Expert Water & Fire Damage Services in Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Late-winter ice jams are this city's signature flood. In March 2019, ice backing up on the Manitowoc River pushed water over Mill Road and across neighborhoods near 41st and Archer. Low spots on Delta Street sat under rising water for days. Ice-jam floods are dirty and sudden: the water carries river sediment, road runoff, and whatever the storm drains could not swallow. Our crews pump it out, cut out what the river ruined, and get the framing dry before mold moves in.

Lake Michigan does not need a hurricane to cause trouble here — a strong northeast wind is plenty. Driven waves and rising lake levels push water up through the harbor and into low-lying streets near the shore. Seawalls and bulkheads take the first hit, and basements in the blocks closest to the lake take the second. The water is cold, sandy, and persistent. We pump out the surge water, wash out the sand and silt, and dry the foundation before the next freeze can widen the cracks.

July 2021 taught Manitowoc what a stalled thunderstorm can do. Nearly five inches of rain fell in one night and the river went over its banks. Basements filled from floor drains and window wells faster than sump pumps could keep up. Cloudburst flooding overwhelms systems in minutes, not hours. We pump the basement dry, pull the soaked carpet and pad, and run industrial drying until the wall cavities and subfloor read clean.

Some of the worst street flooding in March 2019 did not come from the river at all. Ice choking the storm drains sent meltwater backing up onto streets and into garages and lower levels, and city crews worked all weekend clearing grates by hand. A blocked drain turns a normal thaw into an indoor swimming pool. The cleanup follows our river-water playbook: pump, sanitize, dry, and verify every reading before we pack up.

More than 10,000 Manitowoc homes were built before 1970, and plenty still carry their original supply lines. When a February cold snap finds an uninsulated run along an exterior wall, the pipe splits and does not stop until somebody shuts the water off. We have walked into homes where a burst pipe ran all weekend. We stop the leak at the source, pump out what escaped, open the walls that need it, and dry the studs before a single board goes back.

A sump pump is only as good as its last storm. Spring melt and heavy rain can dump more water than an aging pump can move. A power outage during the same storm leaves the best pump in the world sitting silent. By the time the homeowner checks the basement, the carpet squishes. We clear the water, tear out the ruined carpet and pad, and dry the slab and studs so a new pump starts from zero.

Manitowoc winters stack snow on roofs and then warm the attic just enough to melt it from below. The meltwater runs down, refreezes at the eaves, and the dam behind it forces water under the shingles. Attic insulation soaks it up like a sponge and the ceiling below starts to stain. We trace the leak's full route, dry out the attic, and fix the stained ceiling so next winter's dam starts from scratch.

Downtown's Eighth Street Historic District holds brick commercial buildings and old houses dating to the 1800s, and fire moves through old construction fast. Even a small kitchen fire fills plaster walls and old ductwork with soot that keeps smelling for months. We board up and secure the property, then clean soot from every surface. HEPA air scrubbers pull smoke particles out of the air while we rebuild with materials that suit the age of the building.