Drying floors, walls and framing in Kenner homes on low ground, where moisture stays in the structure after the water has gone.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Low-ground structural drying is the process of drying the walls, floors and framing of a house that sits on low ground, where moisture can stay in the structure after the standing water is gone. Kenner sits on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain beside the airport. Kenner Water Damage Restoration sets drying equipment from readings in Kenner and across Jefferson Parish, answered 24/7.
Kenner sits on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, beside the airport, and much of its ground is low enough that water which has come in does not drain away quickly. Once the standing water is removed, the moisture often remains in the structure: in the wall base, the subfloor, the framing and the insulation. A floor can look dry on top while the materials beneath it still hold water, and that is the problem structural drying is designed to solve.
The difference between a towel job and a structural drying job is the depth. A towel can dry a surface. Structural drying dries the materials the water reached, and it keeps going until the readings show that they are back in their normal range. Call (833) 490-5225 if the floor or the wall base still feels damp after the water has been cleared, and ask for the drying to be checked against readings.
Do not run an unvented gas or fuel-burning heater in a closed room that is being dried. Do not unplug or move equipment that is running near standing water. Do not close up a wall or lay a new floor over an area that the crew has not confirmed as dry. Keep electrical cords off wet floors and out of standing water, and do not use a damp extension lead.
A room on a slab takes water at the floor edge and the wall base. The drying concentrates on those areas, and the crew checks the edge of the slab where the water met the wall. The air movers are set low, and the dehumidifiers run until the air stays dry.
A house with a raised floor holds water in the subfloor and the joist space, where it is out of sight. The crew reads the subfloor from the access point and dries it with equipment placed beneath the floor. The finished floor above is dried in step with the space below it.
Water that has wicked up a wall can stay in the cavity behind the drywall. The crew reads the wall at several heights, and where the readings stay high it opens the wall to dry the cavity directly. Opening is kept to the affected area and explained beforehand.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Water that has soaked into a floor, a wall base or a subfloor does not leave when the surface dries. It stays in the materials, and it moves slowly toward drier areas. In low ground, the moisture in the surrounding soil can also keep the structure damp until the outside conditions settle.
Wood and gypsum hold water in their fibers and pores. A subfloor that has taken water can stay wet long after the carpet or tile looks dry, because the water is inside the board and the pad above it. The moisture is only released as the air around it dries, and that is why drying equipment is needed.
The ground beneath and around a house can also be wet for some time after a flood. Moisture from the soil can rise into the wall base and the slab edge. A crew that dries a house in low ground checks for this, because a drying plan that ignores the ground will keep the structure damp.
The drying is finished when the readings in each material return to their normal level and stay there over the visits. A surface that feels dry is not the test. The crew compares the readings with the baseline taken on the first visit and checks the same marked points until the numbers settle.
Readings are taken at the same points each time, which makes the trend clear. A reading that falls steadily shows the drying is working. A reading that falls and then stops means the moisture is coming from somewhere else, and the crew looks for the source before it continues.
The homeowner can ask to see the readings at any visit. A written log of the readings is part of the job record, and it is the clearest evidence that the structure is dry before the walls and floors are closed up.
Air movers move air across wet surfaces, and dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air. Both are placed according to the readings, not the size of the room. Some jobs also use dryers that move heat into the structure, and the crew explains which equipment applies and why.
Air movers are set to blow across the wet wall base and floor edge at a low angle, so that the air travels into the materials rather than over the top of them. They are moved as the readings change, and they are switched off once the area is dry.
Dehumidifiers are placed where the air is wettest, and they run until the relative humidity in the room stays at a normal level. The crew does not leave equipment running in a room that has dried, because the power use and the noise are wasted.
Longer drying comes from water that stood for a long time, from materials that are thick or dense, and from moisture that keeps arriving from the ground. Each of these leaves more water in the structure, and each needs more time for the readings to fall.
