Water damage restoration in Hollywood Lakes, FL for historic homes and lakefront streets

We answer 24/7 and send the nearest available crew. When you call, tell us three things: whether water is still coming in, where it came from, and the year the house was built if you know it. Those answers decide what the crew loads first. Standing water needs extraction gear, and sewage needs containment. Plaster and masonry walls need extra dehumidifiers.

We use the City's own outline. Hollywood's design guidelines describe the Lakes Area district as running from Johnson Street south to Washington Street, and from 17th Avenue east to the Intracoastal Waterway. That takes in North and South Lake Drives, Hollywood Boulevard between the lakes, and streets such as Harrison, Tyler, Polk and Madison. Addresses in the Lakes use both the 33019 and 33020 ZIP codes. We work across all of Hollywood, so an edge address is covered either way.

Usually at the water meter box near the street, and sometimes at a house valve where the line enters the building. Look near an outside hose bib or the water heater. Many houses from the 1920s to the 1950s still have round-handled gate valves. After decades without use, a gate valve can seize or snap, so test yours once a year and have a plumber replace one that will not close fully.

Often yes, when clean water reached only a few rooms. Expect noise, because dehumidifiers and air movers run day and night, sometimes longer in plaster and masonry rooms. Plan to move out for part of the job if sewage or tide water got in, if asbestos or lead work is under way, or if you lose the only bathroom or kitchen. A dry garage apartment on the same lot can be an option. We tell you after the inspection.

Yes. City records note that many Lakes houses have apartments or garages at the rear, some first built as servants' quarters, and 1920s apartment buildings sit among the houses. We give each unit its own photos and moisture log. That helps a landlord answer tenants and the insurer separately, and we can schedule drying and repairs unit by unit so dry units stay in use.

Drying a clean-water loss usually takes several days, and plaster, masonry and old-growth wood often take longer than drywall. The rebuild is where old houses add time. Lab results for asbestos or lead, City review of exterior items in the historic district, and sourcing materials that match can each add weeks. We give you a dated schedule after inspection and updates it as daily moisture readings come in.

Yes. Many Lakes owners have a plumber who already knows the house and its patched lines. We handle extraction, drying, cleanup and rebuild, and we share moisture maps and photos with your plumber so the pipe repair and the wall openings line up. The plumber's invoice and our estimate go to your insurer as separate items, which keeps the pipe repair and the water damage claim easy to read.

Ask City of Hollywood Planning, or check the City's zoning map. The City designated three historic districts in 1995, including the Lakes Area Historic Multiple Resource Listing District, and a 2010 staff report lists its overlay as HMPRLOD-1. The Florida Master Site File may also record your house and its year built. Ask Planning, too, whether your house is classed as contributing, because that status affects demolition review and some tax incentives.

Probably not for routine repairs. The City records we reviewed focus design review on exteriors, demolition and new construction, and we found no rule that sends interior drying or plaster patching to the board. Those jobs normally need only the building permits that apply anywhere in Hollywood. Ask City of Hollywood Planning before interior work that changes walls or openings visible from the street. We start emergency drying either way.

Often, if drying starts quickly. Older solid-wood floors can cup as the boards swell, then flatten again as they dry. Floor-drying mats pull moisture out of the boards without lifting them. Floors soaked by sewage or tide water are harder to save, because the water carries bacteria into the wood and the subfloor. We test the boards and the subfloor before advising repair or replacement.

Usually because the plaster, or the masonry behind it, is still wet, or because a slow leak is still feeding it. Plaster dries slowly from the core outward. Salts carried by the water can bloom through new paint as white or brown marks. We check moisture through the wall before any repainting, and if readings rise again we trace the source, often a stucco crack, a clogged scupper or a seeping pipe joint.

They can be. Plaster and stucco hide moisture longer than drywall, and decades of patched plumbing leave many joints that can seep. Signs include peeling paint low on walls, musty closets, soft trim and doors that start to stick. A thermal camera and moisture meters can find wet areas without opening the wall, which matters when the wall is original plaster you want to keep.

Yes, if the home was built before about 1980. Textured ceilings, old flooring and some plaster can contain asbestos, and only a lab test of a sample can confirm it. Do not scrape, sand or soak the material yourself. Broward County runs a local asbestos program with its own filing, so the abatement contractor should confirm which notices your job needs before removal starts.

