Water Damage Restoration in the South Shore, MA

On the South Shore, water damage restoration splits between the coast and the inland towns. In Hull, Scituate and Marshfield, nor'easters push salt water and wind-driven rain into ground floors, garages and basements, and that flood water has to be treated as contaminated, with soaked materials removed before drying. Inland, in Brockton, Bridgewater, Middleborough and Randolph, the common calls are basements that fill after days of rain, sump pumps that quit in a storm, frozen pipes and water heater failures. In every case the first job is the same: stop the water, get it out, and set up dehumidifiers and air movers before walls and floors start to break down.

The towns here are newer on average than the Boston core. Plymouth County's median home was built in 1971 and 21.2% predate 1940, while Brockton's median is 1960 and 57% of its homes are owner-occupied. That means many split-levels, capes and ranches with finished basements, plus older village homes near the harbors. In a finished basement, the crew usually removes wet carpet and pad and flood-cuts drywall above the water line, then dries the framing and slab. On the coast, salt-water flood damage means more of the lower wall comes out.

South Shore homes take water from the ocean, the sky and the ground. Coastal homes in Hull, Scituate, Marshfield and Duxbury sit close to the water and face storm surge and wind-driven rain in nor'easters. Inland, many capes, ranches and split-levels from the decades after 1950 have finished basements that depend on a sump pump, so a pump failure or a power loss in a storm can flood the lower level fast. Older village homes in Hingham, Plymouth and Cohasset have plaster walls and stone or block foundations. Pipes in crawl spaces under additions and in unheated garages freeze first when a cold snap hits.

This is one of the wettest parts of Massachusetts. Plymouth averages about 52.8 inches of precipitation a year, Hingham 52.3 inches and Brockton 50.2 inches, compared with 43.6 inches in Boston. Snow is lighter than north of Boston, with Hingham at 50.9 inches, Plymouth 37.9 inches and Brockton 34.3 inches, and Brockton's January average low is 21 F, still cold enough to freeze exposed pipes.

The coast carries the biggest storm history. In the Blizzard of 1978, Scituate and Hull were among the hardest-hit towns in the state. On March 2, 2018 a nor'easter brought heavy coastal flooding to Scituate, Marshfield and Hull, with residents stranded in their homes. In mid-March 2010, 7 to 10 inches of rain fell from Methuen south through Plymouth and Brockton, and the Taunton River at Bridgewater set a record crest that was broken again later that month.