These are the questions people in Kennesaw and the surrounding Cobb County towns ask when they call about water in the house. Each one leads with the answer.
Call a water damage provider, not a plumber, if the water came from outside. Runoff off a clay lot comes in through the vents and the low side of the foundation, and crawl space water extraction pumps it out and dries the joists and insulation. A plumber is the first call only when a line under the floor is leaking.
The pad under the carpet is the problem, because it holds far more water than the carpet on top. Basement flooding cleanup pulls the carpet back, meters the pad and the slab, and checks the drywall at the base. A basement that feels merely damp on top is often soaked underneath.
Because a Georgia summer gives the fans nothing to work with. When the outside air sits near 70 percent humidity, moving it around does not pull water out of a subfloor or a wall cavity. Structural drying pairs air movers with dehumidifiers and tracks the readings until the material, not the air, reads dry.
Everything below it. The December 2022 cold snap hit 8 degrees in metro Atlanta and split supply lines in attics and garages all over Cobb County, and the water ran down through ceilings and walls before anyone noticed. Burst pipe water damage work meters the ceiling, the wall cavities under the leak, and the floor below.
Often it will not, and this site cannot read your policy to say. Sudden losses like a burst pipe are usually treated one way and groundwater or seepage another, with outside flooding needing its own coverage. Ask the crew for photos, moisture logs, and a written scope your adjuster can review.
Pumping alone leaves water in the carpet pad, the bottom of the drywall, and anything stored on the floor. Sump pump failure cleanup extracts the standing water, then dries the wall system and flooring, and the pump itself needs a fix before the next storm.
It usually reaches the house. A tank in an attached garage sits on a slab that slopes toward the door, but the wall it shares with the house wicks water into the drywall and insulation. Water heater leak cleanup dries that shared wall and any flooring inside the door.
A roofer first, then a drying crew. The roofer stops the next rain from getting in, and roof leak water damage work dries the attic insulation, the ceiling drywall, and any wall the water ran down. Do not push on a sagging ceiling, and set a bucket under it until the roofer arrives.
The drying and cleanup need no permit. Replacing drywall, plumbing, or electrical usually does. Inside the city, Kennesaw Building Services handles it online. In unincorporated Cobb County, it is Cobb County Community Development, and Acworth, Marietta, and Smyrna each run their own desk. When the rebuild needs one, the provider handles the permit application.
Only the rebuild. Drying the inside of the house is between you and the provider. Grading, downspouts, and anything on the exterior of a townhome in Legacy Park or a swim-tennis subdivision off Barrett Parkway may need the association's approval, so tell the crew early if the water came in from outside.
Neither this site nor a provider will quote a price before taking readings in the house. Whether the water is in a crawl space or a basement, how long it sat, and which materials it reached all change the scope. Ask for the scope in writing before the work starts.
Providers represent their own licensing and insurance. The Georgia Secretary of State runs an online license lookup for residential and general contractors, and the About page links to the licensing board. While you have them on the phone, ask the provider for a current insurance certificate.
Providers work across the county lines into Cherokee, Paulding, and Bartow, and the drying job is the same. The only difference is the permit desk for the rebuild, and each area page names the right one.
Call (470) 574-4769. Tell the person who answers which floor the water is on, whether it came from outside or from a pipe, and whether it is still coming in.