For Richardson residents
For water damage restoration in Richardson, TX, close the main valve, document the damage and aim to be drying inside the 24 to 48 hour window the EPA sets. Street flood water sits outside most homeowners policies. Requests here cover ZIPs 75080 through 75085.
Which Richardson addresses do you take requests from?
This page covers water damage restoration in Richardson, TX for home ZIPs 75080, 75081 and 75082. The PO box ZIPs 75083 and 75085 are listed too. Whether a provider can reach a given street is something you settle on the phone, because service areas vary.
Richardson is an inner suburb of Dallas. Wikipedia counts 119,469 residents at the 2020 Census, in a city of 28.6 square miles.
To the south and southwest, the neighborhoods of Lake Highlands and North Dallas have their own pages. To the north, Plano does too.
Does Richardson flood?
Wikipedia does not document a flood history for Richardson, so this page will not invent one. It does say only 0.08 square mile of the city is water, which is 0.32%. The city has no large lake or river of its own, so most wet-house calls here start with a pipe, a roof or a storm drain that cannot keep up.
Heavy rain still happens in North Texas. The National Weather Service says DFW Airport averages 10.9 days a year with an inch of rain or more. Its Mayfest Storm report says rainfall rates approached 2.25 inches in 15 minutes over Dallas County in May 1995, and 15 people died in county flash flooding.
Those figures say a street can fill fast. They do not say which Richardson address is at risk, so look up your lot on FEMA's flood map. The IICRC S500 standard puts water rising from outdoors in Category 3, the grossly contaminated class. Before wading in, read flood cleanup, and use the flood zone guide to understand what a zone label means.
Which part of Richardson sits in which county?
About two-thirds of Richardson is in Dallas County and the northern third is in Collin County. Wikipedia puts 18.2 square miles in Dallas County and 9.2 in Collin County. Your county can change which permit office, flood map panel and school district apply to your house.
The split reaches schools too. Wikipedia says the Richardson Independent School District serves the Dallas County side and the Plano Independent School District serves the Collin County side. A leak call does not depend on the district, but a landlord notice or a seller form may mention the county.
When a provider asks for your address, give the ZIP and the cross streets, and say which county you believe you are in. That saves a second call when a permit or an inspection is needed.
How does Richardson's postwar housing shape leaks?
A large share of the city was built in decades of fast growth. Wikipedia says Richardson had about 1,300 residents in 1950 and about 56,000 by 1972, then 74,840 in the 1990 Census. Houses from the 1950s through the 1980s are often older than their original pipes and appliances.
That is general advice, not a ruling on any one street. Ask a plumber to look at the supply lines, the water heater and the drain lines under your slab if the house is old. Most North Texas houses sit on concrete slabs and basements are rare, so water spreads across the floor instead of draining down.
| Feature | What Wikipedia says | What it means for a wet house |
|---|---|---|
| Growth since 1950 | About 1,300 residents in 1950, 74,840 in 1990, 119,469 in 2020 | Many houses are decades old, so check old plumbing |
| Housing units | 49,267 units, 7.0% vacant in 2020 | An empty unit can leak for days unseen |
| Renters | 9.1% rental vacancy rate in 2020 | Report a leak to the landlord in writing |
| City water service | The city provides water and sewer service | Call the city about a main or a meter problem |
Start with the slab leak guide if you hear running water with every tap closed. The water meter leak test shows whether the meter moves when nothing is on.
What if the wet building is an apartment or an office?
Not every wet building in Richardson is a house, and the steps differ. Wikipedia lists more than 5,000 businesses in the city and the University of Texas at Dallas campus of about 445 acres. A burst line in a shared building can reach several units.
If you rent, tell the landlord or property manager in writing and photograph the damage. Texas law, in HB 531, makes landlords give notices about floodplain location and prior flooding in leases entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2022. Read your lease notice, and see the apartment and condo guide.
For offices, shops and labs, the owner or tenant should call the insurer before any wall comes down. The commercial water damage page explains what a provider asks about a business loss.
How do hard freezes and hail reach Richardson houses?
Both come through the roof and the walls. The National Weather Service says DFW Airport spent 139 straight hours at or below freezing in February 2021, and averages 29.2 freezing days in a normal year. Pipes in attics, garages and exterior walls are the weak points.
Before you leave town in winter, the Red Cross suggests keeping the thermostat at 55 F or higher and letting a thin stream run from taps fed by exposed pipes. Read the frozen pipe prevention page before the next cold snap, and the winter storm 2021 guide for what that event did.
Hail is the other trigger. The Weather Service reports softball-size hail on Dallas and Tarrant counties on May 5, 1995, with about $2 billion in damage. Check your attic after a hailstorm and use the hail roof leak guide to trace a stain.
What will insurance cover for a Richardson home?
Policies treat a burst supply line and a flooded street very differently. Triple-I says standard homeowners and renters forms exclude flood, and that a sewer backup needs its own endorsement or policy. The NAIC lists runoff and ground water among the losses that usually fall outside a normal policy.
These claims are routine. Triple-I figures put the rate at roughly one in 60 insured homes every year. Richardson is also a hub for the industry, with State Farm and GEICO regional offices named on Wikipedia, but that does not change how your policy reads.
Phone your insurer before you commit to a permanent fix. Triple-I advises protecting the property from more harm but waiting on big repairs until an adjuster looks. Our insurance claims guide lists what to document.
What should I do in the first 24 to 48 hours?
Work in this order: stop the source, keep people safe, then dry. The EPA sets the target at 24 to 48 hours for wet areas and belongings if you want to head off mold. It also wants indoor humidity under 60 percent, with 30 to 50 percent as the ideal.
- Close the main valve, and cut power to a wet room only if you can do it safely.
- Take photos and video before anything is moved.
- Report the loss to your insurer, or to your landlord if you rent.
- Ask a restoration provider which moisture readings they will take.
- Leave damp walls unpainted and uncaulked.
A fuller checklist sits on the emergency page. If you already see spots, go to mold after water damage, and bring the questions in choosing a restoration company to the call.
Sources: Richardson, Texas, Dallas County, Texas and Collin County, Texas (Wikipedia, citing the 2020 Census); NWS DFW records and normals; NWS February 2021 winter event; NWS Mayfest Storm; Texas HB 531; American Red Cross, frozen pipes; Triple-I, homeowners and renters statistics; Triple-I, disasters covered by homeowners insurance; Triple-I, settling claims; NAIC homeowners insurance; IICRC S500; EPA, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home.