Yes, in homes built before 1978. Paint on original trim, doors and windows may contain lead. The EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule requires certified firms and lead-safe practices once work disturbs more than 6 square feet per room inside or 20 square feet outside. Window replacement is covered at any size.

News coverage names two. CBS Miami reported king tide flooding on North Lake Drive on September 28, 2026, when water poured through gaps in the barrier. It also reported that South Lake Drive has faced flooding for years, with 18 to 20 inches at the end of the street during peak tides. Lower side streets near the lakes can also take water through storm drains, so check your own street during each tide period.

For cleanup, yes. Tide water that comes from the lake, the street or a storm drain is Category 3 under IICRC S500, because it can carry bacteria, fuel, oil and debris. Porous materials it soaks, such as carpet, pad and the lower part of wet drywall or plaster, are usually removed. Hard surfaces are cleaned and disinfected before drying starts.

Often because rainwater gets into cracked old laterals or the public system and the line fills. Roots and debris that already narrow the pipe make it worse. A licensed plumber with a camera can tell which problem you have. If wastewater has come into the house, treat it as Category 3 and keep people away until it is cleaned. Note the date, because a pattern of rain-day backups helps the plumber and the City.

Some do, especially lower houses with fixtures close to street level. A backwater valve lets wastewater leave the house but closes when the sewer backs up toward it. It needs a cleanout for maintenance and occasional checks. Ask a licensed plumber whether your lateral suits one, and whether the City of Hollywood requires a plumbing permit for the installation.

Yes. Roots grow into joints and cracks in old clay or cast-iron laterals, then catch paper and grease, so the line clogs again after each clearing. Snaking alone leaves the roots in place. A plumber can camera the line and recommend root cutting, a cured-in-place liner or replacement. Each backup that reaches the house needs Category 3 cleanup.

Check the City's tide notices and the South Florida Water Management District forecasts each fall. Clear yard and floor drains, move stored items in the garage off the floor, keep sandbags ready for low doorways and photograph the house before the tide. Move cars to higher ground, as the City advises, and never take a car through salt water on a flooded street. If water reaches the house, call for cleanup the same day.

It can. Broward County's regional standard, as the City of Hollywood describes it, requires new and substantially improved seawalls to reach 4 feet NAVD88 if built before January 1, 2035, and 5 feet NAVD88 by 2050. Owners who let tidal water flow onto neighbors or streets can be cited. The 2018 Army Corps and Broward County modeling tested scenarios with every seawall in the Lakes raised, so one low private wall can let water in around the public barrier.

It depends on the water type, the square footage and the materials. As a worked example, a 200-square-foot loss at HomeAdvisor's 2025 range of $3.50 to $7.50 per square foot, which runs from clean to black water, works out to about $700 to $1,500 for mitigation alone. In an older Lakes house, plaster repair, labeled storage of trim, and asbestos or lead testing can be added on top. We quote after an inspection.

Often the sudden water damage is covered while the worn pipe itself is not, and long-term seepage is usually excluded. Some policies also pay to open and repair walls or floors to reach the leak, which matters with drains under a slab. Read your policy's water damage and tear-out wording, and report the loss promptly, since Florida now gives you one year from the date of loss to file a new claim. We document the cause with photos.

For some work, yes. Plumbing and electrical repairs always need permits, while removing wet materials to stop mold usually does not. Drywall, flooring and cabinet rules vary, so confirm them with the City of Hollywood Building Division. Exterior changes in the historic district may also need a Certificate of Appropriateness. The Building Division handles permits, and Planning handles historic review, so expect two separate conversations.

It may not, if the house qualifies as a historic structure under FEMA's definition and the repairs keep its designation. NFIP rules exclude such alterations from substantial improvement. Ask the City of Hollywood floodplain administrator how the local ordinance treats your house, and keep the flood repair estimate separate from any upgrades you add, because the floodplain review looks at the cost of the work.

It is required if the house sits in a FEMA special flood hazard area and has a federally backed mortgage. Citizens also requires flood coverage for most of its personal residential policies with wind coverage by January 1, 2027. An October 2026 sample by a local real estate research group found all 41 Lakes addresses it checked in high-risk A zones. Confirm your own zone on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov.

Keep dated photos of every room and of original trim, floors and windows, plus our moisture logs. Add samples of damaged plaster or tile, plumber invoices and camera videos, City permit and Planning records, and every email with your insurer. These records help price like-kind replacement and support any historic review of exterior work. Keep copies in the cloud, not only in the house.