About this job
A real Vault job in Provo. The crew that handled it was Vault’s own W-2 team — no subcontractors, no franchisee hand-off. Same crew answers the phone and shows up at the door.
- Call any hour: (385) 250-2825 answered live 24/7. 45-min guarantee Provo (Mon-Sat 8-5); under 60 min elsewhere in Utah County.
- Who did the work: Vault’s W-2 crew, IICRC WRT/ASD/AMRT/OCT, Utah DOPL #11876543-5501.
- Insurance: Xactimate scopes submitted direct to State Farm, USAA, Allstate, Farmers, Bear River Mutual, and most national carriers.
- Pricing: water mitigation $3,500-$8,500; reconstruction $4,500-$9,500. 24-month warranty, Wisetack financing.
- Family-owned and veteran-operated, based in Provo since 2020.
See Vault in Provo, all Provo case studies, or water damage services.
Case Study: Foothills Walkout — Second-Floor Washer Supply Cascade
Property: 2015 custom walkout, upper Foothills neighborhood, Provo
Square Footage: 3,847 sq ft across three levels (walkout basement, main, upper)
Loss Date: August 3, 2025 — leak began mid-afternoon; discovered by neighbor 46 hours later
Loss Category: IICRC S500 Category 1 (clean water) at initial event, escalated to Category 2 in walkout basement due to duration
Loss Class: Class 4 (deep pocket saturation, engineered I-joist cavity involvement, spray foam wet)
Response Time: 34 minutes from dispatch confirmation to on-site arrival (Foothills daytime typical)
Total Restoration Timeline: 68 days from initial response to full occupancy
Insurance Carrier: Chubb Masterpiece (high-net-worth homeowners policy)
Final Xactimate Scope: $184,730
The Loss Event
The homeowners left for a week-long vacation on August 1, 2025 — a family trip to the coast. On the afternoon of August 3, the braided stainless supply hose to the upper-level laundry room’s cold-water inlet failed catastrophically at the wall connection. The hose was 10 years old (original construction fixture, never replaced), and the failure produced full open flow at approximately 5.2 gallons per minute continuously for the next 46 hours before discovery.
Total water volume released: approximately 14,300 gallons over the 46-hour period. The home’s main water shutoff was not automated (no whole-house water monitoring system was in place), and the leak continued until a neighbor noticed water flowing from beneath the garage door and called our emergency line.
The property is a 2015 custom-built walkout on a hillside lot with unobstructed Mount Timpanogos views. Construction profile: engineered I-joist floor systems (Weyerhaeuser TJI 230-series), PEX manifold plumbing with home-run distribution, closed-cell spray foam insulation throughout the exterior envelope, walkout basement with 100% finished square footage, complex roof geometry with multiple valleys and dormers, luxury finishes throughout (solid hardwood, custom cabinetry, integrated home theater on the walkout level).
Diagnostic Sequence
Arrival at 3:14 PM (34 minutes after dispatch). What we found when we walked in through the garage: standing water 3 to 4 inches deep across most of the walkout basement level (approximately 1,800 sq ft of continuously affected floor), water actively dripping from ceiling drywall in the walkout family room, staining across drywall on the main floor above at multiple locations, and standing puddles in the upper-level hallway that had backed up against the laundry room door.
Source location was immediate — the failed braided supply hose in the upper-level laundry was still hissing water (partial obstruction from mineral deposits had reduced flow after 46 hours but not stopped it). We closed the emergency shutoff at the laundry room’s wall valve and killed the main at the street meter as backup, then began documentation before any manipulation.
Standard first-hour photo documentation across three levels: 340 photos of source area, affected areas, and adjacent unaffected zones for reference. Moisture readings at grid coordinates using Delmhorst BD-2100 pin meter and Protimeter Surveymaster non-invasive:
- Upper level — laundry room and adjacent hallway
- Framing at 32-38% MC, drywall paper at 6-8% MC, engineered subfloor at 22% MC
- Main floor ceilings (below laundry)
- Drywall at 14-18% MC (paper), engineered joist top flanges at 24% MC via extension probe
- Main floor walls (water intrusion path)
- Framing at 18-26% MC, drywall paper at 4-7% MC
- Walkout basement — all rooms
- Framing at 40-46% MC in affected wall base plates, subfloor at 32-38% MC, hardwood at 26% MC
FLIR E75 thermal imaging on engineered floor systems showed linear cold signatures running along I-joist joist bays on both floor systems — water had wicked laterally through the OSB webs of the TJI joists for the full span of every affected joist bay. Estimated 340 linear feet of engineered I-joist web saturation across both floor systems.
