Plaster over lath
Plaster absorbs water at the base of a wall and wicks it upward. The lath and framing behind stay damp longer than the surface, so ports or a small opening are used to reach the cavity.
Urgent? Phones answered 24/7
Structural Drying for Older Houses in Jenkintown
Monitored drying of plaster-and-lath walls, hardwood over joists and stone or brick, with daily readings until dry.
- Phones answered 24/7
- Flooded basements, burst pipes, sewer backups
- The emergency figure is agreed up front
- Readings and photographs from every visit, for your claim
Get a fast quote
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Structural Drying
Structural Drying: what it covers
Quick answer
Structural drying uses air movers, dehumidifiers and daily moisture readings to dry the building itself after water is removed. Plaster over lath, hardwood over joists and stone or brick hold water longer than drywall, so older houses often need more days and more checks. There is always someone on the phone, and dispatch follows as fast as crew availability allows.
Pumping water out of a house is the part everyone sees. Drying is the part that decides whether the repair holds. Water that is still in a wall, a subfloor or a masonry course after the surface feels dry will keep feeding mold and can warp wood and loosen plaster for weeks.
Older houses are harder. Plaster applied over wooden lath absorbs water readily and lets it go slowly. Hardwood laid over joists holds water between the boards and the subfloor. Stone and brick walls, including the party walls shared in twins and rowhouses, are dense and thick. All three are materials that the IICRC S500 standard puts in the slow-drying group, where the drying plan is built around them.
This page explains how drying is planned, measured and ended, and why a crew that comes back every day is doing real work and not just visiting. It follows emergency water removal, and it comes before any rebuilding.
- Service area
- Jenkintown & Montgomery County
- Availability
- Phones answered 24/7, emergencies first
- Typical cost
- $800–$2,500 (estimate)
- Phone
- (833) 490-5225
Warning signs
Signs you need structural drying
Do not cover vents or unplug equipment, and keep children and pets away from running air movers and cords. Do not paint, seal or cover a wall that has not been read as dry.
- A wall that looks dry but still reads wet at the base on a meter
- Hardwood boards cupping or crowning a few days after a leak
- Plaster that feels cool, damp or soft after water was removed
- A musty smell that persists once the visible water is gone
- Windows fogging in a room that was wet
- Baseboards or trim that have swollen or pulled away
- A previous cleanup that was dried by fans alone
Our process
How our structural drying visit works
Classify the loss
The crew records the water category and the class of loss, which describes how much of the room and its materials are wet. Plaster, masonry and hardwood push a job toward the harder classes.
Take a baseline and a dry reference
Meters are run across walls, floors and ceilings, and a reading is taken from an unaffected wall in your own house. That dry reference is the target everything else is compared with.
Set the equipment
Air movers push air across surfaces, and low-grain refrigerant dehumidifiers pull moisture out of the air. Drying ports or small openings let air reach closed cavities behind plaster and under floors.
Check daily and adjust
Each visit, readings are repeated at the same points, and temperature and humidity are logged. Equipment is moved, added or removed according to the numbers, not the calendar.
Finish when the readings say so
Equipment comes out only when materials match the dry reference. The log, photographs and a list of removed material are handed to you.
Cost
How much does structural drying cost in Jenkintown?
Drying is billed on equipment and monitoring, and the number of days depends on what is wet. A single drywall room is quicker than a plaster-and-lath room with a hardwood floor above a stone cellar.
| Job | Typical range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Structural drying, one room, three to five days | $800–$2,500 | Equipment plus daily monitoring |
| Air mover, per unit per day | $25–$50 | Several units are usual in one room |
| Commercial dehumidifier, LGR, per unit per day | $75–$150 | One or more, depending on volume |
| Flood cut, per linear foot of wall | $3–$8 | If wet plaster or drywall must be opened |
| Restoration, typical per sq ft, per HomeAdvisor 2026 | $3.50–$7.50 | As the guide reports it, for all water categories |
The final row is the figure HomeAdvisor reports, while the rest are the business's own working estimates for Montgomery County in 2026, so none should be read as a price list. The crew sets the number on site, and a job that needs more days is explained before it is extended.
Why do older walls and floors take longer to dry?
Plaster over lath, hardwood over joists and thick stone or brick absorb water readily and release it slowly, so they need more drying days than modern drywall. Closed cavities also keep damp air in. The crew compensates with more dehumidification, drying ports and more frequent readings.
A modern drywall wall is thin and open on the inside, so air gets to it quickly. A plaster wall is thicker, has lath behind it and is often plastered on both sides, so the water has a long way to travel out.
Stone and brick are the extreme case. Party walls in twins and rowhouses may be a foot thick or more, and a wet mortar joint can hold water a long time. This is general experience with older buildings, not a measured rule, and each job is read on its own numbers.
How does the crew know the house is dry?
It compares readings with a dry reference taken from an unaffected wall in your own house, using moisture meters and a thermal camera, and logs temperature and humidity too. The structure is dry when wet materials match that reference. Feeling dry to the touch does not count.
Different materials read differently, so a meter on plaster is not compared with a meter on wood. The same spot is read at the same height each day, which makes the trend clear.
If one corner stays wet, the crew looks for a hidden source, such as a pipe still leaking or water arriving from outside.
Can I speed things up by running fans myself?
