Durham and all of Durham County
Water and fire damage help in Durham, NC
Water where it shouldn't be, or smoke through the house? Send us your ZIP and we pass it to one restoration company that works there. You see a written price before they start.
A supply line that split in the crawl space, a hall closet water heater that gave out, Third Fork Creek in the yard, or soot on every wall after a kitchen fire. Skip the five cold calls. Send your ZIP and what happened, and one restoration company that works that part of Durham County phones you and comes out. The price is written down before anyone starts.
Calls and texts answered 7am to 9pm, 7 days. Photos by text whenever.
- Dry-outs after leaks and floods, soot cleanup after fires
- A scope on paper you can hold up against a second bid
- Meter readings with photos, first day and last
- The company pays for the referral, you don't
Costs you nothingThe company pays for the referral
Paper before workScope and price first
Meter logDay one to dry
All of Durham CountyHope Valley to Bahama
Is it still running?
Phone or text us, and handle these while the company is on its way.
- Shut it off. The valve behind the toilet or under the sink, or the main where the line comes into the house (often in the crawl space). On a water heater, the cold line on top.
- Mind the electricity. Stay out of standing water with cords or outlets in it. Only touch the breaker panel from a dry floor.
- Pictures, then furniture. Photograph the rooms and whatever failed. After that, get rugs and chairs off the wet floor.
After a fire, the fire department says when you can go back in. With the Eno or a creek coming up, leave, and don't wade or drive through moving water. Hour by hour for the first two days.
The local numbers
26.24 ft
the Eno River at Durham on July 7, 2025, after Tropical Depression Chantal. Major flood stage is 24 feet; the old record was Fran in 1996.
13.4
days a year with an inch of rain or more at the airport over 2016-2025, up from 11.7 over 1991-2020. 56% of the rain falls April through September.
4°F
the low in the January 2018 cold snap, 8 straight nights at 20°F or below. Durham pipes are often in crawl spaces and outside walls.
443
federal flood insurance claims in Durham County, $11.0 million paid. Chantal alone accounts for 45% of the money.
NOAA ACIS station USW00013722 through October 28, 2026; USGS station 02085070 and the NWS crest list for gauge ENON7; OpenFEMA NFIP claims. Method and full data.
Kinds of jobs
What we pass along
Owned or rented, anywhere in the county. Mention it in the form if the damage is at a business or the loss is large.
- Water damage restorationLeaking supply lines and worn-out water heaters. Pumping out and drying, with a meter log you keep.Read more
- Fire and smoke damagePlywood and tarps first, then the hose water, then soot in rooms the fire never reached.Read more
- Flood and storm waterWhen the Eno or a creek gets in: the tear-out list, the crawl space, and the black water rate.Read more
- Burst and frozen pipesShut the main, then wait for the thaw, which is when the split actually leaks.Read more
- Repair and rebuildPutting walls and floors back, and the $40,000 line where a North Carolina GC license kicks in.Read more
- Mold removalMold on crawl space joists and sweating ducts, with the water source fixed before the scrubbing.Read more
- Sewage backup cleanupOld clay laterals in town, saturated drain fields out in the county, and what gets bagged.Read more
The process
Three steps, one company
- Describe the damage. The form takes about a minute, or text us pictures. A rough guess at when the water started helps.
- One Durham County company phones you. A couple of questions, then a time to come see it.
- The scope and price arrive on paper first. Nothing starts until you say yes. On an insurance job, ask what records they keep for the adjuster.
Our standard for referred companies
What you should get
Most bad restoration jobs fail at a handful of predictable points: a one-line estimate, nobody proving the walls are dry, a hurried signature, a leak that comes back in spring. These four are what we ask for. Call (984) 223-9505 if a visit didn't meet them.
- Scope and price on paper, up front. What comes out, what stays to be dried, plus how many days it should take.
- A meter log with photos. First day and last day at minimum, so an adjuster can see the house really reached dry.
- Time to read. Nobody should rush you past a signature line, least of all on a page about your insurance.
- The source, named. Say what let the water in and who is fixing it, so you aren't paying for the same room again next spring.
Ballpark numbers
Published restoration prices
National ranges from the sources in the table. Your Durham job gets its own written price from the company before anything starts.
Have an estimate already? Go through it line by line.
| Job | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Water damage restoration | $1,200 to $5,000, $3,000 average | Fixr, Jan 2025 |
| Water extraction | $3.75 to $7.50 per square foot | Fixr, Jan 2025 |
| Flood or sewage water, per sq ft | $7 to $7.50 | Fixr, Jan 2025 |
| Fire and smoke restoration | $2,900 to $38,325, $20,470 average | LawnStarter, Jul 2026 |
| Fire and smoke, per sq ft | $4.25 to $6.50 per square foot | LawnStarter, Jul 2026 |
| Mold remediation | $1,500 to $9,000, $3,500 average | Fixr, Aug 2025 |
| Roof leak repair | $350 to $1,500, $800 average | Fixr, Jan 2026 |
Figures are national, published by Fixr and LawnStarter. They are neither Durham averages nor a price from us; the cost guide lists each source with its date.
Our read of the NOAA and USGS records
Where Durham's water damage comes from
Start with summer rain. The airport's long-run average is 46.1 inches a year, and the wet season here is late summer, which is backwards from much of the country: 5.15 inches in an average September, 5.02 in July. It arrives in thunderstorms and the tails of hurricanes, in amounts gutters can't carry, and red clay sheds it toward the foundation vents. The airport's wettest year on record is 2018, at 60.33 inches.
