Water Damage Restoration in Friendly Hills, Whittier, CA

Original Plumbing Under Expensive Finishes

These homes are now at fifty to sixty years old with, in many cases, original supply plumbing. Copper in the pinhole window, some galvanized in the earlier builds, and long service runs because the houses are larger and the lots are bigger.

The complication is what is above the pipe. Solid hardwood, natural stone, custom cabinetry, plaster detailing and built-ins — materials that are expensive to replace and, in the case of a discontinued tile or a custom cabinet run, sometimes impossible to match exactly. A crew that reaches for the demolition saw as a first response will cost you far more than the water did.

That drives our approach here toward drying in place wherever the readings support it: controlled access points rather than open demolition, mat drying systems for hardwood, cavity drying through small inconspicuous holes, and slower, more monitored drying on plaster and specialty finishes.

The mature landscaping adds its own risks — long irrigation runs, root intrusion into laterals, and decades of grading changes that route storm water toward structures.

• Original 1960s–70s copper and galvanized supply on long runs
• Solid hardwood, stone and custom cabinetry over the affected areas
• Discontinued and custom finishes that cannot be simply replaced
• Extensive irrigation systems on larger lots
• Mature trees with roots in sewer laterals
• Landscaping-altered grading directing storm water at structures