Remediate RenovationBay Area and Dallas–Fort Worth · 24/7, a person answers
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Our work in San Jose: 85 jobs since 2024
From January 2024 to October 2026 our crews were called to 85 jobs in San Jose. This page is what we know about the houses here, the weather they stand in and the city rules a repair has to meet.
The record
What 85 jobs in San Jose tell you about us
Eighty-five is the count of San Jose jobs in our own job log, the first in January 2024 and the latest this October. Every one of them was photographed as the work went: more than 23,000 photos sit in those job files.
What we do
We dry out water, remove mold, clean up after fire and smoke, clean air ducts, rebuild what the damage took, and take on remodels and new construction. A single call carries a San Jose job from the wet floor or the burnt kitchen to the day the room is usable again.
What this page does not say
Our log records where a job was, not which kind of job it was, so we do not claim a mix of San Jose work here. We never name a customer or a street.
Why there are no photos yet
A job's photos go on the site only after the job is cleared for it. No San Jose job is cleared yet, so this page shows Reme instead of a house. Cleared jobs will be added here first.
The houses
Half of San Jose's homes were built by 1976
The U.S. Census Bureau puts the median year built for San Jose housing at 1976, give or take two years (ACS 2020–2024, table B25035).
Of the city's 345,066 housing units, 208,518 were built before 1980, about six in ten. The single biggest decade is the 1970s, with 80,473 units, and fewer than one in five units went up in 2000 or later (ACS 2020–2024, table B25034).
What that means on a job: in a house of that age, what sits behind the drywall and under the floor has usually been there for decades, and earlier repairs may hide under newer finishes. So we take a meter to each room the water could have reached, and open only what the readings point to, before we talk about a rebuild.
Age matters for one more rule. The EPA's lead-safe renovation rule applies to work that disturbs paint in homes built before 1978 (EPA, Renovation, Repair and Painting Program). With a 1976 median, at least half of San Jose's homes are older than that line, so ask about it before any wall in an older home is opened.
The weather
Why leaks in San Jose show up between November and March
The National Weather Service describes San Jose's wet season as November through March, with 82 % of the year's rain falling in those five months and only about 0.20 inches across June, July and August (NWS, Climate of San Jose).
The city sits in the rain shadow of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The same report puts yearly rain at about 13.5 inches near the bay and about 24 inches at the city's southern edge in the foothills, and notes that two of the three wettest seasons on record came in strong El Niño years, 1982–83 and 1997–98.
Long dry summers mean a roof, a window or a slab edge can go untested for six months. The first real storm finds whatever has failed since spring, and the stain on the ceiling is often the first sign. When that happens, call while it is still wet: the photos and readings we take that day are what the drying and the claim are built on.
Creeks and flood zones
Is your San Jose home in a flood zone?
Check before you rebuild. The City of San José is a member of the National Flood Insurance Program, and in exchange it requires remodels of existing buildings to follow rules that limit flood damage. Projects in a Special Flood Hazard Area must meet the current elevation and floodproofing requirements (City of San José, Flood Hazard Zones).
Public Works answers flood-zone questions and keeps a flood hazard map on that page. FEMA's own maps are searchable by address at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Flood protection itself belongs to Valley Water, the county's water district.
The risk is not only on paper. In the winter storms of 2017, flooding in San Jose led to the evacuation of more than 14,000 residents, and federal money announced in 2024 goes to finishing the Coyote Creek flood protection project (Rep. Zoe Lofgren, October 22, 2024).
Storm and flood water damage is part of our water mitigation work. If your house is in a mapped zone, the rebuild after the drying may carry those city requirements, and it is better to know that on day one than at the plan check.
The ground
Soft soil along the creeks, and what it means for an addition
A U.S. Geological Survey study of San Jose and its neighbors predicts liquefaction in the young levee deposits along the major creeks in all three earthquake scenarios it modeled, and very low odds on the other ground (USGS Open-File Report 2008-1270).
The California Geological Survey maps liquefaction, earthquake-induced landslide and fault rupture zones by parcel in its EQ Zapp map. In those zones, the state requires site-specific geologic studies for new construction or significant remodels.
For a water or smoke repair inside the house this rarely changes anything. For a home addition, a second story or a garage conversion, it can. If you are planning one, look your parcel up first, and we plan the work around what the map and the studies say.
City rules
When a San Jose repair needs a city permit
The city's permit center lists what needs a building or trade permit: new construction, additions, changes to walls or structure, plumbing, electrical and mechanical work unless exempt, and major appliances (City of San José, When is a building permit required).
Usually no permit
Painting, floor finishes such as carpet or tile, cabinet and countertop replacement, drywall and taping, and floor sheathing repairs up to 10 square feet.
Watch the exceptions
Fire-rated drywall needs a permit. So does replacing a concealed drain, trap or vent pipe, which the city treats as new work, even though fixing a leak or a faucet does not.
Roofs
Repairing less than a quarter of the roof, without touching the framing, once in 12 months, is exempt. A quarter or more needs a permit.
Why it matters later
The city notes that state law requires you to disclose unpermitted work when you sell, and that insurance generally won't cover damage related to it.
On remodels we handle the permits and plans. Read the city's page for your own project; the list above is a short summary of it.
Working with us
How a San Jose job runs, from the call to the last coat
You call
A person answers, 24/7, at (281) 671-7777.
We read and photograph
Moisture readings, photos and measurements, before anything is moved.
We dry and remove
Drying ends when the readings say dry. Everything mold touched is replaced with new material, never cleaned and reused.
We rebuild
The same team puts the rooms back, with the city's permit when the work needs one.
For an insurance claim, we send the adjuster an itemized estimate in the industry's standard estimating format and answer questions about our scope; the claim itself stays between you and your insurer. For the covered repair you pay only your deductible, and your insurer pays us the rest directly. Upgrades you choose are priced separately. We are insured. The first consultation and quote are free, our work carries a written warranty with its terms in each job's contract, and financing is available through our lending partner.
Questions
Questions San Jose homeowners ask us
Have you worked in San Jose before?
Yes. Our job log shows 85 jobs in San Jose between January 2024 and October 2026. We work across the San Francisco Bay Area and Dallas–Fort Worth, and every one of those San Jose jobs was photographed and documented as it went.
My San Jose house was built in the 1970s. What does that change about the repair?
Like most homes in the city, it has decades-old materials behind the walls and under the floors. We take moisture readings in every room the water could have reached before anything is opened, and open only what the readings point to. A home built before 1978 also falls under the EPA lead-safe renovation rule when painted surfaces are disturbed.
Do I need a San Jose permit to replace drywall or flooring after a leak?
Usually not. The city lists drywall and taping, floor finishes and floor sheathing repairs up to 10 square feet as exempt. Fire-rated drywall, structural changes and replacing a concealed drain or vent pipe do need a permit. On remodels we handle the permits and plans.
How do I find out if my San Jose home is in a flood zone?
The City of San José Public Works flood information page has a flood hazard zone map and a flood info line, and FEMA's Flood Map Service Center lets you search by address. If the home is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, a remodel must meet the city's elevation and floodproofing requirements.
Will insurance pay for damage tied to work done without a San Jose permit?
The city's permit page says insurance generally won't cover damages related to unpermitted work. Coverage is between you and your policy. On our jobs we document the loss for the claim with photos, moisture readings and line-item estimates in the industry's standard estimating format.
Don't Wait—Call Remediate.
Water, smoke or a remodel in San Jose? Talk to us
Tell us what happened and which rooms it reached. We call you back, or call us now; a person answers around the clock.
Call (281) 671-7777