Closed-cell spray foam assessment: cavity moisture on the exterior walls was visible through the drywall as staining, but non-destructive assessment of the foam itself was limited (closed-cell foam has similar thermal mass whether wet or dry). We opened three inspection ports at strategic locations — top plate of exterior wall in walkout, mid-cavity in main-floor exterior wall, and top plate in upper-floor bath — and confirmed wet foam behind the sheathing in all three locations. Full foam removal on affected exterior wall sections would be required.
Category Assignment Escalation
Initial category assignment: Category 1 clean water at the upper-level source and main-floor mid-path (municipal supply, no contamination, less than 24 hours). Escalated to Category 2 grey water in the walkout basement due to duration (46 hours of continuous exposure) and IICRC S500 timeline rules. Class 4 loss overall (deep pocket saturation, engineered floor cavity, wet foam requiring removal, hardwood delamination).
Equipment Deployment
Full equipment loadout deployed by 7:30 PM (approximately 4 hours after arrival):
- Truck-mounted extraction — primary and secondary units
- Extracted approximately 12,000 gallons of standing water from walkout basement over 6 hours. Discharge to sanitary sewer under coordination with Provo Public Works.
- Phoenix R150 LGR dehumidifiers (3 units)
- One per floor. 130 pints per day AHAM output each.
- Dri-Eaz DriTec 5000i desiccant unit
- Supplemental drying for engineered floor cavity work — desiccant works below LGR humidity floor for stubborn residual cavity moisture.
- Phoenix Focus air movers (8 units)
- Directed airflow across affected surfaces and through drilled cavity ventilation ports at top and bottom of every affected engineered joist bay.
- Novatek NA-1500 HEPA scrubbers (2 units)
- One in walkout basement for particulate management during Category 2 handling, one in main level.
- 6-mil poly containment with zipper doors
- Isolated Category 2 walkout basement from remainder of home during first 5 days of drying.
- Kestrel 5500 psychrometer
- Baseline ambient: walkout 72°F 78% RH 118 GPP (elevated due to loss). Main 74°F 65% RH 96 GPP. Upper 76°F 58% RH 89 GPP.
Total equipment load: approximately 68 amps at 120V distributed across dedicated circuits. The home’s panel had adequate capacity to accommodate; we verified before deployment.
Drying Progress and Extended Timeline
Monitoring at 12-hour intervals per IICRC S500 protocol. Key milestones:
- Day 1-3
- Extraction complete on day 1, initial drying deployment. Ambient conditions in walkout basement stabilized to LGR operating range by day 3 (68-72°F, 45-55% RH, 65-78 GPP).
- Day 4-6
- Surface moisture readings dropping on schedule for main and upper floors. Walkout basement lagging due to engineered floor cavity saturation and slab moisture retention.
- Day 7-9
- Spray foam removal on affected exterior walls (approximately 340 sq ft of foam sections removed). This exposed sheathing and framing for direct drying.
- Day 10-12
- Cavity ventilation ports drilled on all engineered joist bays. Extended cavity drying with directed airflow.
- Day 13-15
- Desiccant supplementation added for slab moisture in walkout basement — LGR alone was stalling at 5.5% slab MC (target 4%).
- Day 16-18
- Framing at drying goal (12% MC) on all three levels. Slab reached 4% MC by day 17. Engineered I-joist webs at 12% MC across all affected joist bays.
- Day 19
- Three consecutive readings at drying goal confirmed across all affected materials. Equipment pulled.
Total drying period: 19 days. Extended timeline versus typical clean-water losses due to engineered floor cavity depth, wet spray foam requiring removal before drying could proceed, walkout basement slab moisture, and Category 2 escalation requiring more elaborate handling.
Reconstruction Scope
Reconstruction phase ran 42 days (days 20 through 62) with the following major scope items:
- Engineered floor system repair
- Approximately 12 linear feet of TJI joists required sistering with new engineered joists due to structural degradation from prolonged saturation. Coordinated with structural engineer for load path verification.
- Spray foam insulation replacement
- 340 sq ft of closed-cell spray foam applied to affected exterior wall sections. Coordinated with spray foam contractor.
- Drywall replacement
- Approximately 1,200 linear feet of drywall removed and replaced across three levels. All affected ceilings on main and upper floors replaced due to sagging.
- Solid hardwood floor replacement
- Walkout basement solid hardwood (approximately 1,600 sq ft) replaced. Original species and grade matched. Board-by-board integration with unaffected areas.
