Toolkit: checklists, worksheets and decision guides for floodwater
These are working pages rather than reading pages. Print the claim worksheet, run the pre-storm walkaround before July, keep the scope checklist next to any estimate you are handed, and use the decision guides when you are deciding whether a mop and a shop vac are enough or whether the job is bigger than that.
- Flood cleanup scope checklist
A written scope is the only way to know what you are paying for and what an insurer will be asked to cover. Hold any flood cleanup estimate up against this list and ask about anything missing or vague.
- Flood claim photo and record worksheet
Adjusters work from evidence. A methodical set of photos, measurements and receipts, collected in the first days, makes a flood claim faster and reduces arguments about what was damaged and why.
- Storm-season prep calendar for Castle Rock homes
Flash flood season on the Palmer Divide peaks in mid-summer, but most of the work that keeps water out is done months earlier. Use this calendar to spread the tasks across the year.
- Flood cleanup glossary
Contractors, adjusters and town staff each have their own vocabulary. These definitions cover the words most likely to show up in an estimate, a claim letter or a drainage conversation after a flood.
- Do it yourself or hire help? A flood cleanup decision guide
Some storm water is a long afternoon with a wet-vac. Some is a multi-week project with demolition and specialized drying. Work through these questions honestly before deciding which you have.
- Questions to ask before hiring flood cleanup
Flood cleanup is hired under stress, often by phone, often within hours of the storm. Having questions ready keeps the conversation focused and makes it easier to compare more than one contractor.
- What drives flood cleanup cost
No honest page can tell you what a flood cleanup will cost without seeing the building. What it can do is explain which conditions make the job bigger, so an estimate makes sense when you read it.
- Which policy responds to which water?
Water that looks the same on a basement floor can fall under three different kinds of coverage, or none. Match the source of your water to the policy that typically responds before you call your agent.
- Pre-storm drainage walkaround for hillside lots
A thirty-minute walk around the house before storm season can show where the next flash flood will try to get in. Do it on a dry day with a notebook, then again during a steady rain.