Tampa Bay
The storm stayed offshore.
The bay came inside anyway.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend on September 26, 2024. It still set record water levels at five Tampa Bay tide gauges. We serve Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo and the surrounding Hillsborough and Pinellas County communities with foundation waterproofing, mold remediation and 24/7 emergency water damage response.
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Tampa Bay houses take water from two directions
Around the bay, water arrives from the side when a storm pushes the bay up into the streets and from below when it collects under older houses built off the ground. The fix depends on which way it came in, so we find that first.
From the side: storm surge
Surge is seawater that a storm's wind piles onto the shore and it does not need a direct hit. During Helene the bay covered the oft-flooded St. Petersburg neighborhoods of Snell Isle, Shore Acres, Coquina Key and Venetian Isles. Bay News 9 reported 4 to 7 feet of flooding from Apollo Beach and Riverview to downtown Tampa, Davis Islands and Town 'N' Country.
Surge water is brackish and often dirty, so we usually take out soaked drywall, insulation and flooring instead of trying to dry them in place.
From below: raised older houses
Many of Tampa's older bungalows sit off the ground. The City of Tampa's design guidelines for Seminole Heights, built up in the 1910s and 1920s, describe raised buildings on small brick piers with open foundations underneath.
Rain, a high water table or surge can leave water and humid air under the floor, where nobody sees it until the floor or the smell gives it away. We look under the floor before we decide what needs drying, removing or sealing.
On a concrete block house, what we waterproof is the block wall below grade and the slab edge where the wall meets the floor, the two places surge and ground water push in first. Where the water also needs somewhere to go, a French drain or a sump pump does that part. During hurricane season, our Tampa Bay storm watch carries live National Weather Service alerts and radar for the area.
Sources: WUSF, September 27, 2024, Bay News 9, September 27, 2024 and City of Tampa, Seminole Heights Design Guidelines.
Helene's surge, gauge by gauge
On the night of September 26, 2024, every one of these Tampa Bay tide gauges broke its own record. The figures are feet of water above the average daily high tide line, measured by the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay.
Three of those records had stood only since Idalia, 13 months earlier. Water that high sits against block walls and under raised floors for hours and the walls hold it long after the streets drain.
Source: NWS Tampa Bay, Hurricane Helene impact narratives. Landfall time from the National Hurricane Center.
Where to start in Tampa Bay
Four of our nine waterproofing and mold services, matched to what you are dealing with. One team does all four, under one warranty.
Bay water, rain or a pipe got into the house
We extract it, take out what surge water ruined, dry the structure and the space under a raised floor, then seal the way in. We answer the phone 24/7 across Hillsborough and Pinellas County.
Water Damage Restoration Tampa
A musty smell after a storm or before you buy
We walk the whole house, look under any raised floor, take moisture readings and give you written findings. Free for homeowners, with no air samples or lab tests.
Mold Inspection Tampa
Mold you can see or mold that came back
We contain it, remove it, fog antifungal vapor through the HVAC ducts and waterproof the entry point in one project, under Florida mold remediator license MRSR5565.
Mold Remediation Tampa
The same wall takes water every storm
We seal the mortar gaps and slab-to-wall joints that let surge and heavy rain in, backed by a lifetime warranty.
Foundation WaterproofingWe cover a 30-mile radius from ZIP 33702, which includes Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo, Safety Harbor and the surrounding Hillsborough and Pinellas County communities.
Surge, flood maps and raised floors
Helene never made landfall near Tampa. Why did my street flood?
My property was reclassified in a FEMA flood zone update. Does foundation waterproofing help?
My house sits on piers with open space under the floor. What should I check after a storm?
Flood map dates: Pinellas County Ordinance 21-25 and Hillsborough County coastal flood map update.
From the bay or from below, call and we will find out which.
The inspection is free for homeowners and you get a written estimate before any work starts.
Available 24/7 · No obligation · Free estimates for homeowners