Water Damage Restoration Cost Calculator

Mitigation, meaning extraction and structural drying, generally runs $3.00 to $7.50 per square foot nationally. Where you land inside that range is set mostly by water category: clean water from a supply line sits around $3.00 to $4.00, gray water around $4.00 to $7.00, and black water from sewage or outside flooding at $7.00 to $7.50 or more. Reconstruction is a separate and much larger figure, roughly $20 to $37 per square foot.

Because a single number would be a quote, and nobody can quote a water loss without seeing it. How long the water sat, how far it travelled under flooring and into wall cavities, and what materials it reached all move the figure, and none of that is knowable from floor area. A range built from published averages tells you the order of magnitude, which is what you need before you call anyone.

Drying only, unless you tick the reconstruction box. This matters more than any other setting. Mitigation and reconstruction are billed separately in this trade, and assuming a drying quote covers putting the room back is the most common misunderstanding in the whole process.

Because clean water is dried and contaminated water is removed. Porous material that absorbed Category 3 water cannot be reliably disinfected, so carpet, pad, drywall and insulation come out rather than being saved. Add protective equipment, containment and regulated disposal and the same floor area becomes a different job. Clean water also degrades to gray within about 48 hours, so delay can move you up a category on its own.

Often, if the loss was sudden and accidental, such as a burst supply line or a failed water heater. Gradual leaks and flood are excluded. Most restoration contractors bill the carrier directly rather than asking you to pay and claim it back, and you pay your deductible.