Water damage restoration in Glendale, AZ

A city with layers

Glendale runs from its historic downtown, with turn-of-the-century brick and bungalow houses, through mid-century neighborhoods to the newer commercial and entertainment districts near Westgate and the stadiums. It is a bigger and more varied city than people expect, and that variety affects how we dry a building.

Glendale also borders Peoria and is a short drive from Sun City. Give us your address when you call and we will confirm what is practical.

Old buildings, old materials

The older parts of Glendale have houses and small commercial buildings with materials you do not see in a typical newer home.

Plaster walls. Older buildings often have plaster over lath, or plaster over masonry, instead of drywall. Plaster is dense and can hold moisture. It dries more slowly than drywall, it can crack and detach when it gets wet, and it is difficult to repair. Drying has to be done more gradually, with careful monitoring, to avoid cracking.

Brick and masonry. Brick absorbs and holds water, and mortar can deteriorate if it stays wet. Drying brick walls takes time and the right setup.

Wood floors and old subfloors. Original wood floors can be saved in some cases, but they react to water and to fast drying. See floor drying.

Older plumbing. Galvanized and cast iron pipes, clay sewer laterals and mixed repairs.

Materials from before 1980. Texture, flooring and insulation in older buildings may contain asbestos or lead paint. We recommend testing before demolition, and we pause if suspect materials appear. See controlled demolition and material removal.

The ground

Glendale's soil is a mix. Areas that were once farmland have silty, loamy soil over caliche layers at different depths. The old agricultural grading left uneven drainage in some places. Caliche does not drain well, so water leaking near a foundation can travel sideways.

Sewer backups and tree roots

Mature trees are one of the things Glendale's older neighborhoods are known for, and trees have roots. Roots find the joints in old clay or cast iron sewer lines and grow into them, blocking flow. The first sign is often a slow drain, a gurgling toilet or sewage coming up in the lowest fixture in the house.

A sewer backup is a contaminated water event. Porous materials usually have to be removed, and the area has to be sanitized. See sewage backup cleanup and sanitization. A plumber clears the line, often with a camera inspection, and then we handle cleanup. Stay out of the water and stop using the plumbing in the meantime.

Westgate and commercial properties

Glendale has a large commercial presence, including offices, restaurants, retail shops and hotels near the Westgate Entertainment District and elsewhere. Commercial losses are different from home losses.

• There are tenants, owners and property managers.
• Downtime costs money.
• Insurers need detailed records.
• Buildings have larger floor areas and shared walls.

We handle extraction, moisture mapping, drying and documentation for commercial spaces, and we work in phases around business operations when possible. See commercial water damage restoration.

Mid-century and ranch neighborhoods

Glendale also has many mid-century and 1970s through 1990s neighborhoods with single-story ranch houses on slabs. They are like many homes in the West Valley: slab leaks, water heaters in garages, attic lines and AC drain problems. We handle those with moisture mapping, extraction and structural drying. See slab leak cleanup and water heater flood cleanup.

Rental properties

Glendale has many rental houses and apartments. When a property owner is out of town, we coordinate with tenants and managers on access. We keep unit-by-unit records, which helps when multiple parties and insurers are involved.

A typical timeline

A small clean-water leak caught early might be extracted and dried in about three to five days. Plaster and masonry may take longer. A sewage event involves removal, cleaning and drying, and is typically longer. Mold adds containment and clearance. We give you an estimate of the timeline after we assess.

What helps when you call

• Your address, and the approximate age of the building.
• Whether walls are plaster or drywall.
• Where the water came from.
• Whether the water is clean or contaminated.
• Whether it is a house, apartment or commercial space.
• Your insurer and the contact for any property manager.

Insurance

For older and historic buildings, insurance can include special requirements, such as replacement with like materials. Ask your insurer early. We keep photographs of the original materials and their condition, readings and a record of what was removed.

Neighborhoods and what each tends to need

Downtown Glendale and the historic districts around Catlin Court have early twentieth-century bungalows and brick buildings, where plaster, older wood floors and original plumbing set the terms. The mid-century areas have ranch homes from the 1950s through the 1970s, often with slabs, galvanized lines and clay sewer laterals. The suburban neighborhoods that grew from the 1980s on look like most of the West Valley, with newer plumbing and bigger homes. And the Westgate and Arrowhead areas are mostly commercial and multi-unit, with restaurants, offices, shops and apartments.

When you call, tell us which of these your building most resembles. It changes the questions we ask, the tools we bring and the care we take with finishes.

Plumbing that goes with the age

Older Glendale buildings sometimes have a patchwork of repairs: a section of copper spliced onto old galvanized, a plastic pipe tied into cast iron, a sewer lateral partly replaced. Patched systems tend to fail at the joints. When we find a failure, we tell the plumber what we saw and where. If a wall has to be opened for a repair, we try to coordinate so that it is only opened once.

Keeping the character of the house

Owners of older Glendale homes often care about original trim, doors, built-ins and floors. We try to protect them. Trim that can be removed and reused is labeled and set aside. Floors are covered and, where needed, dried using methods that do not split the boards. We also photograph before and after, so you have a record of the house's condition, which can help with insurance and with the contractor doing repairs.

When to call about a smell

If an older Glendale house has a musty smell in a closet, near an outside wall or around a bathroom, do not assume it is just age. Old plaster and wood absorb moisture slowly and release it slowly, and a smell can be the first sign of a hidden leak. A moisture inspection is quick and can save a lot of trouble. See mold inspection and assessment.

Monsoon and roof leaks

Glendale's older roofs, including flat and low-slope roofs on commercial and mid-century buildings, are prone to leaks when a summer storm dumps a lot of water at once. A roof leak is different from a plumbing leak: the water often enters at a flashing, a drain or a seam and runs along the framing before it shows up as a ceiling stain somewhere else. If a storm has left a stain or a drip, photograph it, put a bucket under it and call a roofer. Then call us, because the insulation and ceiling above the stain are probably wet and need to be dried or removed before mold sets in.

Questions from Glendale property owners

Can plaster be dried or does it have to be replaced?

Often it can be dried, if it has not crumbled. It dries more slowly than drywall.

My sewer line is old. Will it back up again?

It can. Ask a plumber about a camera inspection and root removal.

Do you handle commercial buildings near Westgate?

Yes.

Can you test for asbestos?

We recommend testing through a qualified lab before disturbing suspect materials.