New Orleans water damage restoration

New Orleans sits in a natural bowl between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. The highest ground follows the river and old ridges such as the Gentilly Ridge; the lowest areas, drained from swamp and marsh over the last century, lie below sea level. About half of the land between the river and the lake is at or below sea level, with no natural outlet for rain, so nearly all rainfall has to be pumped out ^[1].

That geography explains a great deal about water damage here. When a summer downpour drops more rain than the pumps can handle, streets flood quickly, and water can push into homes that sit close to the ground. When a hurricane threatens, the levees and floodwalls hold back the lake and the river. And over time, the land has been sinking in parts of the city as soils drain and compact ^[1], which affects slabs, pipes and drainage at the scale of a single house.

Housing follows the elevation. The older, higher neighborhoods near the river are full of raised shotguns, doubles, Creole cottages and Victorian homes on brick piers. Lower neighborhoods developed after drainage improvements, such as parts of Gentilly and New Orleans East, have more mid-century and later homes, many built on slabs. A water damage contractor working in the city needs to understand both.

The shotgun house, a narrow home with rooms lined up one behind the other, is one of the city's signature building types. Architectural historians have suggested it originated in the Creole suburbs of New Orleans in the early 1800s ^[3], and thousands survive in Uptown, Mid-City, the Marigny, Bywater and Treme. Creole cottages, built close to the street with steep roofs, are another common form ^[4]. Many of these homes sit on brick piers a few feet above the ground.

That elevation is a real advantage in moderate street flooding: water can pass under the house without reaching the floor. But it also means the floor framing, subfloor and any insulation underneath are exposed to whatever collects below. After heavy rain or a flood, a contractor working on a raised New Orleans house checks the crawlspace as carefully as the rooms above, removing wet insulation and drying the joists so moisture does not rise into the house.

Inside, older raised homes often have plaster on wood lath, tall ceilings, heart pine floors and original millwork. Plaster is harder and denser than drywall and often dries in place if the water was clean, but it hides old paint layers that may contain lead, so contractors should check before sanding or removing anything in a pre-1978 home ^[5].

Lower parts of the city filled in with houses after drainage made them buildable. Gentilly mixes early 20th-century bungalows on the higher ridge with mid-century homes on lower land. New Orleans East grew largely in the postwar decades, with slab-on-grade subdivisions on reclaimed marsh. Lakeview sits near the lake on land raised in the early 20th century.

These areas took the worst of Katrina. In Gentilly, the London Avenue Canal floodwalls were breached in two places and most of the area flooded ^[6]; most of New Orleans East flooded severely from the storm and the levee failures ^[7]. Many homes were gutted and rebuilt, and some were raised.

For water damage today, slab homes here behave like slab homes anywhere: water spreads across the concrete and under every wall it touches. The difference in New Orleans is how often heavy rain tests them, and how many have a history of flooding that affects insurance, building rules and how they were rebuilt.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is the event every New Orleanian measures others against. By August 31, about 80 percent of the city was flooded, some areas under more than a dozen feet of water ^[2]. The floods were caused largely by failures of levees and floodwalls, and the rebuilding that followed reshaped many neighborhoods: houses were gutted to the studs, raised, rebuilt or replaced.

Since then, the hurricane protection system has been rebuilt and strengthened. When Hurricane Ida struck in 2021, the city's levees held, but power line damage was extensive throughout the city ^[9], and many homes had roof damage and water coming through ceilings while the power was out. That pattern, wind and rain damage with long outages, has become a common post-storm reality.

For a homeowner, the lesson is that storm water damage in New Orleans now often comes from above, through damaged roofs and windows, as much as from rising water. See storm and roof leak water damage for how that is handled.

Few places in the country are as humid as New Orleans in summer, and the air stays damp for much of the year. That has a simple consequence for water damage: opening windows does not dry a house here. Contractors seal the house and run dehumidifiers instead, sometimes for longer than they would in a drier climate.

Older raised homes add a twist. Their floors have gaps between boards and are open to the crawlspace below, so humid air moves through them constantly. Drying a room above a wet crawlspace is difficult until the crawlspace itself is dried, which is why crawlspace drying is such a common part of New Orleans jobs.

Mold follows humidity. The EPA advises drying wet materials within 24 to 48 hours ^[11]. In August in New Orleans, that window is short, and a house with wet walls and no power can grow mold within days.

Most New Orleans homeowners deal with two policies when water gets in: a homeowners policy that may cover sudden leaks and storm damage to the roof and walls, and a flood policy, often through the National Flood Insurance Program, for rising water ^[12]. Which one applies depends on where the water came from, so documentation matters.

After a hurricane, you may need to file with both. Photograph the water line from rising water separately from ceiling stains and roof damage, and keep the contractor's moisture readings. Our guide to working with your insurance adjuster explains the process in more detail.

Calls from nearby communities are also connected. Metairie and Kenner cover much of East Jefferson Parish across the parish line. Across the lake, Slidell and Covington and Mandeville serve the Northshore. Calls from covered West Bank communities such as Gretna, Harvey, Marrero and Westwego, and from Chalmette, are connected as well.

New Orleans relies on the Sewerage and Water Board for water, sewer and drainage, and on a pumping system to lift rain out of the bowl. When a street fills during a heavy storm, a homeowner can do little about the system itself, though it helps to keep the catch basin near your home clear of leaves and debris if it is safe to do so.

Lines on private property are another matter. If dark water rises in a tub or floor-level fixture on a dry day, the blockage may lie in your own line, and a plumber can check it before any cleanup begins. Report a suspected public main problem to the utility, and keep notes on who you spoke with and when, since those notes may help with a later insurance question.

Boil advisories are also worth watching after storms and pressure losses. Follow official notices before using tap water for drinking or cooking, and remember that water used in cleanup should be as clean as you can get it.

Many raised New Orleans houses have old wood floors, tall plaster walls and detailed trim that are difficult to replace. Before any removal, photograph the trim and number the pieces if they are to go back. Plaster on lath can often stay if it remains firmly attached, though it dries slowly and should be tested for lead before anyone disturbs old paint.

Cupped floorboards deserve patience. They may flatten considerably as the floor dries from both sides, so sanding or replacement is best left until readings settle. Because air moves under a raised house, the crawlspace and the living area are best dried as one system. A floor drying only from above can stay damp on its underside for far longer than expected.

Local historic district rules may affect visible exterior work on some properties, so check with the city before replacing original windows, doors or siding. Interior drying rarely raises these questions, but a quick call before exterior repairs can prevent having to redo work later on. Ask the contractor how they would protect these features, and ask to see the moisture readings for them at each visit, so that you can follow the progress yourself over the full course of the job.

Back to all of Louisiana. Nearby pages: Baton Rouge, Covington and Mandeville, Denham Springs and Walker, Metairie and Kenner, Shreveport and Bossier City, Slidell.

Related help for New Orleans: water extraction, structural drying, sewage backup cleanup, fire damage restoration and smoke damage cleanup. First time dealing with this? Read the first hours after water damage.