Cutting drywall is how you dry a wall cavity. It is also how a sloppy crew turns a two-foot flood into a four-foot rebuild.
You want a reason tied to a moisture reading, not a habit. Houston slab houses wick. That does not mean every wall comes out to the ceiling.
Once the gypsum is in the yard, it is gone. Ask the questions while it is still on the studs.
Do this now
- Photograph every wall with a tape showing the water stain before the first cut.
- Ask for moisture readings at the cut line and a foot above it.
- Ask what happens to insulation, outlets, and fireblocks in that wall.
- Stop the work if they start in a room that never took water.
How high is high enough
A common pattern is cut a foot or more above the visible stain so you can see dry paper. That is a method, not a law. If they want four feet because ‘that is how we always do Harvey houses,’ make them meter it.
Exterior walls, wet insulation, and shared condo walls are different problems. Interior closet walls after a clean supply-line break might be a smaller cut.
If the water was sewage, the conversation is about removal of contaminated material, not saving a pretty texture.
What else comes out with the rock
Wet fiberglass batts against a Houston slab do not bounce back. They hold the smell. Ask if those batts are coming out. If they say they will ‘dry in place,’ be skeptical.
Outlets in the wet zone need a licensed electrician later. Do not let a demo helper rewire a kitchen because they have a screwdriver.
Have them bag and stage debris where the city or your hauler can take it without blocking the inlet at the curb.
Written scope or it did not happen
Houston restoration threads after Harvey kept landing on the same ask: written scope, moisture readings, and who pays if the adjuster cuts the line item. Street water is contaminated. Porous materials usually leave. Do not sign an assignment of benefits on the porch so a stranger can run your claim.