Then the moving water. Ellerbe Creek and Third Fork Creek carry much of the city's runoff. New Hope Creek drains the southwest, and the Eno marks the northern edge. Chantal parked over the Piedmont in July 2025 and the Eno at Durham went to 26.24 feet, past Fran's 23.58 from 1996; firefighters brought more than 80 people out of flooded homes. Durham's flood map, in numbers.
Last, the occasional deep freeze. Winter here is usually gentle, yet the airport has averaged 4.8 nights a year at or under 20°F over 2016-2025, and they arrive together: 8 in a row in January 2018 with a low of 4°F, then 4 around Christmas 2022. Plumbing in a vented crawl space or an exterior wall was never meant for that, and it gives way when the ice melts. Frozen pipe cleanup.
Highest flow each water year, Eno River at Durham (cubic feet per second)
Nights per year at 20°F or colder, Raleigh-Durham International Airport
Old houses over open crawl spaces
Across our 9 ZIP codes there are 148,758 homes, and 21% of them went up before 1980 (Census ACS 2020-2024). The share is higher in 27701, central Durham, where the median house dates from 1975 and 45% are pre-1980; expect galvanized supply pipe, cast iron drains and piers with open vents. ZIP 27703 out east has a median year built of 2005, and the failures there are the modern kind, a burst washer hose or a tank that gave out.
Flood claims don't stick to the river. The county has 443 federal flood insurance claims on record, and the top three ZIPs are 27707 (South central Durham and Hope Valley, 97), 27704 (Northeast Durham, 85), 27712 (North Durham, 64). The Hope Valley claims trace its creeks, and the ones up north trace the Eno.
Roughly 43% of the paid claims went to properties the flood maps rated outside the A and V high-risk zones. Insurance claims in North Carolina.
Guides
Durham-specific reading
For owners and tenants in the county. Sources sit at the bottom of every guide.
- What restoration costsNational ranges from Fixr and LawnStarter, and the five things that move a Durham bill.
- Is this quote fair?Square feet and machine days, plus the signature page that can hand off your claim.
- The first 48 hours after water damageHour one, day one, day two: the EPA's drying window, spent well.
- What to do after a house firePlywood, a claim number, a receipt envelope, and why the water gets dried before the soot.
- How long restoration takesThree days of fans, then weeks of waiting on adjusters and contractors.
- Insurance claims in North CarolinaWhich direction the water came from decides which policy pays.
- Where Durham floodsEno River crests from Fran to Chantal, and flood claims by ZIP code.
- Durham summers and moldWhy July rain and an open crawl space vent grow mold on floor joists.
- Leaks and mold in a rentalG.S. 42-42 and the written notice that starts the landlord's clock.
- Choosing a restoration companyNo state restoration license, so seven phone questions do the screening.
Coverage
The city and the whole county
- Downtown and Central Durham27701
- West Durham and Duke27705
- Hope Valley and South Central Durham27707
- Northeast Durham27704
- North Durham27712
- South Durham and Southpoint27713
- East Durham27703
- Bahama and Rougemont27503 27572
Research Triangle Park and the Durham County side of Chapel Hill too. Whoever phones you checks that your street is on their route.
Questions Durham homeowners ask
How much does water damage restoration cost in Durham?
Fixr's typical range is $1,200 to $5,000, averaging $3,000 nationally; Bob Vila's is $1,305 to $5,707. The kind of water matters most. A clean supply line runs $3.75 to $4.25 a square foot; sewage and flood water run $7 to $7.50. Rebuilding is billed on top.
How much does fire damage restoration cost?
LawnStarter's national average is $20,470. Its range runs $2,900 to $38,325 depending on the size of the fire, or $4.25 to $6.50 per square foot. Because smoke moves through the ductwork, one burned kitchen can put every room on the cleaning list. Replacing burned framing costs extra.
How long does water damage restoration take?
Fixr says drying takes three days at minimum, and Bob Vila says about 72 hours for most rooms. Putting the house back can add weeks or months, depending on how much came out. Adjuster visits and back-ordered materials stretch it further.
Does homeowners insurance cover flood water from a storm?
No. According to the North Carolina Department of Insurance, homeowners policies do not cover flood damage, and storm water rising into the house from outside counts as flood. You need a separate flood policy, usually from the National Flood Insurance Program, which pays up to $250,000 on the building and $100,000 on contents and generally takes effect 30 days after purchase. Rain coming in through a storm-damaged roof is different and usually goes on the homeowners claim.
Will my homeowners insurance pay for a burst pipe?
If the water was sudden and accidental, such as a pipe that burst or a water heater that split, a homeowners policy usually pays. Flooding usually isn't covered; that takes its own flood policy, and the North Carolina Department of Insurance says homeowners policies do not cover flood damage. Seepage, and leaks that ran for months, are frequently excluded. Check your policy and talk to your agent.
Who will come to my house?
One independent restoration company that works your ZIP code. Durham Restoration Desk only makes the introduction, which saves you a round of cold calls. Ask that company how it records moisture before you sign, and if a rebuild could reach $40,000, ask for its North Carolina general contractor license number.
Back to dry walls and a closed roof
Tell us once. One Durham County company calls, with the price on paper before they begin.