Auburn
Water damage restoration in Auburn, WA
Auburn is a large, long-established city south-west of Maple Valley, stretching from an older downtown on the valley floor up to Lea Hill and south into Lakeland Hills, which sits across the county line in Pierce County. Its housing spans more than a century, and the water problems vary with it. We serve 98001, 98002 and 98092.
Wherever you are in Auburn, tell us what you’re seeing.
Call About Water in Auburn- Phone answered 24/7
- Emergency response
- Upfront pricing before work begins
- No hidden fees
- Straight answers on the phone
- Crews who know Cedar River valley crawl spaces
The city
More than a century of building
Auburn’s oldest neighborhoods, around downtown and in older parts of 98002, have houses from the early 1900s through the middle of the century: bungalows, small ramblers and older two-stories, many on crawl spaces. Lea Hill, in 98092, filled in largely from the 1970s on with split-levels, ramblers and subdivisions, plus apartments and condominiums. Lakeland Hills, further south in the Pierce County part of the city, is mostly newer construction.
Auburn also has plenty of apartments, commercial buildings and industrial space in the valley. Like Kent, it is a big city in its own right, and we serve it as a neighboring city, not as our home base.
Older homes
Side sewers and old drains
In Auburn’s older houses, one of the more common calls is a backup from the sewer line. The pipe that runs from the house to the public sewer, the side sewer, is often old clay or cast iron, and roots find the joints. A partial blockage shows first as slow drains and gurgling. A full one sends water up through the lowest drain, often a floor drain or a lower-level toilet or shower.
If that happens, stop using water in the house, call a plumber or sewer contractor to clear the line, and treat what came up as sewage. The restoration crew removes affected materials, cleans and dries the area, and confirms with readings before anything is rebuilt. See sewage backup cleanup.
The crawl spaces under Auburn’s older houses tend to be low, with old insulation or none, and sometimes no vapor barrier at all. That makes them slower to reach and slower to dry, and it can make a slow supply leak hard to tell from ground moisture. With everything off, the water meter settles that question quickly. See crawl space water damage.
Drain backing up in an older house? Call and we’ll help you sort out the next steps.
Drain Backing Up? Call UsLea Hill
Split-levels and hillside drainage
Lea Hill homes are often split-levels or two-stories with a lower floor partly below grade, on lots that slope. That lower floor collects the water trouble: seepage along the uphill wall after long rain, a water heater or laundry leak spreading under carpet, or a sump that stops keeping up. Carpet over concrete hides water until the pad is soaked, so the first sign is often a smell or a damp edge by the wall rather than a puddle.
The water meter is the quickest way to tell a plumbing leak from groundwater: with everything off, a moving meter means a leak. See daylight basement water damage and sump pump failure cleanup.
Lower level wet on Lea Hill? Tell us when it started and where.
Water on the Lower Level? CallNewer and multi-unit
Lakeland Hills, apartments and condos
In Lakeland Hills and the newer subdivisions, the failures are the modern ones: supply hoses, fittings, water heaters and appliance connections, often upstairs. In a two-story newer home, an upstairs laundry or bathroom leak usually shows first as a ceiling stain in the room below. In Auburn’s apartment and condominium buildings, a leak in one unit can reach others, and the property manager or association usually needs to be involved from the start.
Crews measure every affected space, not just the one where the water was seen, and keep a separate record for each unit or owner. More in appliance leak water damage.
Leak in a condo or newer home? We’ll help you stop it and dry it.
Get Pricing Before Work StartsTime and cost
Timing, drying and price
Auburn is further from Maple Valley than the east side of Kent, and how long it takes to reach you depends on the part of the city and the time of day. Lea Hill is often the most direct from our side. We’ll give you a realistic estimate on the phone.
A sewage backup in an older house usually takes longer than a clean-water leak, because more material has to come out. A clean supply leak caught quickly in a newer home may dry in a few days. Split-level lower floors usually fall in between: the carpet pad and the bottom of the drywall often come out, and the concrete dries with dehumidifiers. Either way, you get the price before work begins.
Services for side sewers, split-levels and newer homes
Neighbors of Auburn we also serve
Questions
Auburn questions
Check the floor drain and the base of the walls for dampness, then the water heater and laundry. In older Auburn houses the side sewer and old foundation joints are common sources.
The pipe that carries waste from your house to the public sewer. In older neighborhoods it is often clay or cast iron, and roots can block it.
If it smells or looks dirty, treat it as sewage. Clear water after heavy rain can be groundwater, but a plumber can tell you whether the line is blocked.
Yes. Lakeland Hills is part of the city of Auburn, in the Pierce County portion, and we serve it.
Usually seepage through the uphill wall after long rain, or a leak from something against that wall such as a water heater or laundry.
Often, because of layered materials and low crawl spaces. Readings tell the crew when it’s actually done.
Yes. They can explain findings and the drying plan to your association or manager and keep separate records for each unit.
It’s best not to. Stop using water and call; sewage needs different handling from clean water.
Through photos, moisture readings taken at set points and a written note of the work. It shows what was wet, what was done and when the area was confirmed dry.
Frequent running in a long wet spell is common on sloped lots. It’s worth a look if it runs in dry weather too, if it sounds like it’s struggling, or if the discharge water is flowing back toward the house.
Water damage in Auburn? Call and we’ll help you sort it out.
Older house, split-level or condo, a local crew finds the source, dries it properly and gives you the price first.
Honest timing for your part of Auburn.
Get Help Drying It Out