Remediate RenovationBay Area and Dallas–Fort Worth · 24/7, a person answers
(281) 671-7777
Don't Wait—Call Remediate.
Restoring Dallas homes, from torn roofs to frozen pipes
Our crews worked across Dallas–Fort Worth in earlier years. Now we are reopening here. Before taking the first call, we read what the weather service, the Census Bureau and the City of Dallas publish about the houses in this city. This page is what we found.
Hail, wind and tornadoes
After the 2019 tornado: which storm repairs need a Dallas permit?
On the night of October 20, 2019, an EF-3 tornado with peak winds near 140 mph tracked 15.76 miles across northwest and North Dallas in 32 minutes. The weather service's damage survey describes many homes with partial or total roof loss. Hail does the same work in smaller pieces: roofs, siding and gutters. The City of Dallas storm damage repair page sorts the repairs this way.
No permit: the tarp
Temporary measures such as tarps that keep more water out need no permit. We tarp and board up first, before the adjuster's visit if needed.
No permit, usually: the inside finishes
Replacing and repairing damaged siding, sheetrock or windows typically needs no permit, and minor roof or vent repairs need none either.
Roofing permit: shingles and deck
Damage to the shingles and deck only takes a roofing permit; replacing large areas or the entire roof takes a re-roof permit.
Building permit: the framing
Damaged roof joists, rafters or wall sections need a building permit, and storm damage to the structure brings an electrical permit with it.
We handle the permits and plans on the rebuild, and every step of the storm work is photographed for your claim. More on storm and hail damage repair.
The housing
Almost half of Dallas's homes were built before 1980
The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey counts 590,237 homes in the city. Their median year built is 1981, and 283,779 of them, about 48 percent, went up before 1980 (Census table DP04). The 1950s and 1960s alone account for nearly one home in four.
Older houses hide older repairs
A house from before 1980 has been patched, re-plumbed and remodeled by owners we never meet. Once wet drywall comes off, what is behind it decides the rebuild, so we photograph the open wall before anything goes back.
Most homes are rented
Of the 533,915 occupied homes, 57.6 percent are rented. In a rental, the owner and the tenant both need to know what happened. We send the photos and readings to whoever is handling the claim, and we keep both of them informed.
Big buildings, shared water
About 41 percent of Dallas homes are detached houses, and almost 28 percent sit in buildings of 20 units or more. In a large building, a leak upstairs becomes a ceiling problem downstairs, and each affected unit gets its own readings.
Creeks and the floodplain
White Rock Creek, Fivemile Creek and the Trinity
The city's floodplain management page says Dallas drains to the Trinity River through its tributaries, the largest being White Rock Creek, which drains 139 square miles, and Fivemile Creek, which drains 55. Whether a lot is in FEMA's 1-percent-annual-chance floodplain shows on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center; the city also points owners to the appraisal district's map with its FEMA flood zone layer.
Rebuilding inside the floodplain
Interior work in the regulatory floodplain needs floodplain management approval. A substantial improvement, work costing half or more of the structure's market value, is not permitted unless the Board of Adjustment grants a special exception. A large rebuild is planned with that limit in view.
Creek water and the policy
The same city page says homeowner's policies do not cover flood damage, and that because Dallas takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program, a separate policy is available with a discount. Roughly 2,800 flood policies were active in the city when it was written.
February 2021
Why does a Dallas freeze end with water on the floor?
Because the pipe usually splits while it is frozen and leaks once it thaws. The National Weather Service office in Fort Worth recorded 93 hours at or below freezing at DFW Airport, a short thaw, and then 139 hours more, with a low of minus 2 °F on February 16, 2021. That kind of week tests every pipe in an outside wall, an attic or an unheated garage.
Find the valve now
Know where your main shut-off is before the next hard freeze. When a pipe bursts, that valve stops the damage while you call.
Watch the thaw
The water often shows up when the temperature climbs, through a ceiling or behind a cabinet, hours after the split happened.
Dry by the readings
We map how far the water went with moisture readings, take out what cannot be saved and dry the structure until the readings say it is dry.
Plumber, then rebuild
A licensed plumber repairs the pipe itself. We put the walls, floors and cabinets back, documented for your claim.
The ground
Blackland clay moves the slab
The Texas Water Development Board's page on the Houston Black state soil places it in the Blackland Prairie, which it says extends from north of Dallas southward, and calls its clays highly expansive: they shrink and swell markedly as their moisture changes. In metropolitan areas, it says, that shrink-swell commonly limits building.
Dry clay cracks open
USDA's official series description records cracks up to 4 inches wide at a foot deep in dry periods. Water runs into those cracks fast. Once the clay is wet, it barely lets water through.
A slab leak changes the soil
A plumbing leak under a slab wets the clay beneath one part of the house and not the rest. When we dry a slab-leak job, we note any new cracks in the drywall, sticking doors and gaps at the baseboards in our photos.
Foundation work sits in the rebuild
Across Dallas–Fort Worth, our rebuild work includes foundation repair where clay has moved the house. The floors, walls and trim go back after the structure under them is settled, not before.
Gutters and grading count
Storm water that pools against a wall soaks the clay right at the foundation. When storm damage takes out gutters, we repair them as part of the job, so the rebuild is not undone by the next rain.
Mold under Texas rules
Who tests for mold and who removes it in Dallas?
Not the same company. On any Texas project we remediate, the assessment is done by an independent licensed mold assessor, never by us, because Texas law (Occupations Code 1958.155) keeps the company that assesses and the company that remediates apart on the same project. Mold grows where water is left to stay after a burst pipe or a roof leak; we take out everything the mold touched and replace it with new material, never cleaned and reused. Read more on mold remediation.
Your claim
The paperwork a Dallas adjuster gets from us
We repair the house; adjusting the claim is your insurer's job. From the first visit we record the damage as we find it: photos, moisture readings and measurements. Our itemized estimate goes to your adjuster in Xactimate, and we answer their questions about our scope. On a covered repair the deductible is yours to pay and the insurer pays us the balance directly. Any upgrade you choose is priced on its own. Details on working with insurance, water damage mitigation and the rebuild after damage.
Questions
Questions Dallas homeowners ask
A storm broke roof framing at my Dallas house. Which permits does the repair need?
A building permit. The City of Dallas storm damage page says damaged roof joists, rafters or wall sections need a building permit, and structural storm damage brings an electrical permit with it. The tarp that keeps water out until then needs no permit. We handle the permits and plans for the rebuild.
Water got into the walls of my Dallas house during a storm. Can the power stay on?
Not always. The city says that when storm water gets inside, an electrical permit and inspection may be required, unless a licensed and registered electrician confirms the breakers for the wet area are off. The utility can also ask for a permit and inspection before it restores power. Keep away from wet outlets and call us.
My Dallas house is in the creek floodplain. Can I rebuild the inside after a flood?
Usually, with the city's floodplain office involved. Interior improvements inside the regulatory floodplain need floodplain management approval, and the city does not allow a substantial improvement, work costing half or more of the structure's market value, unless its Board of Adjustment grants a special exception. We check this before the rebuild is planned.
Will my homeowner's policy pay for creek water that came into my Dallas home?
The City of Dallas floodplain brochure says homeowner's policies do not cover flood damage, and that a separate flood insurance policy is available because the city takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program. Which policy pays is between you and your insurers; we document where the water came from for the claim.
Don't Wait—Call Remediate.
Water, hail or a cracked wall in Dallas?
Tell us what happened and which rooms it reached. We are open 24/7 and a person answers; the first consultation and quote are free.
Call (281) 671-7777