John 3:16

I believe the unbelievable, I receive the impossible, because it's doable. Jesse Duplantis

(469) 649-7066Call
Dark supercell storm cloud building over a row of brick homes in a North Texas suburb

Water Damage Restoration in Garland, Texas

Creek water in a living room, a pipe that let go in the attic, or a ceiling soaked after a storm. One free call, any hour, connects Garland homeowners with an independent local restoration company.

Call (469) 649-7066 Garland water and power contacts

Garland, its creeks and the homes built beside them

Water damage restoration in Garland often begins with a creek. The city's own engineering staff has described Duck Creek as the basin with the most flooding problems in Garland, and the reason is history.

In a presentation to the Texas Floodplain Management Association, Garland engineers explained that homes along Duck Creek went up in the 1950s and 1960s, before modern flood rules, and that this is where most of the city's flooding trouble sits. Neighborhoods along Rowlett Creek and Spring Creek were built from the 1970s on under stricter flood protection ordinances and have had fewer problems. The same presentation lists Garland flood events going back to 1949 and counted 57 repetitive loss properties in the city as of 2014, meaning homes with more than one flood insurance claim.

That does not mean a newer house near Firewheel is safe from water. Plenty of water damage has nothing to do with creeks: a split supply line, a failed water heater, a roof leak after hail or a pipe that froze. But if your street backs up to Duck Creek, a heavy spring storm deserves your attention.

Empty room with a brown waterline and stained lower drywall left after floodwater went down

May 2015: Duck Creek in the living room

Late May 2015 showed what Duck Creek can do. Reports from the time describe about seven inches of rain falling in less than a day. Duck Creek took on water from Garland and from even heavier rain upstream in Collin County, and it left its banks. More than a dozen homes on Glenbrook Drive took on several feet of water. Some residents told reporters they had believed an earlier widening of the creek had ended the risk.

Rowlett Creek ran high that morning too. Emergency officials told people to stay off Campbell Road between Brand Road and Oak Drive, where water poured over the pavement.

Water that rises out of a creek and comes through the door is what the IICRC water damage standard calls Category 3, the most contaminated kind. It can carry sewage, chemicals and soil. A restoration company will usually recommend removing drywall, insulation and carpet that this water touched instead of drying them. Do not wade through it, and keep children and pets away until a company has looked at it.

  • Check the FEMA Flood Map Service Center for your address before the next storm, not after.
  • Ask your insurer whether you carry flood coverage. New NFIP flood coverage usually has a 30 day wait before it applies.
  • Photograph the waterline on the walls before anything is removed.

Garland water and power contacts

Garland is one of the DFW cities that runs its own water and its own electric utility, so the usual numbers do not all apply here.

Water and sewer emergencies

Garland Water Utilities lists its Water Operations line, 972-205-3210, for water and wastewater emergencies 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It is also the city's emergency water shutoff number when you cannot close your own valve.

Electricity

Garland Power and Light is owned by the city; check your bill to confirm it serves your address. Its 24 hour lines are 972-205-3000 and 833-403-2106. For a downed line, leave the area and call 911.

Gas

If you smell gas, do not flip switches or look for the leak. Leave the house and call 911 and Atmos Energy at 866-322-8667 from outside.

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 Garland Power and Light (972-205-3000) or an electrician. A gas smell means everyone goes outside, and the calls to 911 and Atmos Energy 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.

The December 2015 tornado and storm leaks that followed

Blue emergency tarp covering part of the roof of a brick home, with a fallen limb on the wet lawn

On the evening of December 26, 2015, an EF4 tornado tore through Sunnyvale, Garland and Rowlett. Death counts differ by source: Wikipedia lists 10 for the tornado, while Fox 4 and CBS News Texas put the toll at 13 across DFW that night. Most of the victims were in vehicles where the storm crossed Interstate 30. Hundreds of Garland homes were damaged.

A storm like that is remembered for wind, but water does damage for weeks afterward. Rain gets in through torn roofs and broken windows, soaks attic insulation and drips into ceilings long after the sky clears. The same is true of ordinary hail and wind storms in Garland that never make the news.

If a storm opens your roof, cover what you safely can from the ground, keep out of rooms with sagging ceilings and photograph everything. A restoration company can dry the house; a separate contractor usually repairs the roof itself.

