Water & Flood Damage Restoration in Ottawa
Fast water extraction and drying before the damage spreads.
Water damage restoration is getting the water out, removing the material that will not dry, and drying the structure back to its normal moisture content before mould starts. Pumping is the fast part and the small part. In Ottawa the call is usually a basement: a supply line split in February, a sump pump that quit in a storm, or a sewer backup in spring melt. Before anything moves, the City of Ottawa asks you to call 3-1-1, and your insurer will want photographs of the damage in place.
What we handle.
Burst pipes, spring flooding, and sewer backups need a fast response before moisture wrecks floors and walls. We extract standing water, remove ruined materials, and set up commercial drying to protect the structure. Acting quickly also lowers the chance of mould taking hold later.
- Rapid response to floods, leaks, and sewer backups
- Water extraction, structural drying, and dehumidification
- Removal and haul-away of soaked drywall, carpet, and contents
- Documentation to support your insurance claim
Everything the job covers.
Emergency water extraction
Pumps and extraction units for the standing water, then repeat passes over carpet, underlay and anything else holding it. Clearing standing water takes hours. Getting it back out of the building materials takes days, and that part decides whether this is a repair or a rebuild.
Tear-out and haul-away
Soaked drywall cut back above the water line, wet insulation pulled, underlay and carpet lifted, laminate taken up. Hauling is our core trade, so the wet material leaves on the same visit instead of sitting in the driveway waiting on a second contractor.
Structural drying and dehumidification
Air movers across wet surfaces, dehumidifiers pulling that moisture out of the air, and readings taken at the same points daily so drying can be seen rather than assumed. Equipment stays until the readings say the structure is dry, not until the floor feels dry underfoot.
Sewage and contaminated water
A sewer backup is a contamination problem before it is a water problem. Porous material that touched it comes out rather than being dried, hard surfaces are cleaned and disinfected, and the work is done in the protective clothing ottawa.ca lists for flood water: rubber boots, gloves, safety glasses and a facemask.
Contents, and the record your insurer asks for
Upholstered furniture, mattresses, particle-board cabinets and most porous items that sat in contaminated water are write-offs, and we say so rather than pretend otherwise. Everything that leaves is photographed first and itemised, alongside the daily moisture readings and the disposal record, because that file is the difference between a claim paid and a claim argued.
Start to finish.
Make it safe before anyone goes down the stairs
The City of Ottawa's instruction is not to enter a flooded area until a qualified professional has determined it is safe. If water has reached a plug, outlet, extension cord or appliance, call Hydro Ottawa. If it threatens a furnace or other gas-fired equipment, call Enbridge Gas. Those calls come before ours.
Photograph it, then call 3-1-1 and your insurer
Wide shots of every affected room, then the water line, the source and each damaged item, before anything moves. Then report the flood to 3-1-1. The City's claims line is 613-580-2655, and ottawa.ca notes your insurer usually submits the claim to the City for you.
Establish which water it is
The trade sorts water into three categories, the framework in the ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration: clean water from a supply line, grey water carrying contamination, and black water from sewage or ground flooding. The category decides the method, and clean water does not stay clean, which is why waiting changes the job.
Extract, then remove what will not dry
Standing water first, then the material holding it. Drywall is cut back above the water line, wet insulation and underlay come out, and the load goes on the truck the same day. What stays is only what can return to a normal reading.
Dry it, measure it, then prove it
Air movers and dehumidifiers go in and stay in. We read the same points daily and keep the numbers, because the only defensible end point is a reading matching an unaffected part of the building. Then the gear comes out and you keep the file.
Ottawa gives you three flooding seasons, not one
Winter is split supply lines: an unheated crawl space, an exterior wall, or a hose bib left connected in October, and a pipe opens up and runs until somebody finds it. Spring is the freshet on the Ottawa and Rideau rivers, and the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority calculates that risk from snow pack, rainfall and temperature, posting watershed conditions statements at rvca.ca as levels move. Summer is the storm that outruns a sump pump or pushes a sanitary sewer back into a basement. Once you are dry, read the City of Ottawa's Residential Protective Plumbing program on ottawa.ca. It rebates up to $1,000 for an indoor sanitary backwater valve, $2,500 for an outdoor storm backwater valve, and $1,500 or $3,000 for a sump pump with battery backup depending on whether the pit already exists. The storm valve needs a home built before January 1, 2004 and the sanitary valve before January 1, 2012, a building permit comes first, and as of July 1, 2026 you have 18 months from the permit date to finish and apply.
What drives the price.
Water damage is priced on what has to come out and how long the drying runs, not on how big the puddle was. What moves the number: how long the water sat, which category it is, how many rooms and levels are affected, how much drywall, insulation and flooring has to be hauled, how many days of equipment the readings call for, and access, since a walk-out basement is a different job from a narrow stair. Coverage is worth checking before you assume: the Insurance Bureau of Canada states at ibc.ca that basement damage from a sewer backup is only covered if you bought the optional sewer backup coverage, and that flood coverage is optional too. Call or send photos and we quote before we start.
Water & Flood Damage Restoration, answered.
Still unsure? Call or text (613) 852-4059 and we will tell you straight.
Safety first. If water has reached a plug, outlet, extension cord or appliance, call Hydro Ottawa, and if it is threatening a furnace or water heater, call Enbridge Gas. The City of Ottawa says not to enter a flooded area until a qualified professional confirms it is safe. Stop using sinks and toilets, because anything sent down the drain can come back up. Then photograph everything, call 3-1-1, and call your insurer.
Wide shots of each room from the doorway, then close-ups of the water line, the source if visible, and every damaged item with something in frame for scale. Capture model and serial plates on appliances and the furnace, and keep every receipt. The City of Ottawa's advice is to photograph damaged items and retain receipts, and once material is on the truck it cannot be re-photographed.
Not automatically. The Insurance Bureau of Canada states that basement water damage due to a sewer backup is only covered if you purchased specific, optional sewer backup coverage, and that flood coverage for overflowing rivers, heavy rain, melting snow and rising ground water is optional as well. A burst supply line is treated differently again. Ask your insurer which you hold.
The City of Ottawa publishes a test you can run yourself. Run a sink or flush a toilet and watch your floor drain. If water comes up through the drain, the problem is likely on the sewer side, and worth reporting to 3-1-1. If nothing comes up, it is more likely ground water through the foundation or a sump that stopped keeping up.
Because the water you could see was a fraction of the water in the building. Drywall, framing, subfloor and insulation absorb it and give it back slowly, so a basement that feels dry underfoot can feed moisture into the air for weeks. That is how mould starts, and how floors cup and baseboards swell a month later. Daily readings are the only honest way to know when it is done.
We do the emergency half: extraction, tear-out, haul-away, cleaning and structural drying, so the building is dry and empty of ruined material. Putting drywall, flooring and finishes back is a separate trade, and if your insurer has assigned a preferred contractor for the rebuild, that is who does it. We tell you where our part stops.
Where these facts come from
The rebate amounts, the eligibility years and the application deadline in the seasons section are all set by the City's Residential Protective Plumbing program, and all of them have moved before. The insurance points on this page are attributed to the Insurance Bureau of Canada in the copy itself and are not a government source, so they are not listed here.
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