Short, practical posts for Northern Virginia homeowners. Each one has a diagram or table and answers the questions we hear on the phone.

Simple steps that keep supply lines from freezing in Northern Virginia, from hose bib shutoffs to cabinet doors and a steady thermostat.

A calm checklist for the first sixty minutes after a pipe splits: main valve, breakers, photos and what not to do with a wet vacuum.

Frost-free sillcocks only protect you if the hose is off and the barrel drains. Here is how they split inside the wall and how to check yours.

Battery, water-powered and generator backups compared, with the limits of each and what to test before the next storm.

A plain guide to what usually survives a finished basement flood, what usually goes and what depends on the water and the clock.

Why ice dams form at the eave, how meltwater gets under shingles and into the ceiling, and what actually fixes the problem.

What Category 1, 2 and 3 water mean, how water steps up a category over time and why it changes what gets removed.

The EPA says mold can start within 24 to 48 hours. What that timeline looks like in a wet basement, and how to slow it down.

General information on what homeowners policies often cover for water damage, what is often separate, and what to ask your agent.

Why boards cup when the underside gets wet, how long it takes to show, and when a cupped hardwood floor can flatten again.

Have a question the blog does not cover? Call and ask.

Water Damage and Mold Blog

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