a written scope and the estimated start and finish dates. Pressure to sign on the spot is a reason to slow down.