A young city with a lot of plumbing in the attic
Water damage restoration in Frisco looks different from older parts of Dallas because the houses are different. Most of them are new.
The U.S. Census Bureau named Frisco the fastest growing large city in the country from 2010 to 2019, up 71.1 percent in under a decade. The city had about 117,000 residents at the 2010 census and has since passed 200,000. Development reached the northern edge of Plano in the late 1990s and kept rolling north and west, from Stonebriar and Starwood to Phillips Creek Ranch, Newman Village and Panther Creek. The Rail District downtown is the old core; nearly everything around it is far younger.
Young houses still leak. They just leak in their own ways. Two-story plans put bathrooms and laundry rooms over living space, and some houses carry a water heater, an air handler and its drain line up in the attic. When an upstairs or attic fixture fails, the water comes through a ceiling, not across a floor, and it can soak insulation, drywall and the room below before anyone notices.
February 2021: Frisco's busiest week for shutoffs
When the winter storm settled over North Texas, DFW Airport stayed at or below freezing for 139 straight hours, from the evening of February 13 to noon on February 19, according to the National Weather Service. Pipes that had never seen that kind of cold froze in attics, garages and outside walls, and then split.
Frisco felt it at the curb. Between February 14 and 23, the city received 2,298 calls asking for water service to be cut off, 682 of them to 911 and 1,616 to public works, the city's public works and engineering services director told the city council in March 2021, as reported by Community Impact. He said most of those calls came in on a single day, which is what happens when a whole city thaws at once.
The lesson for the next hard freeze is simple: know where your shutoff is now, not when water is running down the stairs. The city posts cold weather tips on its website, and the burst pipe page explains how the plumber and the drying company split the work afterward.
Frisco water, power and gas contacts
Write these down before you need them. They are the public utilities, not the line.
City water and sewer
The City of Frisco runs the water and sewer system and buys treated water from the North Texas Municipal Water District, which draws mainly from Lavon Lake and treats it in Wylie. The city's utility FAQ lists Public Works at 972-292-5800 during business hours and the police non-emergency line, 972-292-6010, after hours or when no one answers. Some requests go through the myFRISCO app.
Your own shutoff valve
According to the city, the customer shutoff is usually close to the house in the front flower beds. If you cannot find yours, a plumber can locate it. Turning it off stops a burst line from filling the house while you wait for help.
Electricity and gas
The city's new resident guide lists both Oncor and CoServ for electricity in Frisco; check your bill to see which one serves your address. For a downed line, stay away and call 911. A gas odor means getting out before making any call; phone 911 and the gas company once you are outside.
Water damage restoration Frisco homeowners ask about most
These are the kinds of jobs a newer Collin and Denton County house tends to produce. Each page explains the work, what the company you are connected with should check, and what to ask before you sign.
Water Extraction and Emergency Water Removal
Standing water from a supply line, water heater or storm: what extraction equipment does, carpet and pad decisions, and why drying has to follow.
Burst Pipe Water Damage
Frozen and failed pipes in attics, outside walls and garages. Shut the water off, call a plumber for the pipe and a restoration company for the drying.
Slab Leak Water Damage
A leak under the foundation needs two trades: a licensed plumber finds and repairs the pipe, and a restoration company dries the floors and walls it soaked.
Ceiling Water Damage
A brown ring, a bubble in the paint or a ceiling that has started to sag. What each sign means, how to stay safe under it and how a company decides to dry or replace.
Sewage Cleanup
A toilet, tub or floor drain pushing up dirty water is a Category 3 mess. Who owns the pipe, who to call first and what a careful cleanup looks like.
Mold Remediation
How a licensed Texas mold remediation runs from the assessor's protocol to clearance and the certificate, and how to judge a Dallas mold remediation company before you sign.
Hail, wind and heavy rain over Frisco
Spring storms are the other half of the story here. Storm water usually gets in from above: through a hail-cracked skylight, a broken window, lifted shingles or flashing, and then into insulation and ceilings.
| Date | What was reported | Why it matters inside |
|---|---|---|
| March 26, 2017 | The National Weather Service tracked the worst of the storm through eastern Denton County into southern Collin County just after 8 p.m.; people across Frisco reported golf-ball-size hail (Community Impact). | Damaged roofs and windows can let rain in for days before a stain shows on a ceiling. |
| March 24, 2019 | The largest hailstone of the night, 2.75 inches across, was reported between Frisco and McKinney, according to the NWS (Fox 4). | Hail that size can break skylights and windows and open the roof to the next rain. |
| February 2018 rains | Heavy rain overwhelmed sewers; Community Impact reported that Frisco counted about two million gallons of sewage overflowing from manholes. | When sewer lines are surcharged, a backup through a floor drain or tub is Category 3 water. |
After a hailstorm, look before the next rain. Check ceilings under the attic, the tops of window frames and the walls below skylights for fresh stains or soft spots. Take dated photos of what you find, because your insurer will want to see the condition before any repair.
If water is already dripping, put a bucket under it and move furniture and electronics out of the way. A sagging bubble in drywall can hold a lot of water, so keep people out from under it. The ceiling water damage page covers what the restoration company does next.
