Sewage backup and water cleanup for Shepherd homes in Oklahoma City
In a neighborhood whose historic period runs from 1925 to 1949, the sewer line out to the street may be as old as the house. When it backs up, we clean, disinfect and rebuild what the water touched.
- Answered 24/7
- Oklahoma County
- Dry-out to rebuild
We clean up sewage backups, flooding and water damage in the Shepherd Historic District, answering 24/7 from our West Memorial Road office. The district, roughly NW 25th to NW 30th between Pennsylvania Avenue and Youngs Boulevard, has a period of significance from 1925 to 1949, and houses of that age can be on older sewer laterals that clog or crack.
Tudor and Colonial Revival houses from 1925 to 1949
The Shepherd Historic District is roughly bounded by NW 25th and NW 30th streets between Pennsylvania Avenue and Youngs Boulevard. Its period of significance runs from 1925 to 1949, and the houses are largely Tudor Revival and Colonial Revival. Shepherd is also one of Oklahoma City's locally zoned Historic Preservation districts.
For damage work, the age matters underground as much as on the roof. Houses from that period were commonly connected with clay or cast iron sewer pipe, and tree roots, settling and corrosion work at those joints for decades. When a lateral clogs, wastewater comes up at the lowest drain in the house first, usually a tub, shower or floor drain.
Heavy rain adds pressure. NWS Norman records that thirteen people died in flash flooding in Oklahoma County on the evening of May 31, 2013. Rain on that scale can push water into older drain systems, and a house with a weak lateral may see it come back up through its own drains. The City of Oklahoma City also notes that basic homeowner's insurance does not cover floods.
Backups, floods and the smell that follows
Sewage coming up through floor-level drains
Sewage is Category 3 water, carrying bacteria that soak into drywall, carpet and wood. We extract it, remove porous materials it touched, clean and disinfect the structure and dry it before rebuilding. Clean water shortcuts do not apply to a sewage loss.
Flooding from heavy rain
Water that comes in at doors, window wells or a sloped driveway after a downpour spreads under flooring and into the bottoms of walls. We pump and extract, cut drywall above the wet line and dry the framing against measured readings.
Lingering musty smells
A musty smell weeks after a backup or leak usually means something stayed wet: carpet pad, a wall cavity or the subfloor. We inspect with moisture meters and, when it is called for, sampling, then remove the source instead of masking the smell.
Cleanup services for Shepherd homeowners
Calls from Shepherd come to our West Memorial Road office on the same 24/7 line as the rest of the city. For a sewage backup we will ask you to stop using every drain and toilet in the house, keep children and pets away from the area and leave the cleanup to us. We arrive with protective gear, extraction equipment and disinfectants.
Shepherd sewage and water questions
Usually yes, if the affected area is closed off and no one walks through it. Keep children, older relatives and pets away. If the backup reached carpeted living areas or the only bathroom, staying elsewhere for a few days may be easier.
No. Carpet and pad that sewage reached should be removed and thrown out, because the contamination soaks into the fibers and backing where cleaning cannot reach. Hard surfaces like tile and sealed concrete can be cleaned and disinfected.
Not always. Many policies exclude sewer and drain backup unless that coverage was added, and the City of Oklahoma City notes that basic homeowner's insurance does not cover floods. Call your agent, and we will document the damage either way.
Roots in clay pipe, sagging sections of the lateral and buildup inside cast iron are the usual causes. A plumber can run a camera to find the problem. We handle the cleanup and the repairs inside the house and tell you what we saw at the drain.
Other places we work near Shepherd
Damage at your place in Shepherd?
Call any hour. We tell you what to do in the next ten minutes and get a crew moving.