Water damage restoration Garland homeowners ask about most

These three services cover most calls that come from Garland: creek and street water, frozen or broken pipes, and pulling standing water out fast.

Flood Damage Restoration

Rising water from creeks, streets and the Trinity is Category 3. What flood cleanup involves, how to read a FEMA flood map, and why a home policy is not a flood policy.

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.

Mold after a leak is common too. Texas sets rules for larger mold jobs, explained in the Texas mold rules guide.

Before you hire anyone in Garland

  1. Get the source fixed. A plumber repairs the pipe; a restoration company dries the house. Know who is doing which job.
  2. Ask what category of water it is. Clean supply line water and Duck Creek floodwater are handled very differently.
  3. Ask about IICRC credentials. Ask whether the firm holds IICRC firm certification and whether the person drying your house has the Water Damage Restoration Technician course, then look the firm up on the IICRC Global Locator.
  4. Ask about permits. Plumbing and electrical repairs may need a City of Garland permit. Ask the company who pulls it.
  5. Get it in writing. A written estimate, a scope of work, daily moisture readings and a certificate of insurance sent from the company's insurer.
Person at a kitchen counter looking at a colored flood map on a laptop

Each of these questions is covered in more depth on our page about vetting a restoration company.

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.

How the free line works for Garland calls

  1. 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".
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

Start by saying Garland, then what got wet and whether water is still running. When the restoration company is tied up, your details still reach it for a return call.

Call (469) 649-7066

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

Other DFW towns the line covers

Garland water damage questions

Who do I call in Garland to shut off the water at the street?

Garland runs its own water system. The city lists 972-205-3210 as its Water Operations line for water and wastewater emergencies, open around the clock, and it doubles as the 24 hour emergency water shutoff number. Try your own shutoff valve first if you can reach it safely. With the water stopped, the free line can put you through to a restoration company. Our first 48 hours checklist lays out the next steps.

Is Garland on Oncor for electricity?

Most of Garland is not. The city owns its electric utility, Garland Power and Light, and the city lists 972-205-3000 or 833-403-2106 as its 24 hour numbers. If water is near your breaker panel or outlets, stay out of the water and call GP&L or an electrician rather than reaching for the panel. If you are unsure who serves your address, check your electric bill.

My house near Duck Creek flooded. Does homeowners insurance pay for that?

Do not assume it does. According to the Texas Department of Insurance, Texas home policies leave out flood; rising water is covered only by a flood policy bought on its own, for example from the federal NFIP. A burst pipe is treated as a different kind of claim. Tell your insurer the water rose out of Duck Creek and ask in plain words which coverage, if any, fits. Our Texas insurance page sorts flood from other water.

How is water damage repair in Garland different from drying?

Drying comes first: removing standing water, cutting out wet materials that cannot be saved and running air movers and dehumidifiers until moisture readings are back to normal. Repair is the rebuild afterward, such as new drywall, baseboards, flooring and cabinets. Some companies do both and some hand the rebuild to another contractor. Ask before you sign. Read more on water damage repair.

Does this line send a crew to my Garland house?

No. Water Damage Pro Dallas is only a free phone line. When you call, a recorded assistant picks up, asks where you live and what got wet, then transfers you to an independent, locally owned restoration company that takes Garland jobs. That company handles the inspection, the quote and the work, and it bills you, not the line. A company can owe the line a fee for the referral, and that is why it costs callers nothing.

Water damage in Garland? Call the free line

Say what happened and which town you are in. The automated assistant passes a water damage call to an independent, locally owned DFW restoration company, and a mold removal call to an independent mold remediation company. That company comes out, sees the damage and prices the work itself.

Call (469) 649-7066

  • Answers day or nightPipes burst at 3 a.m. and storms roll in after dark. The assistant picks up at any hour, every day of the year.
  • Free to callThe line never bills you. Any price comes from the company you are connected with, and you can ask for it in writing.
  • Mold testing is separateTexas keeps the mold assessor and the remediator on one job apart, so testing calls are taken as a message.
  • You decideHear what the company found, read its estimate, ask your insurer your questions, and say yes only when it makes sense.