What should a homeowner do first when a nor'easter floods the street?
Get people to higher, dry rooms and stay out of standing water near outlets, the panel and the boiler. Then photograph the tide line and the damage, and call. Do not drive or walk through moving water, because the road may be deeper and faster than it looks.
A nor'easter often brings water for longer than a summer storm does, and the water can keep rising after the wind has dropped. Check the lowest rooms every hour or so if the storm is still going, and keep a note of the times and the levels. The note is the start of the record, and it is the first thing a crew will ask for.
If the water is near the electrical panel, the boiler or a plugged-in appliance, leave the power off at the meter or the main if you can reach it from a dry place. If not, stay out of the water and call the utility and the crew from outside the building.
Why does a nor'easter leave silt behind?
Because the water is moving sediment and debris from the street, and it deposits it as it drains. Silt is fine enough to hold moisture and odour in the cavities and under the floors, which is why the cleanup goes beyond pumping.
Silt settles into corners, under cabinets, along the bottom of the stairs and into the gaps around the floor. It stays wet long after the surface looks clean, and it can keep the framing damp if it is not removed. A crew clears it by hand and vacuum before the drying equipment starts.
Silt also marks the path of the water. The line of fine grit along a wall or under a door shows where the water came in and how far it travelled, which is useful for the claim and for planning the drying.
How much of the house can be kept?
Solid framing, tile, sealed concrete and hard floors can usually be cleaned and dried in place. Carpet pad, insulation, particleboard and drywall that stood in street water are generally removed, because the contamination does not come out of porous material.
The decision is made per material, and each one is recorded with its reason. A homeowner should be shown the list before anything goes to the curb, and should be able to ask why a particular piece is being removed.
Some items can be saved with cleaning: metal, glass, solid wood and hard plastic. Upholstery, mattresses and cardboard usually cannot. Photograph the item, note its condition and make the decision with the record in hand.
Does the insurer pay for water from the street?
It depends on the policy. Many standard homeowner policies exclude flood water that comes in from outside, and flood cover is often a separate policy. Ask the insurer in writing which part of the loss it is covering, and keep the record that shows where the water came from.
The source of the water is the question that decides the claim. Water that came up through a drain may fall under a different part of the policy from water that came through a door, and the record should show which it was.
Massachusetts consumers with a claim dispute are directed first to the insurer or the producer, and then to the Division of Insurance, which takes complaints and tracks them. Keep each letter and each call note in one file.
What does a crew do in the first visit?
The first visit makes the house safe, stops anything still running, records the water line and sets the first readings. The scope and the removal decisions usually come on the same day or the next morning.
The crew walks the house from the outside in: the garage, the cellar stairs, the lowest rooms and then the rest of the house. It checks the doors and the windows for entry points, notes the state of the drains and takes a moisture reading at the same points that will be measured every day after.
Before anything is removed, the homeowner is asked to agree the plan. The homeowner can see the readings, the proposed removal list and the drying schedule, and can ask about any item. Nothing that the homeowner wants to keep is removed without that conversation.
