The first hour after water damage: what to do and what to leave alone
Shut-offs, photos, what to lift off the floor and the household moves that make drying slower.
Repair guides for Oklahoma City homeowners
Plain answers to the questions we hear most after storms, leaks and fires. Written by Herschel Spurlock, Repair Guides Editor.
All guides
Start with what just happened
The guides fall into three groups. Right now guides cover the first hour after water damage, a tornado, a small kitchen fire or a tree on the roof. Money guides cover what restoration costs, how to document a claim and when a hail-damaged roof should be replaced instead of repaired. Prevention guides cover frozen pipes and the 24 to 48 hour window before mold gets started.
How to tell if hail damaged your roof in Oklahoma City
The ground-level clues that tell you whether the shingles took hits, before anyone climbs a ladder.
What water damage restoration costs in Oklahoma City
Published national ranges, the five things that move the price, and what a claim usually covers.
Frozen pipes in Oklahoma City: where they split and how to stop it
Why the freeze-prone runs are in attics and outside walls here, and what to do the night the forecast drops.
After a tornado: the first steps for a damaged house
Safety first, then tarps, plywood and the photos your claim depends on.
Smoke damage after a small kitchen fire: what can be cleaned
Why a pan fire leaves residue in rooms it never touched, and which surfaces clean versus get replaced.
Mold after water damage: the 24 to 48 hour window
What the EPA says about drying time and the 10 square foot line, and where mold hides after a leak.
Documenting storm damage for an insurance claim
The photos, receipts and records adjusters ask for, and the order to collect them in.
Repair or replace your roof after hail?
How roof age, the share of damaged slopes and Class 4 shingles factor into the call.
Ice storm tree damage to homes: what to do when a limb comes down
Lessons from the October 2020 ice storm on limbs, power lines and the roof damage that follows.
FAQ
About these guides
Herschel Spurlock, our repair guides editor, writes them from the questions homeowners ask us on the phone and on jobs. Facts and figures are taken from public sources named in each guide.
No. Cost figures come from national cost guides and are planning ranges. Your price depends on the damage, and we give you a written scope before repair work starts.
Yes. The line is answered 24/7, and plenty of calls are just someone asking whether a stain or a dent is worth worrying about.
Rather talk it through?
Call any hour. A person answers.