If your house sits on a lake and the lake changes height by 17 feet between winter and summer, what does that do to the ground around your foundation? In Acworth, it is a fair question. Acworth is about four miles northwest of our Kennesaw office as the crow flies, a little more by road, and a lot of the town sits along Lake Acworth and Lake Allatoona, with the Etowah River feeding the system. The 2020 Census counted 22,440 people in the city.
Water damage restoration services in Acworth, GA
Every service below is available to Acworth homes and businesses. Call and describe what you see, and we will tell you which one fits.
Emergency Water Extraction
Pumps and extractors remove standing water and soaked carpet.
Structural Drying
Air movers and dehumidifiers dry walls, subfloors and framing.
Flooded Basement Cleanup
Water out, wet drywall and carpet removed, space dried.
Crawlspace Water Removal
Standing water and wet insulation cleared from the crawlspace.
Ceiling & Drywall Water Damage
Stains, sags and leaks from above, opened and dried.
Sewage Backup Cleanup
Contaminated water removed with protective gear and disposal.
Storm & Flash Flood Cleanup
Rain through doors, windows and roofs, pumped and dried.
Commercial Water Damage
Offices, shops and warehouses, with records for the insurer.
Mold Removal
Containment, HEPA cleaning and removal after water.
Frozen & Burst Pipe Cleanup
Water extraction and drying after a split line.
Our water damage restoration process in Acworth, GA
Four simple steps, from the first call to a dry house.
Call us
Tell us what happened and where you are. That is all we need to start.
We stop the damage
A crew finds the source, stops the spread and pumps out the water.
We dry and clean up
Equipment dries the structure, and we remove what is ruined and clean the area.
We repair and finish
Once it reads dry, we repair what the water damaged, such as drywall, paint and flooring, and walk the finished room with you.
In Acworth that often means a crew coming up US 41 or I-75, with lake houses and walkout basements as the usual jobs.
Lake-edge lots and a high water table near the shore
Houses close to a lake have ground water that sits closer to the surface than houses on a ridge. After a wet stretch, a basement wall or a crawlspace floor near the shoreline can stay damp for weeks even if no storm hit that day. That is a different problem from a flash flood, and it shows up as seepage at the wall-to-slab joint, damp carpet at the edges and a musty smell, not as a sudden flood of water. We pump what is standing, dry the structure and tell you what the moisture pattern suggests so a drainage contractor knows where to look.
Lake Allatoona pool levels, and where a shoreline lot sits
The Corps of Engineers holds the lake at 840 feet above sea level in summer and draws it down to 823 feet in winter, a swing of 17 feet. The record high was 861.19 feet on April 9, 1964. A lakeside lot in Acworth is only a safe distance above those lines if its own elevation is, and your lot elevation is on your survey or the county GIS map, not in this chart.
Scale runs from 800 to 870 feet above mean sea level. Winter pool is the level used since 1957. The Corps has revised its guide curve over time, so check the current Allatoona water control plan before relying on a date.
Sources: Lake Allatoona, pool levels and records; NWS Southeast River Forecast Center drought journal, rule curve and low record.
Flooded basement in Acworth on sloped lots and walkouts
Many houses near the lakes use the slope: a walkout basement on the downhill side, with the yard rising on the other. Water finds the walkout door. A threshold that leaks, a French drain that clogs, or a downspout that dumps uphill of the door will put water into a finished basement fast. The first hour is the same as anywhere: stop the source, move what you can, call. We extract, remove wet pad and low drywall if needed, and dry. For the full process see flooded basement cleanup.
How lake house water damage in Acworth is different
Lake homes are often second homes or houses where someone is away for days at a time. A supply line that splits on a Tuesday can run until the weekend. A washing machine hose or a water heater in a closed-up house can do a lot of damage in a few days. If you have a lake house you do not visit in winter, shut off the main when you leave, and ask a neighbor to check after a hard freeze. Wet conditions plus an empty, closed house are also the setup for mold within a couple of weeks, which is why our mold removal calls from lake homes often follow a long leak.
Burst pipe cleanup in Acworth on freeze nights near the water
Cold air settles low and sits near water, and lake-edge homes with crawlspaces and exposed lines get little shelter. After a hard freeze, call a plumber first for the line, then us for the water. The frozen and burst pipe page walks through the order and the checklist covers prevention.
The town, in dates
Acworth is a railroad town, and the rail line still runs through it. The dates below are the ones tied to the town's buildings and water.
Railroad, war and lake in four dates
- 1840. The Western and Atlantic Railroad is completed through town, and a locomotive watering station is set up here.
- June 6, 1864. Union forces capture the town.
- November 13, 1864. Sherman's army burns Acworth, sparing about a dozen homes and a church.
- 1949 to 1950. Allatoona Dam is finished and Lake Allatoona fills, reaching operation in January 1950. Parts of the lake edge now sit where farmland and a river valley were.
