A decent crew shows up with pumps, extractors, meters, and a plan to stop the house from becoming a closed swamp. Houston humidity will finish what the bayou started if they only ‘pull the water they can see.’
They should talk to you about category of water, what they will demo, and what they will leave standing. If they only talk about how fast they can invoice, you hired a speech.
You still own the house. Walk with them.
Do this now
- Ask what they will extract today and where the water is going.
- Require moisture readings on walls, cabinets, and slab, not just a wet-vac show.
- Photograph every room with them in it, plus equipment serials if you can.
- Get a written work authorization that names the address and the emergency scope only.
The honest day-one sequence
Make it safe: power, gas, sewage. Then standing water out. Then wet contents off the slab so air can move. Then holes in the right walls so wet cavities dry.
They should set air movers and dehumidifiers sized to the cubic feet, not two box fans from a trunk. In this climate, dehumidification is the job, not a breeze.
If they want to tear the kitchen to studs before anyone measured, slow them down.
What you should see on paper
A room list. A water category. Equipment counts. A note about who is billing whom. A moisture map or at least meter photos.
If they say ‘we will know more tomorrow,’ that can be true. If they say ‘sign this and we own the claim,’ that is a different problem.
Stay on site if you can. Houstonians often report crews that extract the living room and forget the wet closet behind the water heater.
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.