Clearing and drying the water that storm winds drive through window frames, door sills and vents, and tracing the entry so it can be sealed.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Wind-driven rain enters a building where the wind pushes it past a seal, a frame or a vent that normally keeps it out. In Tampa, the summer storms bring rain at an angle, and the water can reach a window head, a sill or a louvre and run down inside the wall. The cleanup dries the cavity, removes the soaked materials and maps the entry. Calls are answered 24/7 on (833) 490-5225.
Rain that falls straight down runs off a roof and a wall. Rain pushed by wind hits the building at an angle, and it finds the places where a seal is worn, a frame is out of square or a vent has a gap. Water enters there in small amounts and runs down inside the wall, so the first sign is often a stain on the wall inside, a wet sill or a drip from a light fixture, while the wall cavity has been wet for much longer.
In Tampa the storms of the June-to-November wet season often arrive with wind, and that combination drives rain into the openings that face the weather. The walls that face the storm take the hardest drive, and a window head, a sill or a sliding-door track on that side can take water in every storm. The pattern repeats, and the damage builds up with each one.
The work has three steps. The water inside is removed, the wall cavity is dried and the entry is traced to the frame, seal or vent that let it in. The entry itself is a building matter and is for a trade that repairs windows, doors or vents, and this page covers the water side of the job.
Wet walls can hold electrical wiring and fixtures that are unsafe when water is present, so turn the power off at the panel before touching a wet outlet or switch. Do not open a wall before the wiring has been checked. Dust from old insulation and drywall can irritate the lungs, so wear a dust mask near any opening. Keep children and pets out of the work area. This page describes the water work and does not cover the repair of the windows, doors or vents.
Standing water on sills, floors and along the baseboard is removed first, with extraction tools where the amount warrants it. Items under the wet wall are moved, and power to any fixture in the wet area is turned off at the panel.
The wall below the entry is read with a moisture meter, because the water runs down inside the cavity and reaches the bottom plate. The readings show how far down and along the wall the water went, which is what the drying plan needs.
The crew works back from the stain to the window head, sill, track or vent that let the water in. The trace is recorded with photographs and readings, so the entry can be sealed by the trade that repairs it.
If the readings show water in the cavity, a small opening is made low in the wall, and the cavity is dried with air movement and dehumidification. The opening is kept as small as the work allows, and the wall is closed only when the readings are back to normal.
The entry, the path and the readings are written up and given to the homeowner. Repair of the window, door or vent is for the trade the homeowner chooses, and the record shows that trade where to look first.
Wind pushes rain sideways and upward, so water reaches seals and gaps that rain falling straight down would not reach. The openings on the weather side take the most driven rain.
A seal that keeps out still rain may let driven rain through when the wind is strong, because the pressure pushes water past it. The openings on the south and west faces of a house take the hardest drive in the summer storms, and the water runs inside once it passes the outer line of defence. This is why a wall that never leaks in a light rain can show a stain after a strong storm, and why the storm pattern matters for tracing.
Water driven into a wall runs down the cavity before it shows on the surface. The cavity and the bottom plate often hold the bulk of the water, and the paint shows only the edge.
A wall cavity drains slowly, and the water in it reaches the bottom plate, the floor and the baseboard before it appears on the paint. The stain may be a few inches across while the cavity is wet for a meter or more. The readings taken in the cavity show that path, and they decide how much drywall or baseboard has to come out to dry the wall.
The water work does not depend on the entry being sealed, but the drying will not hold if water keeps coming in. The entry is best sealed by the trade that repairs it as soon as the drying plan is set.
If the next storm drives water through the same gap, the drying restarts and the materials are rewetted. The crew records the entry and advises that it be sealed, and the trade that repairs windows, doors and vents decides the method. The homeowner should ask that trade for a dated note once the seal is in place, so the readings and the seal can be matched.
Yes. The June-to-November wet season brings storms with wind, and the same opening can take water on several days in a row.
In Tampa the storm pattern repeats over the wet season, and a wall that dries between storms can be rewetted by the next one. The readings are kept going through the season, and a rise after a storm is recorded as a new entry rather than as the old one returning. This is also the reason the entry trace is written down: the next storm will test it.
Photographs of the stain and the wall before anything is opened, the date of each storm that left water in the house and any note from the trade that sealed the entry.
A homeowner who keeps a short log of storms and stains builds the record an adjuster will want. The log should note the wind direction if it is known, the place where the water was seen and the time it appeared. Photographs taken from the same spot each time make it easier to compare the wall over the weeks. The line is answered 24/7 on (833) 490-5225, and the log can be read out on the call.
The most common entry on a storm-facing wall. Water runs into the track and over the sill, and it reaches the floor or the wall below. The damage sits on the floor first and runs up the wall when the water is not removed.
Water driven under the head flashing can run down inside the wall above the window and show as a stain on the wall below. The cavity is often wet for longer than the surface suggests.
Vents and gaps around pipes or cables let wind-driven rain in at a fixed point. The water runs down the wall from that point and is usually traced by the stain pattern.
The June-to-November storms that roll across Tampa often come with wind, so the windward walls of a house take the most driven rain during the wet season.
Milton's rain in October 2024 reached as much as 18 inches in some parts of the state.
In Hillsborough County the storm pattern is the same on both sides of the bay, and a wall on a storm-facing side of a house takes the same drive whichever county it is in.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what wind-driven rain intrusion through walls and openings should cost.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Pumping standing storm water out of garages, ground floors and lower rooms across Tampa and Hillsborough County, starting with the water that is still moving.
Removing water from a ceiling and the wall cavity below a roof leak, drying the framing and mapping how far the water travelled.
Finding water that has moved behind plaster, under flooring or into framing, and mapping how far it reached before any wall is opened.
Opening walls and lifting floors to the line the moisture readings set, removing what has soaked through and leaving the rest to dry.
In Tampa the wet and storm season runs from June to November, and most of the storm-driven water calls cluster in that window.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in October 2024 about 70 miles south of Tampa, near Siesta Key, as a Category 3 storm.
Most of the service area is in Hillsborough County, but four of the areas served are in Pinellas County across Tampa Bay: the north-east edge of St.
Wind can push water past a seal or a frame that looks sound from the outside. The water then runs down inside the wall, and the entry can be small and hard to see. The trace finds where it entered.
No. The water work dries the wall and traces the entry. Sealing or repairing the window, door or vent is for the trade the homeowner chooses, and the trace gives that trade a starting point.
Only the section the readings show is wet and cannot dry in place. Most wind-driven entries are cleared by opening a small area low in the wall and drying the cavity.
A fan can help a little in the room, but it does not reach a wall cavity. Without readings it can stop the drying too early or leave the cavity wet. The readings decide when the wall is dry.
Call the line, photograph the stain and the wet area, and note the wind direction and the time. A return after a storm is a new entry, and the trace is updated with the new readings.
The work is between the homeowner and the local company that carries it out, and this line does not warrant any work performed. The disclaimer page explains the arrangement in full.