Waterproofing & Mold Remediation in West Palm Beach, FL
The C-51 Canal drains central Palm Beach County.
When it runs full, your yard waits its turn.
Much of the rain between Wellington and the southern neighborhoods of West Palm Beach reaches tide through one regional canal. After a big storm the neighborhoods queue to drain while water sits against the houses. When it finally goes down, we check the block wall and the slab edge it sat against.
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Why does standing water take so long to drain in West Palm Beach?
Every neighborhood drains into regional canals such as the C-51, so when the C-51 runs full, water managers control how much water each one can send into it. Until the canal catches up, the water waits in swales and yards and against slabs and walls, sometimes for days.
West Palm Beach & Central Palm Beach County
Why water lingers around West Palm Beach homes
West Palm Beach tripled in the 1920s land boom, from 8,659 residents in 1920 to 26,610 in 1930. Old Northwood, Flamingo Park and El Cid date from that era and are city historic districts today. Grandview Heights is a little older, established in 1910 with most of its houses finished by 1925. Royal Palm Beach, Wellington and The Acreage filled in much later to the west, on flat ground that drains through a network of canals.
When we say waterproofing, we mean the concrete block wall below the soil line and the joint where it meets the slab. We seal both from outside and from inside wherever the walls are open. Roofs, balconies and caulking belong to other trades.
One Canal, Many Neighborhoods
The South Florida Water Management District describes the C-51 as the canal that moves water to tide from inland Palm Beach County. Cities and drainage districts all feed into it. In a big storm the district balances those inflows so one neighborhood's water does not flood the next one downstream. Its C-51 basin rule also caps how fast new projects may discharge.
Isaac in August 2012
Tropical Storm Isaac dropped up to 15 inches on the C-51 basin between a Saturday morning and the following Tuesday morning, a 1-in-100-year rain by the district's preliminary figures. Counting the rain before the storm, the basin took about 17 inches in a week. Wellington and The Acreage had standing water for days.
Boom-Era Houses, Renovated Many Times
A 1920s house in Old Northwood or Flamingo Park has been through a century of wet seasons, often with more than one renovation along the way. Every addition and patched wall adds a seam for water to find, so we look at how each part of the house was built before we recommend a fix.
Does your street wait on the C-51?
Four checks tell you whether your rain has to queue for the regional canal and who to call about the canal behind your house.
Check the basin lines
North to south, the district's C-51 basin runs from Northlake Boulevard and Grassy Waters Preserve to Lake Worth Road. West to east, it runs from the L-8 and L-40 levees to US-1. Rain that falls inside those lines ends up in the C-51.
Find who runs your canal
Wellington's Acme Improvement District pumps straight into the C-51. The Indian Trail Improvement District sends water from The Acreage to it through the M-1 Canal in Royal Palm Beach. The Lake Worth Drainage District runs the canals from Okeechobee Boulevard south to the Hillsboro Canal, between I-95 and the Loxahatchee refuge. Inside the city limits, the storm drains are the city's.
Know what the system was built to hold
The Indian Trail system was designed to keep roads clear in 5.5 inches of rain in a day and to protect building pads from about 17 inches over three days. By design, storm water waits in the canals and swales, on the roads and in the yards, with only the homes kept above it.
Watch the canal after the rain stops
A swale or canal that is still near the top a day after the rain ends usually means your system is waiting on the canal downstream. Water standing that long against the house soaks the base of the block wall, which is the part we waterproof.
Sources: SFWMD, Reevaluation of the C-51 Basin Rule (basin lines); SFWMD, Tropical Storm Isaac After-Action Assessment (Indian Trail design and the M-1 Canal); Acme Improvement District; Lake Worth Drainage District.
What are you seeing at your house?
Match what you see to what it usually means in West Palm Beach, then go to the page that deals with it.
A musty, damp strip along the bottom of an outside wall
Water that stood against the house while the canals caught up has worked through the joint between the block wall and the slab. It dries slowly and comes back with the next storm.
How we waterproof the blockWater came inside after the canals backed up
Wet drywall, pad and baseboards need to come out and the block needs drying to a meter reading, before the smell tells you mold has started.
Water damage restoration in West Palm BeachA brown ring on the ceiling of an older house
Rain is getting past a tile, the flashing or the parapet of a boom-era roof. The attic insulation and the top of the drywall usually got wet well before the ring showed.
Mold remediation in West Palm BeachPlaster that bulges, cracks or smells musty
Moisture is sitting behind old plaster, sometimes on wood lath, where you cannot see it. A moisture meter finds it without opening the wall.
Mold inspection in West Palm Beach
One company for the mold and the water behind it
Bullfrog removes mold and dries out water damage. When the water came through the foundation, we waterproof the block too, so one company handles the whole job.
Our mold work runs under Florida mold remediator license MRSR5565. Our foundation waterproofing carries a lifetime warranty against water coming through the section we treat.
Questions From West Palm Beach Homeowners
How long does water stand after a big storm in Palm Beach County?
Can you waterproof a 1920s house?
Why is my yard always soggy after it rains?
Do I need the city's approval to waterproof a house in a historic district?
Do you remove mold as well as waterproof?
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