38104 · 38112, open 24/7
Plaster walls, open framing, old wiring and a crawl space under the porch. We handle water damage in older Midtown houses the way they were built, from Cooper-Young to Evergreen.
Midtown homes
Midtown is one of the oldest parts of the city. Older houses are built differently, so water damage moves through them differently too. Our Memphis crews have worked in these houses since 1989.
Share of homes by year built. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates.
Older framing
Houses built before the 1940s were often framed with walls that run open from the foundation to the attic. Water damage that starts upstairs can travel two floors before you see it.
That is why fast water mitigation matters so much here: the longer it runs inside the wall, the more plaster, framing and floor it soaks. We follow it with meters and open small holes only where the readings say water is hiding.
Upstairs bath or kitchen
A toilet supply, tub drain or washer line starts leaking.
We check: Where it started and whether it is still running.
Inside the wall
In many older houses the wall cavity is open from floor to floor, so water runs straight down inside it.
We check: Thermal camera along the wall to follow the cold, wet streak.
The room below
A stain or bubble shows up on the plaster ceiling, often feet away from where the water started.
We check: Moisture meter readings across the ceiling and walls.
Floor framing
Water soaks the joists and the old subfloor on its way down.
We check: Readings in the wood, from above and below.
The crawl space
Whatever is left drips onto the dirt under the house.
We check: A look under the house for standing water and wet insulation.
More than water
The same things that make water damage tricky here, open walls, plaster and crawl spaces, shape smoke and mold work too.
Fire and smoke
In a house with open wall cavities, smoke from a kitchen or space-heater fire slips inside the walls and settles on plaster, trim and old wood floors.
Fire damage restorationMold
A damp crawl space under a pier-and-beam house, or plaster that stayed wet after a pipe burst, is where Midtown mold usually starts.
Mold remediationElectrical safety
Many pre-1940s Midtown houses still have some original wiring. It does not handle water the way modern wire does, and electrical inspectors advise against reusing wire that sat in flood water.
Look for these
Knob-and-tube
Single wires on white ceramic knobs and tubes in the attic or crawl space.
Cloth-covered
Wire wrapped in fabric instead of plastic, often brittle at the outlets.
Do not
Do
Smell burning or see sparks? Get everyone out of the house and call 911 before anything else.
Historic districts
Both are historic districts. Exterior changes there are reviewed by the Memphis Landmarks Commission against the district's design guidelines. Water damage cleanup inside the house works the same as anywhere else.
Inside the house
Our work, which starts right away:
Outside the house
Repairs that may need a Certificate of Appropriateness first:
Your repair contractor handles the review. We document what was damaged with photos and readings, which helps both the contractor and the insurer.
Under the porch
Lots of older Midtown houses sit up on brick piers, with a low crawl space under the floor. Water from a burst pipe, a washer line or a hard rain ends up there, on bare dirt, where nobody looks.
We pump it out, pull the wet insulation and dry the joists and subfloor from below. If it sat long enough to grow mold, that becomes a crawl space mold job, done by the same crew.
Why choose us
Every Midtown house hides the same five things. Here is how our crews, working in Memphis since 1989, handle each one.
Plaster
Dried in place on the lath. We open it only where it has gone soft or pulled loose, so most of the original wall stays.
Meters, not guesswork
Framing
Water runs down open wall cavities. We follow it with a thermal camera and open small holes only where the readings point.
Two floors, one search
Wiring
Our crew asks about knob-and-tube or cloth wiring before anything gets plugged in, and waits for your electrician.
Safety first
Crawl space
Water pumped off the dirt, wet insulation pulled, and the joists and subfloor dried from below.
Under the porch too
Historic
Photos and readings of every damaged area, ready for your contractor's review in Central Gardens or Cooper-Young.
Paperwork ready
FAQ
Have a question that is not listed here? Call us and talk to a real person on our Memphis team.
38104 (Cooper-Young, Central Gardens, Crosstown and the streets around them) and 38112 (Evergreen, Hein Park, Lenox and Binghampton).
Often, yes. Plaster on wood lath is solid and dries well when the water is caught early. We dry it in place and open it only where it has gone soft or come loose from the lath.
In many older houses the wall cavities are open from floor to floor, so water runs down inside the wall and along the framing before it shows. That is why we follow it with meters, not just by looking.
Yes. Six in ten homes in 38104 are rented, and many are in older apartment buildings or houses split into units. We start in the unit the water came from, then check the apartments beside it and underneath it with meters.
Usually, yes. We close off the wet rooms, keep the drying equipment out of the way where we can, and plan visits with you and the tenant. We are open 24/7 and usually on site within 2 to 4 hours.
It should not, once the wood and plaster read dry. A smell that stays usually means water is still sitting somewhere, often in the crawl space or inside a wall, and we go back to find it.
Old houses dry differently. Tell us roughly when yours was built and where the water is, and we plan around the plaster, wood floors and crawl space.
Call now: (901) 459-6610