A subfloor that has been wet for days takes longer than one that was wet for hours. Thick wood framing and dense materials release moisture slowly. A house that is still receiving water from the ground needs the drying plan to include the source, or the readings will not fall.
The crew does not promise a number of days. It explains the readings as they come in and says when they are falling and when they have stopped. A change to the plan is explained before it is made.
Keep the doors and the windows closed when the equipment is running, keep the room clear of furniture against the wet walls, and do not place rugs or carpet back on a floor that is still wet. Tell the crew about any change in the house, such as a new leak or an open door.
Moving furniture away from the wet walls lets the air reach the surfaces. Items that were stored against a wet wall should be moved to a dry area, and the crew can advise where they can go.
Do not run a heater or a gas appliance in a room that is being dried without asking the crew first. Heat can drive moisture into materials that have not yet been reached, and it can change the readings the crew is relying on.
The crew starts by taking readings across the floor, the walls and the framing, and by checking the relative humidity in each room. Those readings give the baseline. Equipment is never set on a guess, because it can dry the surface while the structure stays wet.
Some materials cannot be dried back to normal and are removed. Drywall wicked to a height, saturated insulation and flooring that has lifted or swelled are assessed one by one. The crew explains each removal, and keeps the openings to the area the readings show.
Air movers are placed to move air across the wet surfaces, and dehumidifiers pull the moisture from the air. Their position follows the readings, and it is changed as the readings fall. Equipment is placed so that the air reaches the wall cavities and the subfloor, not only the room.
The crew returns to the same marked points and records the readings. Where a point is not falling, the equipment is moved or the area is opened. Drying continues until each material is back in its normal range, and the log is shown to the homeowner.
Before any new finish is put back, the crew confirms the structure is dry at the readings. Closing up a wet wall traps moisture behind the new surface, so this step is not skipped. The final readings are kept with the job record.
Kenner's low ground is the reason structural drying matters here. The town sits on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain beside the airport, and when rain or floodwater is slow to leave, the moisture stays in the floors and walls well after the surface has been cleared. A drying plan for a Kenner house has to allow for the ground as well as the house.
The September 2024 storm showed how quickly low ground can take water when the pumps are down. Parish officials reported that three of four drainage pumps in Kenner stopped working, and the water that came in had nowhere to go. In a house on low ground, the drying plan has to be checked against the readings for several visits, because the moisture can keep arriving from the soil.
Structural drying is a service that is run from readings in every part of Jefferson Parish and in the towns around it. A house in Metairie, Harvey or Westwego can sit on different ground from a house in Kenner, so each drying plan is set from its own readings, not from the reputation of the area.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Water pushed into Kenner homes when drainage canals rise over their banks, cleaned and dried from readings.
Water standing in a crawl space after heavy rain, cleared and dried before the floor above is repaired.
Wet hardwood and carpet in a Kenner home dried through the subfloor, with readings that confirm when the floor is dry.
Mold growth after a flood in a Kenner home, limited by fast drying and assessed from readings before any work starts.
A floor that looks dry after parish flooding can still hold water in the subfloor, the joists and the pad beneath the finish.
A fan dries the air and the surface, but it does not reach the moisture inside the wall base, the subfloor or the framing. Drying needs readings, so the equipment goes where the moisture is.
The crew reads the subfloor and the wall base with a meter and compares the readings with normal levels. A floor that feels dry on top can still hold water underneath.
Not until the crew has confirmed the subfloor and pad are dry at the readings. Carpet laid over a wet subfloor can trap moisture and hide it.
Air movers and dehumidifiers make noise and move air, and the room may feel warm or damp for a while. The crew tells you what to expect and which rooms can still be used.
Drying depends on the readings, not the height of the ground. Raised houses can still hold moisture in the subfloor or the crawl space, and the crew checks both.
Drying prompt and complete is the most effective step against mold, because mold needs moisture. The crew explains the mold steps on its visit.