Water Damage Restoration in Burtonsville, MD

Our water damage restoration, extraction & drying services in Burtonsville, MD

This is the work we do around the Burtonsville crossroads and the neighborhoods outside it.

Burtonsville sits on a ridge between two river systems

The county's 2012 Burtonsville Crossroads plan says the commercial area sits on a ridge that separates the Patuxent River watershed from the Anacostia. North of MD 198, the land drops about 225 feet from the ridge to the Rocky Gorge Reservoir. Three tributary headwaters of the Patuxent begin in Burtonsville, with subwatersheds named Kruhm Road, Lower Patuxent-Rocky Gorge and Dustin Road.

Water that falls on a ridge runs both ways. On the north side, it runs downhill toward the reservoir, and a lot of it passes through yards, driveways and parking lots on the way. A house or a shop partway down that slope can see water arrive fast and from above during a hard rain, even if the lot itself looks level.

A Burtonsville snapshot

Feature	What the county plan says	What it means for a wet building
Position	Commercial area on a ridge between the Patuxent and Anacostia watersheds, at US 29 and MD 198.	Runoff leaves in two directions, so the side of the ridge you are on matters.
Slope	North of MD 198, land falls about 225 feet to the Rocky Gorge Reservoir.	Lots on the slope get runoff from properties above them.
Streams	Three Patuxent tributary headwaters begin here. The reservoir is designated impaired by the state.	County limits on paving and sewer extension affect how new drainage is built.
Older drainage	Most of the existing crossroads development was built before county stormwater requirements.	Older parking lots and roofs shed water to places that were never designed to take it.
Water and sewer	The commercial neighborhood has community water and sewer. County policy limits sewer in the rural areas.	Properties outside the crossroads may be on wells and septic systems.
Landmarks	A 120-foot steel fire tower from the 1930s, one of 12 built in the state, is listed among the community's assets.	The old tower is a reminder of how much of this land was open and wooded.

The crossroads: shops, restaurants and an older drainage system

Burtonsville has a commercial core with restaurants, small shops, two strip centers and a park-and-ride lot, and the plan describes it as small-business territory. It also says most of the existing development was built before the county required stormwater management. That is an engineering way of saying roofs and parking lots in the center drain to places that were never planned for it. In a heavy rain, water can end up in a tenant space through a back door or a low floor drain.

For a small business, a water loss is a clock. Every day closed is lost sales, and a restaurant has the added problem of health rules about what can be reopened and when. If a shop floods, commercial water damage restoration shows how the work gets phased around the business, and the water loss checklist has the first-hour steps.

Homes outside the crossroads: wells, septic and the lines that serve them

The plan says the commercial neighborhood is served by community water and sewer, and that county policy aims to limit sewer service in the rural areas to protect the headwaters. So some properties on the edges of Burtonsville are likely to be on wells and septic systems. If yours is, a sewage backup is a septic issue before it is a cleanup issue. Call a septic contractor to look at the tank and the drain field. Then call us for the cleanup, because sewage is Category 3 and has to be handled that way no matter where it came from.

A well house or a pressure tank that fails can also release a lot of water in a short time. Shut off the pump at its breaker first, then call. The emergency water extraction page describes what happens when we arrive to pump out standing water.

Heavy rain, paved lots and the reservoir below

The plan points out that the area's streams are under stress from paving, from cleared land and from water that no longer soaks into the ground. County policy limits how much of the land can be paved over in the Patuxent watershed, to protect the reservoir. That is good for the water supply and has a side effect for homeowners: a lot of the land around Burtonsville that is still wooded or open is soaking up rain that would otherwise run off.

That protection does not cover a house that was built before the rules did. If your yard has a low corner where rain collects, or a downspout that empties against the foundation, that is where water will go in a storm. When it does come in, storm and flood water cleanup is the work that follows.

Winter on the crossroads

A ridge-top setting can mean more exposure to wind. Older strip buildings and houses on open lots can lose heat in a cold snap, and supply lines in outside walls, attics and unheated storage rooms freeze first. The break usually shows up after the thaw. A shop that was closed for a holiday weekend is the classic case: nobody is there to hear the pipe let go. For what happens after a break, see frozen and burst pipe cleanup. The post on keeping pipes from freezing has the prevention steps.

What to tell us on the phone

• The address, and what the space is: a house, a shop in a strip center or a restaurant.
• Public sewer or septic, if you know which one the building uses.
• The floor the water is on, and the source: a pipe, a drain or the outside.
• The landlord or property manager's contact, for a leased space.

Leased space: who to call and in what order

Many crossroads businesses lease their space. In a leased building, the first call after you shut off the water is to the landlord or property manager, since the lease often says who controls the building and who must report a loss. Your own insurer is next, because it covers your contents, inventory and equipment, and the landlord's insurer covers the structure. We document the readings and photos for everyone involved. Which policy pays for what is a question for the insurers and the lease, not for us.

Services most Burtonsville calls involve

• Commercial Water Damage Restoration Shops, restaurants and offices.
• Storm & Flood Water Cleanup Runoff and heavy rain.
• Emergency Water Extraction Standing water, fast.
• Frozen & Burst Pipe Cleanup Winter breaks after the thaw.

Other communities we cover close by

• West Laurel Prince George's County, along MD 198.
• North Laurel Howard County, across the county line.