- Custom cabinetry — laundry room and walkout kitchen
- Two cabinet runs required replacement. Matched to existing kitchen and bath cabinetry through custom millwork.
- Home theater equipment restoration
- Coordinated with specialty electronics restoration contractor for AV equipment. Some components restored, some replaced.
- Paint, trim, and finish
- Complete repaint of all affected rooms, trim replacement or restoration throughout, final finish integration.
Insurance Coordination
Chubb Masterpiece homeowners policy with $10,000 deductible. Chubb adjuster on-site within 8 hours of initial claim submission — high-net-worth carrier programs typically respond faster than mass-market carriers. Documentation submitted:
- Full-resolution photo series with EXIF timestamps (612 photos through loss and restoration)
- Gridded moisture map with 12-hour interval logs through 19-day drying period
- Category assignment progression documentation (Cat 1 initial, Cat 2 escalation with S500 citation)
- Equipment inventory across three simultaneous drying chambers
- Structural engineer sistering scope for engineered floor system repair
- Spray foam removal and replacement documentation
- Complete content inventory with pre-loss valuations for damaged items
- Xactimate scope with high-net-worth grade matching specifications for cabinetry, hardwood, and finishes
Initial Xactimate scope: $184,730. Chubb approved without modification. Homeowner responsibility limited to $10,000 deductible. ALE coverage supported temporary lodging for the family during the full 68-day restoration period.
Outcome
Full restoration completed 68 days after initial loss response. The extended timeline was driven by the extent of the loss (multi-level, engineered floor cavity involvement, spray foam requiring removal, high-grade custom finishes requiring careful matching) rather than by process delays. Homeowners moved back into full occupancy on October 10, 2025.
Post-restoration verification: air sampling on day 62 showed no elevated mold spore concentrations in any affected space. Moisture readings at 30 days post-restoration remained at or below drying goals. Structural integrity verified by engineer sign-off on sistered floor sections. Home theater and specialty electronics fully operational.
Key Learnings
- Automated whole-house water monitoring systems (Flo by Moen, Phyn, Leaksmart, etc.) are worth the installation cost on modern high-value homes, particularly for owners who travel. A $600 to $1,200 monitoring system would have detected the initial flow anomaly within 30 minutes and shut down the main automatically, likely reducing the loss from 14,300 gallons to under 50.
- Braided stainless supply hoses have documented service life of roughly 5 to 10 years. Preventive replacement at fixtures — dishwasher, washing machine, refrigerator ice maker, toilets — costs $50 to $100 per fixture and prevents this failure mode. This is not a homeowner-friendly maintenance topic that gets much attention, but should.
- Closed-cell spray foam removal after water damage is inevitable when foam-sheathing interface is wet. Non-destructive assessment of wet foam is limited; when in doubt, we open inspection ports rather than assume. Foam replacement adds cost but is not optional under IICRC S500.
- Engineered I-joist cavity drying requires ventilation port access — without ports, drying stalls at the surface and cavity moisture persists indefinitely. This diagnostic and drying approach should be standard on any engineered floor loss, not treated as specialty work.
- Chubb Masterpiece and other high-net-worth carriers accommodate high-grade matching and specialty restoration when documentation is comprehensive. The up-front documentation quality prevented scope disputes on a $184K claim.
Contact Vault Mold Removal
Phone: (385) 250-2825
Address: 1169 S 760 W, Provo, UT 84601
Hours: Monday–Saturday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Service Area: Foothills, all Provo neighborhoods, and surrounding Utah County communities.
Water damage in Provo?
Call (385) 250-2825 — answered live 24/7 by the Vault crew, not a call center. Inside Provo city limits, Monday–Saturday, 8 AM–5 PM, we guarantee arrival in 45 minutes — see the terms.
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If a job like this is happening to you
Vault handles jobs like the one above every day across Utah County. Here’s what else is worth reading before you call:
- Why Vault — W-2 crew, 45-min Provo guarantee, in-house mold clearance, no franchise call center.
- Insurance claims — how we document the damage and bill State Farm, USAA, Allstate, Farmers, Bear River Mutual directly.
- 24-month warranty — what’s covered and how to open a claim.
- Wisetack financing — $500-$25,000 over 3-24 months, soft credit check.
- Service area — confirm your city is one of the 6 we cover.
- Water damage timeline — why every hour of head start cuts the final bill.
Call now: (385) 250-2825 — answered live 24/7 by the Vault crew.
Helpful guides: Leak detectors and shut-off valves · Water under the kitchen sink
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