Storm and hurricane water damage cleanup in Miami homes

Wind-driven rain is the most common. Strong gusts push water through window and slider frames, under doors, through soffit vents and around wall penetrations, even when the glass and roof are intact.

Roof breaches send water into the attic and down through ceilings, light fixtures and the tops of walls. Surge or street flooding comes in from the ground and is treated as Category 3 water, which means more of the wet material has to come out.

• Rain pushed through slider tracks and window frames
• Water entering at lifted or missing roof tiles
• Soffit and ridge vents taking in rain
• Ground-level water from surge or street flooding
• Leaks around AC line sets and wall penetrations

Drying a room while rain still comes through the roof wastes the equipment and the time. When a roof or window is open, the first job is to cover it, with a roof tarp or boards over a broken opening, so the next band of rain does not undo the work.

Once the openings are closed, we extract standing water, read the walls and ceilings with meters and a thermal camera, and set drying equipment. Permanent roof and window repairs follow from the right trade once the weather allows.

Water that comes in through the roof soaks insulation first. Wet insulation holds water against the ceiling drywall, so the ceiling often sags or stains hours after the rain stops. The EPA advises discarding wet ceiling tiles, insulation and swollen wallboard that cannot be dried in place within 48 hours.

We check the attic side as well as the room below. Wet insulation is removed, the roof deck and framing are dried, and ceiling drywall that held water is cut out so the cavity can dry.

After a hurricane, calls come in across the whole county at the same time, so we sort them by how much water is still getting in and how long it has been sitting. Homes with open roofs, standing water or soaked ceilings go first.

On the rare nights when every one of our crews is already committed, we pass the call to another trusted local restoration provider so you still get help that night. You can also take photos and start moving belongings out of wet rooms while you wait.

Florida law gives you 1 year from the date of loss to give notice of a new claim, and 18 months for a supplemental claim. For hurricane losses, the date of loss is the hurricane's landfall date or the date NOAA verifies the weather event.

Wind damage and flood damage are often handled by different policies, so we separate them in our notes and photos: where rain entered from above, and where water rose from the ground. Moisture logs and photo records go to you for both adjusters.