The Junction & Fauntleroy Water Damage Help

The Junction got its name from the streetcar lines that met at California and Alaska, and the business district there is still the heart of West Seattle. Around it are streets of craftsman bungalows and 1920s homes. Morgan Junction and Gatewood are similar, while Fauntleroy, near Lincoln Park and the ferry dock, mixes older homes with mid-century houses on wooded lots. Arbor Heights, at the south end, was built up mostly after World War II.

Water problems follow the age of the homes. Bungalows have basements or crawl spaces, galvanized or early copper pipe and clay side sewers. Mid-century homes have aging copper, water heaters in tight spaces and basements finished decades later. Fauntleroy Creek and the wooded ravines nearby mean many lots slope, and tall trees keep roofs wet.

Many bungalows have a crawl space under part of the house. A slow leak there can run for months before anyone smells it. A quick look with a flashlight each season catches most problems.

Basements finished long after the house was built may have carpet on concrete and walls without vapor barriers. These hold water longer and need careful drying.

After water gets into a home in The Junction & Fauntleroy, call your agent once it has stopped. Ask whether they want an inspection before drying, keep receipts and collect the provider's daily readings and photos. Sudden plumbing leaks are usually covered; seepage, surface water and sewer backup often are not unless you added an endorsement, so check before the rainy season.

Calls from The Junction & Fauntleroy go to restoration companies that work across West Seattle and south Seattle, 24 hours a day. Most reach homes here the same day, even with bridge traffic. Share your cross streets, what is wet and whether the water is still coming in.

Homes in The Junction & Fauntleroy follow Seattle's water calendar: gutters clog in fall, long rains and atmospheric rivers bring seepage, roof leaks and drain backups through winter, a cold snap may split a pipe, and spring and summer are quieter. Water heaters and washer hoses fail any month. Most calls end in the basement or crawl space, because that is where water collects.

Ask any company working in The Junction & Fauntleroy when they can arrive, what they measure, how the price is set and whether they work with insurers. Ask for a registration number, proof of insurance and who handles rebuilding.

This page covers The Junction & Fauntleroy. For the full list of services, start at water damage restoration in West Seattle. For water in a home here, call (206) 000-0001 any hour.

For a home in The Junction & Fauntleroy, look up the company with the Washington L&I contractor lookup, ask about IICRC training and request proof of insurance before work begins.

Homes near Lincoln Park and the Fauntleroy Creek ravine sit on wooded slopes. Big trees keep roofs and gutters full and the ground wet.

Arbor Heights has mostly postwar homes with original copper, water heaters in garages or basements and crawl spaces under part of the house.

Bungalows near the Junction often have galvanized pipe and clay side sewers, the two most common sources of trouble in older homes.

Homes in The Junction & Fauntleroy range in age, and age changes the likely problem. Older houses tend toward pipe, side sewer and seepage issues, mid-century homes toward water heaters and original finished basements, and newer homes and townhomes toward fitting leaks and water crossing between units. Telling the provider the age of the home helps them arrive prepared.

When one home in The Junction & Fauntleroy takes water during a big storm, neighbors often do too. If several basements on a street back up at once, it may point to a sewer main issue worth reporting to Seattle Public Utilities.

Newer townhomes and apartments around the Junction add a different risk: water from one unit crossing into another.