Typical jobs across Montgomery County

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

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6 job stories

Typical job

What homeowners notice: During a summer thunderstorm the power drops for several hours, and the sump pump in the cellar of a postwar Abington house stops with it. Groundwater rises out of the pit and spreads across a finished rec room, soaking carpet, pad and the paneling along one wall.
What we do: The crew stays out of the room until the power to it is confirmed off, then extracts the water with a portable pump and wet vacuum, pulls the soaked pad and checks the paneling and the bottom plate with moisture meters. Air movers and an LGR dehumidifier go in, and the technician suggests asking a plumber or waterproofer about a battery backup for the pump, which is a separate job.
What to expect: Readings reach the dry goal after several days of checks, the photos and moisture log go to the homeowner, and the carpet and paneling are quoted once the wall tests dry.

4–5 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: After hours of hard rain, brown water rises through the cast-iron floor drain of a brick rowhouse cellar and spreads across the concrete floor to a stack of stored boxes and the base of the stair wall. The smell and the color say the water came from the sewer, not from a pipe in the house.
What we do: Treating it as Category 3 water from the first minute, the crew works in boots, gloves and respirators, extracts the water and removes the soaked boxes and porous materials. It then cleans and disinfects the floor and wall base, checks the stair stringers and lower plaster with meters, and sets air movers and a dehumidifier while the cellar stays closed off from the living floors.
What to expect: The cellar tests dry after a few days, the homeowner is told about the Philadelphia Water Department's Basement Backup Protection Program and the water-backup endorsement to ask an agent about, and any plumbing work goes to a licensed plumber.

5–6 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: After a week of hard cold, a family returns from a trip to a stone-fronted twin in Glenside and finds water running down the kitchen wall into the cellar. A supply line in the exterior wall froze, split and began to leak only as the house warmed, wetting the plaster, the floor above the cellar and the ceiling beneath it.
What we do: With the main closed, the crew extracts standing water in the cellar, scans the wall and ceiling with a thermal camera and confirms the wet areas with moisture meters. It cuts a small opening in the wet plaster so the cavity can dry, sets air movers and a dehumidifier, and a licensed plumber replaces the split line on a separate visit.
What to expect: Readings reach the dry goal after several days, the photos and logs go to the homeowner for the insurer, and plaster repair is quoted once the lath and framing test dry.

3–4 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: After more than a week of steady rain, water begins to bead and run from the mortar joints of a rubble-stone foundation wall in an old Chestnut Hill house. It pools along the base of the wall, darkens a wooden workbench and storage shelves, and soaks a stack of cardboard boxes.
What we do: The crew extracts the water, removes the soaked cardboard and checks the wall, the sill and the floor with moisture meters. It sets air movers and a dehumidifier aimed along the wall and points out the open joints and the gutter discharging near that corner, noting that repointing the stone and regrading are for a mason or waterproofing contractor.
What to expect: The wall and floor test dry after a few days, the homeowner has photos and readings for their records, and the mason is called about the mortar before the next wet season.

2–3 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: A washing machine hose lets go on the second floor of one half of a stone twin in Elkins Park, and within hours the neighbor knocks to report a damp patch spreading across the shared wall in their dining room. Water has run down inside the party wall and wet the plaster, the baseboard and the floor on both sides.
What we do: The crew takes meter readings and thermal images on the owner's side and, with the neighbor's permission, on theirs. It extracts the standing water, cuts out the softened plaster along the base of the wall so the cavity can dry, and sets air movers and dehumidifiers on both sides, working around the narrow hall and stair.
What to expect: Both sides test dry after several days of readings, each household has its own photos and logs for its insurer, and plaster repair is quoted separately for each side.

4 hours typical visit

Typical job

What homeowners notice: During a thaw after a heavy snow, a band of ice builds along the front eave of a brick rowhouse in North Philadelphia, and meltwater backs up under the shingles. A brown stain spreads across the plaster ceiling of the top-floor bedroom, and a section sags near the wall.
What we do: The crew checks the ceiling and the insulation above it with a thermal camera and meters, cuts out the sagging section of plaster, removes the wet insulation and sets air movers and a dehumidifier. A roofer handles the roof and flashing, and an insulation contractor can look at the attic heat loss, both as separate work.
What to expect: The ceiling cavity tests dry after a few days of checks, the homeowner has photos and readings for the insurer, and ceiling repair is quoted once the framing is dry.

3 hours typical visit

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