Rain Got In During the Storm

Water in the Ceiling After a Storm

When a hurricane or tropical storm drives rain sideways for hours, water finds every opening: a lifted shingle, a damaged vent, a window frame, a gap where a wall meets a roof. If water is in the ceiling after the storm, the opening is somewhere above it, and the attic insulation has probably been holding water against the drywall for a while. The outside opening is a separate job. The inside damage is restoration work: hauling out soaked batts, drying the attic floor and ceiling, then patching what had to come down. That part starts with a call: (346) 567-8448.

What You'll See

A Sagging Ceiling: Keep Clear

If the ceiling bulges, treat the room as off-limits: soaked gypsum is heavy and gives way suddenly. Get furniture out from underneath, keep kids and animals away, and if a light sits in the wet patch, kill that circuit at the breaker box, but only from dry footing. Leave the bulge for the restoration crew to drain properly.

How the Inside Gets Dried

1. Readings on the ceiling, walls and floor below the leak.
2. Soaked insulation removed above the wet ceiling.
3. Ceiling opened over the soaked or sagging area.
4. Walls opened low where rain ran down inside them.
5. Drying, with fans and dehumidifiers, until the numbers match an unaffected room.
6. Repair once dry. See drywall, ceiling and floor repair.

When the Power Is Out

Gulf Coast storms often take the power with them. If there's no power, wet materials sit longer, the house gets hotter and more humid, and drying waits on generators or the grid. Never run a generator indoors or in a garage. More: drying a house when the power is out.

Is Water in the Ceiling After a Hurricane Covered by Windstorm Insurance?

Often, when wind created the opening that let the rain in, and where windstorm coverage applies to your address. Water that came up from outside, as surge or flooding, is a flood-policy matter instead. Policies differ, so read yours. See windstorm, flood or homeowners.

Photograph Before Anything Moves

• the ceiling and walls from the doorway, then close up
• any water on the floor and what it reached
• the attic, if it's safe to look from the hatch
• the outside of the house where the opening might be, from the ground

Not Only Hurricanes

Tropical storms and stalled rain systems can put more water into a house than a named hurricane does. The signs and the drying are the same whatever the storm was called.

Windows, Doors and Walls Facing the Storm

Hurricane winds don't only push rain down; they push it sideways. If one side of the house faced the storm, check the walls under its windows, the bottom of its doors and the corners where walls meet. Water that gets behind trim runs down inside the wall and shows up as damp carpet, a soft baseboard or bubbling paint near the floor. Those walls are often opened low so the cavity can dry.

Wet Attic Insulation

Attic insulation is the hidden sponge in a storm leak. If the ceiling below is stained, the insulation above it is wet, and it keeps holding water against the drywall after the rain stops. Wet batts and blown-in insulation in that area are usually removed, the attic floor and framing dried, and fresh insulation added after the ceiling is repaired. Leaving it in place almost guarantees the stain comes back.

Storm Water Damage Around Baytown

West

• Old BaytownBaytown
• Goose CreekBaytown
• PellyBaytown
• LakewoodBaytown
• La PorteHarris
• SeabrookHarris
• ChannelviewHarris

East

• Cedar BayouBaytown
• Mont BelvieuChambers
• CoveChambers
• Beach CityChambers
• Old River-WinfreeChambers
• AnahuacChambers

North

• HighlandsHarris
• CrosbyHarris
• HuffmanHarris
• DaytonLiberty

The Baytown water damage restoration page has the rest of the house.