Older one-story brick ranch home with a carport behind a mowed lawn and a shade tree

Water Damage Restoration in Richardson, Texas

A pipe that split in the cold, a ceiling soaked after a storm, water spreading across the floor. One free call, any hour, connects you with an independent company serving Richardson.

Call (469) 649-7066 Shut off the water first

Richardson learned about burst pipes the hard way

During Winter Storm Uri, Richardson Public Services and the fire department carried out 878 water shutoffs, according to the city's own recap in Richardson Today.

On February 14, 2021, residents used about 32 million gallons of water, roughly double the normal amount for that time of year, mostly from faucets left dripping to keep pipes from freezing. The city later put a $15 credit on March water bills. At the worst point of the rolling blackouts, close to 17,500 Richardson residents had no electricity, Community Impact reported.

Cold houses and frozen lines are how many homes in this part of Dallas and Collin counties end up needing water damage restoration. Richardson is a city of older, established neighborhoods, and the pipes in an attic or an outside wall are the first to go.

Water Damage Pro Dallas is a free phone line, not a restoration company. Call (469) 649-7066 and an automated assistant connects your water damage call with an independent restoration company that takes Richardson calls.

Outdoor faucet on a brick wall with ice and a frozen trickle of water on a frosty winter morning

Stopping the water in a Richardson home

Find your private valve. Many Richardson homes have one in a small box in the front flower bed. Close it if you can reach it safely.
Use the meter if you must. The city meter box is usually near the curb. The valve turns clockwise to close and may need a meter key.
Call the city if you cannot. Richardson's 24-hour response line is 972-744-4111. A crew can shut the water off at the meter, though waits can be long when many people call at once, as they did in 2021.
Mind the power. Keep out of water near outlets and appliances. Flip the breaker only while you stand somewhere dry; if you cannot, call Oncor at 888-313-4747 or an electrician.
Then document. Photograph the damage, phone your insurer, then dial the free line and ask for a water damage company.

The October 2019 tornado and the water that followed

Large oak limb lying across the roof of a brick ranch home after a storm

On the night of October 20, 2019, an EF3 tornado with winds up to 140 mph tracked about 15.76 miles across North Dallas and into Richardson. The mayor signed a disaster declaration. City officials said more than 670 structures were affected in the roughly nine minutes the tornado spent crossing Richardson. Some of the worst of it was near Richland College and in the Richland Park neighborhood, where trees came down on houses.

Wind damage is a water problem as well. A punctured roof or a broken window lets rain soak attic insulation, ceilings and floors, often for days before repairs are done. Once a roof is tarped, the wet materials inside still have to be dried or removed, or mold can start.

A year later, CBS Texas reported the Richland Park area had largely been rebuilt.

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.

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.

Why water damage restoration in Richardson often means older plumbing

Richardson grew early. It had about 1,300 people around 1950. Central Expressway arrived in 1954, Texas Instruments opened offices just across the city's southern line in Dallas in 1956, and Collins Radio opened in 1958. By 1961 the population was 16,810, and by 1972 it was about 56,000. Cotton fields became subdivisions for the engineers who worked along what was later called the Telecom Corridor on US 75.

That means a lot of Richardson homes are 50 to 70 years old. Some have been replumbed; others still have original drain lines and supply pipes. Common trouble spots in houses that age include:

Corroded supply lines and old shutoff valves under sinks and behind toilets that fail or will not close.
Cast iron or clay drain lines that crack and back up, which brings in Category 3 water; see sewage cleanup.
Pipes under the slab stressed by Blackland Prairie clay, which swells when wet and shrinks when dry; see slab leaks.
Water heaters and AC drain lines in closets and attics, where a slow leak can soak a ceiling or subfloor before anyone notices.

Older one-story brick ranch homes under mature trees on a quiet street

Creeks and drainage in Richardson

The West Fork of Cottonwood Creek drains much of west Richardson north of Belt Line Road, and the city has studied its drainage. In south central Richardson, Floyd Branch collects runoff from about 2.6 square miles, and the city added underground drainage pipes near Main Street between US 75 and the DART line to carry more of it.

Water that rose from a creek or poured in off the street, rather than from a pipe, counts as floodwater: dirty, Category 3, and not covered by a standard homeowner policy. Check your address on FEMA's flood maps and ask your agent about a flood policy, which generally starts 30 days after you buy it. Flood damage restoration covers cleanup.

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 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.

What to ask a restoration company in Richardson

About the job

Is this clean, gray or black water, and which drying class does the job fall in? Which walls, floors and cabinets can stay, and which must come out? Will I see moisture readings each day until the job is signed off as dry?

About the company

Is the firm registered with the City of Richardson for any permit work? Can I see it on the IICRC Global Locator? Will its insurer send me a certificate? Will I get the estimate in writing, and does it cover the rebuild or only the drying?

The company-checking guide walks through each question.

How a Richardson call works

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.

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

Richardson water damage questions

How do I get the water shut off at my meter in Richardson?

Look first for your own private shutoff valve. Richardson Today, the city's news site, notes it often sits in a small box in the front flower bed. If you cannot find one, the meter valve is usually in a box near the curb and turns clockwise to close, though it may need a meter key. If you cannot do it safely, call the city's 24-hour response line, 972-744-4111, and a crew can be sent to the meter. See burst pipe water damage for what comes next.

Who does water damage restoration in Richardson TX after hours?

Call the free line at any hour. An automated assistant listens to what happened, then puts a water damage call through to an independent, locally owned restoration company that serves Richardson, along with a short summary. Should that company miss the call, your name, number and problem still reach it for a callback. Doing, pricing and billing the work all stay with the company. See how the call is handled.

Will Richardson make me pull a permit for repairs after a leak?

The city's Building Inspection department lists interior remodels that move walls or change plumbing, electrical or mechanical systems as permit work, and says permits must be approved and posted before work begins. Contractors must register with the city. Call Building Inspection at 972-744-4180 on weekdays if you are unsure. More on the repair stage.

Storm damage let rain into my Richardson house. Is that a roof problem or a water problem?

Both, handled by different people. Whoever repairs the roof stops new water from getting in. A restoration company deals with the wet insulation, drywall and floors inside, which can grow mold if left damp. Photograph everything before cleanup and call your insurer to ask how wind and hail damage is handled on your policy. Read ceiling water damage.

Water spreading in a Richardson home? Make the free call

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.