Sources: Acworth, Georgia; Lake Allatoona.
For water damage, the point of the old houses is simple. Houses near the old downtown on Main Street, which follows old US 41, may be much older than the subdivisions around the lake, with older plumbing, crawlspaces and different wall materials. We look at what is in the walls before we cut.
Water removal in Acworth, GA and how we get to you
We come from Kennesaw, up US 41 or I-75 depending on where in Acworth you are. We work near the downtown historic area, around Lake Acworth, and near the lakeside parks such as South Shore, Proctor Landing and Dallas Landing. The Cobb County part of Acworth is the main service area, and parts of Acworth extend into Bartow, Cherokee and Paulding counties, which we also cover.
| Where in Acworth | Common water problem | Where we start |
|---|---|---|
| Lake-edge and near-lake lots | Seepage, damp crawlspaces, high humidity | Moisture mapping, pump, dry |
| Sloped lots with walkout basements | Water at the walkout door, finished basement flooding | Extraction, flood cut, dry |
| Older downtown houses | Old supply lines, crawlspace moisture | Find the source, dry from below |
| Second homes and lake houses | Long, unnoticed leaks | Shutoff, extraction, mold check |
The first hour when you live on the lake
- Shut off the main water valve. At a lake house the valve is often in the crawlspace or a utility closet that nobody opens.
- If the water came from outside, such as a storm or a high shoreline, do not wade into it near outlets or the panel.
- Photograph the water line on the walls before anything is moved, and note the date and time.
- Lift electronics, boxes and rugs off the floor.
- Call us. If you are two hours away, tell us how to get in, and we will walk through what we find on the phone before we start.
Keep a spare key and the shutoff location with a neighbor you trust. A leak you are told about in the first hour costs far less than one you find on the weekend.
Common water damage calls in Acworth
The calls we get from Acworth follow the water. Lake houses on Lake Acworth and Lake Allatoona call about crawlspaces and walkout basements that stay wet when the ground is saturated. Sloped lots send runoff toward the foundation after a hard rain. Older homes near the downtown historic area call about supply lines and water heaters, and owners of lake houses used part of the year call after a pipe let go while no one was home.
Whatever the cause, the first questions are the same: where did the water come from, and how long has it been there? Answer those on the phone and we can tell you what to shut off, what to move and what to leave alone before the crew arrives.
How much does water damage restoration cost in Acworth, GA?
Most Acworth jobs fall somewhere between a wet crawlspace and a flooded walkout basement, so the price follows the amount of wet material, the kind of water and how long it sat. The ranges below are planning numbers for Acworth homes, not quotes.
| Service | Planning range |
|---|---|
| Water extraction, standing water | $0.75–$2.00 per sq ft of wet area |
| Drying and monitoring, clean water | $3.00–$5.00 per sq ft |
| Drying and monitoring, gray water | $4.00–$7.00 per sq ft |
| Sewage (category 3) cleanup | $7.00–$12.00 per sq ft |
| Removing wet carpet pad and drywall under 2 ft | $1.55–$3.50 per sq ft |
| Mold removal after water | $10–$25 per sq ft, $500 minimum |
| Example: 300 sq ft finished basement, clean water, found within a day | $1,650–$3,700 |
| Example: 1,000 sq ft crawlspace, clean water, found after 1–3 days, wet insulation out | $4,650–$12,600 |
| Lake house left empty, water ran for days | Quoted after a moisture check |
What raises the cost
- More square feet of wet material
- Dirtier water, such as gray or sewage
- More time between the leak and the call
- Tight access, such as a low crawlspace
- Hardwood, finished walls and wet insulation
- Night and weekend calls
What helps keep it down
- Call within the first day
- Shut off the water at the main
- Take photos before anything moves
- Clear a path to the wet area
- Tell us what the water was and where it came from
These are planning ranges from published cost guides plus our own assumptions, not quotes. Repairs such as new drywall, paint and flooring are priced separately after drying, and we do that work too. For an accurate number, call us at (678) 940-0778 for a moisture check and a written scope.
Cost guides: Angi; Fixr; HomeAdvisor.
Questions Acworth callers ask
Do you come to Acworth?
Yes. It is one of our closest service areas.
Will lake level affect my basement?
It can affect ground water near the shore. Your lot elevation compared with the pool levels is a good place to start, and a drainage or foundation contractor can look at it.
What if my lake house flooded while I was away?
Shut off the water at the main when you arrive, take photos, and call. Long leaks may need drywall and insulation removal and a mold check.
Do you also work in nearby Emerson and Woodstock?
Related: Kennesaw DryOut home, water extraction, crawlspace water removal, structural drying. Try the water damage cost calculator.
Sources
Acworth, Georgia (Wikipedia); Census QuickFacts, Acworth; Lake Allatoona (Wikipedia); NWS Southeast River Forecast Center.
Water on the floor right now? Call us. (678) 940-0778