Damage repair for Gatewood homes in Oklahoma City, from frozen pipes to roof leaks
Gatewood's houses are about a century old, and the water lines inside them have been through every hard freeze since. We find the break, dry the house and put the walls back.
- Answered 24/7
- Oklahoma County
- Dry-out to rebuild
We repair burst pipe, water and storm damage in Gatewood from our West Memorial Road office, with calls answered 24/7. The Gatewood Addition was platted in 1922 and most of its homes went up during the 1920s oil boom, and houses that age tend to have plumbing that has been patched and rerouted more than once.
1920s oil boom houses in two historic districts
The Gatewood Addition was platted in 1922, and most of its homes were built during the oil boom of the 1920s. The Gatewood East Historic District runs from NW 16th Street to just north of NW 22nd between Classen Boulevard and Blackwelder Avenue and is dominated by Bungalow, Craftsman and Tudor Revival homes. Gatewood West, from NW 16th to NW 23rd between Blackwelder and Pennsylvania, features Tudor Revival and Colonial Revival houses, with G. A. Nichols, Inc. listed among its builders.
For damage work, that age shows up in two places. Homes of that era often have supply lines running through exterior walls or under floors that see the coldest air. And plaster ceilings take a leak differently from drywall: they hold the water, then crack or let a section drop.
Cold snaps are a real threat. The Oklahoma Mesonet reports that Oklahoma City hit minus 14 degrees on February 16, 2021, its second lowest reading on record. In an old house, a pipe that froze that week often showed no sign until it thawed and started spraying inside a wall.
What usually goes wrong in a Gatewood house
Frozen and split supply lines
A pipe that freezes splits quietly and leaks once it thaws, often inside a wall or under the floor. We shut off the water, open the wall where the moisture readings point, dry the cavity and rebuild once the line has been repaired.
Plaster ceilings after a leak
Water above a plaster ceiling spreads along the lath before it shows, then the plaster keys break and a section can sag or fall. We check for sag, shore or remove loose sections, dry the space above and patch or replace to match the surrounding surface.
Leaks on steep Tudor roofs
Tudor Revival rooflines tend to be steep, with valleys and chimneys where leaks start. After hail or wind we inspect the valleys, step flashing and chimney counterflashing as well as the shingles, and repair with materials that suit the house.
Gatewood repairs we handle most
From our West Memorial Road office, Gatewood is a run south to the streets between Classen and Pennsylvania. A person answers at any hour and can help you find the main water shutoff over the phone. When we arrive we stop the water, map how far it spread with moisture meters and talk through which plaster, trim or flooring can be dried in place before anything comes out.
Gatewood homeowners ask us
In outside walls, under floors near foundation vents, in unheated additions and near hose bibs. Rooms added onto older houses are frequent trouble spots. During a hard freeze, open the cabinet doors on outside walls and let a faucet drip overnight.
If the plaster is still holding tight to the lath and the sag is minor, it can be dried, reattached and patched. If the keys broke over a wide area, that section comes down and gets replaced. We test before deciding, since sound plaster is worth keeping.
Shut off the main water valve, then switch off power to any wet room at the breaker panel if you can reach it without standing in water. Move what you can off wet floors, take photos and call us. Drying should start that same day.
Coverage depends on your policy, not the age of the house. Most policies cover sudden pipe bursts and exclude long-term leaks and outside flooding. We document cause, extent and moisture readings so your adjuster sees exactly what happened.
Other places we work near Gatewood
Damage at your place in Gatewood?
Call any hour. We tell you what to do in the next ten minutes and get a crew moving.