The order of operations on arrival
Confirm the source is stopped or isolated. If it is a supply line, that means the building shutoff, not the fixture valve. If it is a sewer surcharge, it means stopping use of the fixtures above and keeping the crew out of the water until the electrical panel and any submerged outlets are confirmed safe.
Then extract. Truck-mounted extraction handles large volumes on ground-floor slabs and carpet. Portable units and weighted extraction heads go where the truck cannot reach, including walk-up basement apartments, rear additions, and buildings where hose runs exceed practical distance.
What we remove and what we leave
Standing water comes out. Saturated carpet and pad usually come out the same day, because pad cannot be dried in place in a way that pays for the attempt. Area rugs, furniture, documents and electronics are removed to a drying room or packed out.
Structural materials stay unless the category requires removal. We will not dry carpet that took Category 3 water and we will not leave a wet carpet pad under a drying system to save a line item.
What a Brooklyn call usually looks like
The common calls are a failed supply line under a kitchen sink in a co-op or condo, a radiator or riser leak in a pre-war building that affects three floors, a washing machine hose failure in a basement, and a sewer surcharge after a summer storm. Row house party walls mean a leak on one side of the wall is often a loss on both.
If you are a tenant, tell us at intake. In a rental building the owner carries the structural scope and the co-op or condo board may control access to the shutoff, so the fastest path is usually a call to the building super in parallel with ours.
What we will not do at two in the morning
We will not start demolition without your authorization, with one exception. If a ceiling is bulging and about to fail, or a wall is holding water against live electrical equipment, we will isolate the area and make it safe, then document what we did and why before anything else is removed.
We will not give a final price on the phone for a loss nobody has seen, and we will not pack out contents without an inventory you have seen. If a crew arrives and the scope is larger than the call suggested, the crew calls it in and you get a revised scope before the work continues.
Questions we get on this scope
How fast can a crew reach me?
Dispatch depends on traffic and crew position. Midwood, Flatbush and Bay Ridge are typically inside 45 minutes. Red Hook, Canarsie and the waterfront are longer during a flood event because access roads close first. We will give you an honest window on the call, not a marketing number.
Should I shut off the water before you arrive?
Yes, if you can reach the building shutoff safely. Do not stand in water to reach it. If the panel or an outlet is submerged, leave the building and call an electrician or the utility before anyone walks in.
Do you charge for the assessment?
The site assessment and written scope are quoted before work begins. Nothing starts without your authorization on the scope.
The super is not answering. Can you still get in?
If you are the owner or the tenant with legal access to the unit, yes, to your unit. We cannot force access to a common area, a locked mechanical room or another unit. In most Brooklyn buildings the fastest path is a call to the managing agent's emergency line while we are en route.