Creeks and floodplain rules in Frisco
Frisco sits across more than one creek basin. The Rowlett Creek watershed takes in parts of Frisco along with Plano, Allen, McKinney, Murphy and Garland, and the city maps a projected 100-year floodplain for West Rowlett Creek at full buildout. Stewart Creek drains another part of town.
Frisco is a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program and has written strict rules for building near these streams. New structures must be built two feet above the adjacent 100-year flood level, no part of a residential lot may lie in the 100-year floodplain, and developers along major creeks must submit flood studies based on both current and future land use. Rules like these are meant to keep creek water out of houses built under them.
Rare is not never. Street flooding, a clogged inlet, a low back patio or a slope that sends rain toward the slab can all push water inside. Flood damage of that kind is treated as dirty water, and the National Flood Insurance Program, not a standard homeowners policy, is how most people insure it. FEMA says an NFIP policy usually takes 30 days to take effect, so buying one when rain is in the forecast is too late. The flood damage page explains the cleanup.
The first hour in a Frisco house with water coming in
- Close the valve. Use the shutoff near the front flower beds if you can reach it safely. If the attic water heater is the source and you can reach it safely, its cold supply valve also stops the flow.
- Stay away from wet electrical. Water touching an outlet, cord or appliance can carry current, so keep out of it. Flip breakers only while standing on a dry floor; otherwise phone an electrician, or Oncor or CoServ, whichever one bills you.
- Gas smell? Go outside. Walk everyone out first, then phone 911 and the gas company from the yard or street.
- Take photos before you move things. Wide shots of each room, then close-ups of ceilings, floors, baseboards and damaged belongings.
- Call your insurer, then the line. Ask what your policy covers and what the insurer needs. Then call the free line to reach a restoration company.
What to ask a restoration company that comes to your Frisco home
- Where did the water travel? Upstairs leaks often run along joists and show up a room away from the source.
- Was the attic insulation wet, and will it be dried or replaced?
- What category of water is this under the IICRC S500 standard, and what does that change about the plan?
- How will you measure moisture inside the walls and ceiling, and will you share the readings each day?
- Does any plumbing, electrical or water heater work need a City of Frisco permit, and who pulls it?
- Is the firm on the IICRC Global Locator, and can I see a certificate of insurance from your insurer?
- Does the estimate come on paper before any work, with drying priced apart from the rebuild?
If the company finds mold larger than 25 contiguous square feet, the job generally needs, under Texas rules, one licensed mold assessment consultant to draw up the protocol, with the removal handled by another licensed firm that holds a remediation contractor license. Check each name on the TDLR license search. For credentials, estimates and insurance certificates, read checking out a Frisco company before you hire.
Safety first. Shut off the main water valve if you can get to it without risk. Water and electricity together are the real hazard, so stay out of any puddle that touches an outlet, a cord or an appliance. Switch off the breaker only when the panel can be reached from dry flooring; if it cannot, call Oncor or CoServ (whichever is named on your bill) or an electrician. A gas smell means everyone goes outside, and the calls to 911 and Atmos Energy or the gas utility named on your bill are made from there. Floodwater and sewage are not safe to wade through, for adults, children or pets. Once everyone is safe, take photos for the insurance claim and carry valuables and documents to a dry room.
How the free line handles a Frisco call
Water Damage Pro Dallas never shows up at your door. The line answers, listens and transfers; it does not dry anything, send anyone or set prices. A Frisco call runs like this.
- Call the numberAn automated assistant answers (469) 649-7066 at any hour and asks what you need help with. The same number answers other home service calls too, so start with "water damage" or "mold".
- Describe what happenedA burst pipe, standing water, a wet ceiling, a slab leak, a sewage backup or mold, plus your town and whether water is still coming in.
- Get transferredWater damage calls go to an independent, locally owned DFW restoration company; mold removal calls go to an independent mold remediation company. Each hears a short summary before it picks up. Mold testing calls are taken as a message for now.
- Deal with that company directlyIt inspects, quotes and does the work, and you pay it (or your insurer does, as you arrange). If it cannot answer, it gets your name, number, city and problem so it can call you back.
Ask your insurer, not the contractor. Guidance from the Texas Department of Insurance separates water that shows up suddenly and by accident, like a split pipe, an overflowing toilet or a failed washer hose, which most home and renter policies include, from slow leaks and seepage, which they usually leave out. Flooding is excluded from home policies altogether and needs a separate flood policy. Insurers can also refuse a claim when the owner did not take reasonable steps to limit further damage. Before you sign for any work, pull out your policy and call the insurer about what it includes. More on water damage and insurance.
Water through the ceiling, a split line in the garage or a backup in the tub? Call, say "water damage" and your Frisco neighborhood, and reach an independent company that inspects the damage and prices the job itself.
About this line: Water Damage Pro Dallas is a free phone line, not a restoration or mold company. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. Calling the line costs you nothing. See how a call is handled.
More pages that may help
- Water damage in Prosper
- Water damage in Little Elm
- Water damage in The Colony
- Water damage in Plano
- What to Do in the First 24 to 48 Hours
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