Household fans and a small dehumidifier help with light dampness, but they will not dry a soaked wall or floor, and can push moisture into other rooms. Commercial dehumidifiers and air movers, set according to readings, are what finishes the job. Keep the heat on and windows closed unless told otherwise.
Open windows can bring in humid summer air or cold winter air, depending on the season. The crew places equipment to control the air, and moving it changes the result.
Do not unplug equipment to quiet the house. If the noise is a problem, say so and the crew can adjust the setup.
What happens if drying is cut short?
Wet framing and plaster left inside a closed wall can grow mold, warp wood and loosen plaster. The EPA advises drying water-damaged areas within 24 to 48 hours, and a wall that has not reached a dry reading is not finished. Stopping early is the most common cause of a later mold job.
Painting or papering over a damp wall can make paint blister in weeks. Hanging new drywall over damp framing seals moisture in.
If mold is already visible, the mold remediation page explains what comes next.
Options
Types and options for structural drying
Hardwood over joists
Water gets between the boards and into the subfloor. Drying mats or panels pull moisture through the floor, and the crew watches for cupping, which can show days later.
Stone, brick and concrete
Masonry and slab hold large amounts of water and release it slowly. Dehumidifiers carry the load, and the crew expects more days and more readings than in a framed room.
Montgomery County
Why structural drying is different in Greater Philadelphia
Jenkintown and the neighboring townships have houses where a typical wet wall might be plaster on lath, with a stone or brick exterior wall, a hardwood floor above and a cellar below. All four dry at different rates, so the plan has to treat them as a system.
Twins and rowhouses add the party wall. Water that enters one side can move through masonry toward the neighbor, and drying one house may need a conversation with the next.
If the house is unoccupied or the heat is off, the winter cold slows drying considerably. The crew may ask you to keep heat on, since warm air holds more moisture.
Skip the guesswork. Call for a straight answer.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what structural drying should cost.
Where we work
Structural Drying across Montgomery County
- Structural Drying in Philadelphia
- Structural Drying in North Philadelphia
- Structural Drying in Kensington
- Structural Drying in West Philadelphia
- Structural Drying in South Philadelphia
- Structural Drying in Germantown
- Structural Drying in Mount Airy
- Structural Drying in Chestnut Hill
- Structural Drying in Manayunk
- Structural Drying in Camden
- Structural Drying in Fox Chase
- Structural Drying in Bustleton
- Structural Drying in Somerton
- Structural Drying in Abington
- Structural Drying in Cheltenham
- Structural Drying in Elkins Park
- Structural Drying in Wyncote
- Structural Drying in Glenside
- Structural Drying in Huntingdon Valley
- Structural Drying in Willow Grove
- Structural Drying in Hatboro
- Structural Drying in Horsham
- Structural Drying in Fort Washington
- Structural Drying in Flourtown
- Structural Drying in Ambler
- Structural Drying in Lansdale
- Structural Drying in Norristown
- Structural Drying in Haverford
- Structural Drying in Bensalem
- Structural Drying in Warminster
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Related
Related services
Emergency Water Removal
Pumping and extracting standing water from cellars, floors and carpet so drying can start before mold does.
Water Damage Restoration
How a wet house gets from first call to dry, repaired rooms, and which page to read for your kind of water.
Stone Basement Water Damage
Cleanup and drying for older cellars where water weeps through the face of rubble stone walls rather than through a crack.
Mold Remediation
How mold is removed after water damage, what Pennsylvania law does and does not require, and what to ask any company.
Guides
Read before you book
Water Damage Restoration Costs Around Jenkintown: 2026 Ranges and What Drives Them
Cost guides report a typical water damage restoration job at $1,383 to $6,369 nationally (HomeAdvisor, average about $3,868) and $1,597 to $5,456 for Philadelphia (Angi, average about $3,527).
Stone Basement Walls and Water: Why Old Philadelphia-Area Cellars Seep
Old rubble-stone and brick cellar walls seep because they are porous masonry in soft mortar, set in ground that fills with water after long rain.
Sewer Backup in a Philadelphia-Area Basement: Causes, Safety and Valves
A sewer backup pushes wastewater up through a floor drain, toilet or basement fixture, and it is Category 3 water.
Hiring a Contractor After Water Damage in Pennsylvania: Registration and Contracts
Pennsylvania does not issue a general contractor license.
Ice Dams on Older Roofs: Why Philadelphia-Area Rowhouses and Twins Leak
An ice dam forms when heat escaping into the attic melts snow on a warm part of the roof, and the meltwater refreezes at the cold eave.
FAQ
Structural Drying FAQs
How long does structural drying take?
Usually three to five days for a room, longer for plaster, masonry and hardwood. The crew checks readings daily and removes equipment when materials match a dry reference.
Why is the equipment so loud?
Air movers and dehumidifiers move large volumes of air, and they run day and night. The noise is a sign the drying is working. If you need to sleep elsewhere, plan for it.
Will my electric bill go up?
Yes, because the equipment draws power for several days. Ask the crew about its expected draw, and keep the receipts and bills with your claim documents.
Do you open walls to dry them?
Sometimes. Small drying ports let air reach a wall cavity without removing plaster, and a flood cut removes wet material that cannot dry in place. The crew explains which and you approve it.
What is the dry reference?
It is a reading taken from an unaffected wall or floor in your own house, used as the target for the wet one. It accounts for your house, season and materials.
Does drying remove mold?
No. Drying stops mold from growing but does not remove growth already there. Visible growth is cleaned or removed as part of mold work.