Clifton, VA Water Damage Restoration for Wells, Basements and Old Homes

Clifton: a small town in a large ZIP code

Clifton is an incorporated town in western Fairfax County, one of the smallest in Virginia, with its own mayor and council. It grew up around a railroad stop in the late 1800s, and its historic center, a few streets of Victorian-era houses, churches and shops along the tracks, looks much as it did a century ago. Many of those houses sit on stone or brick foundations with cellars or crawl spaces.

The 20124 ZIP code reaches far beyond the town, across rolling, wooded country between Centreville, Fairfax Station and the Occoquan watershed. Much of that land is zoned for large lots, and most homes there were built from the 1970s onward: substantial houses on one to five acres, often with full finished basements, sump pits, horse barns and long driveways. Many rely on private wells and septic systems; some neighborhoods are on public water.

If you're not sure which you have, check your bills: no water bill almost always means a well. It's worth knowing before anything goes wrong.

On a well: stopping the water and cleaning up

With a well, pressure comes from a pump in the well and a pressure tank in the house. Closing the main valve helps, but if the leak is on the tank side, only switching off the pump will stop it. The quickest routine: switch off the well pump at its breaker, close the main valve, then open a faucet low in the house to drain what's left in the tank. Mark that breaker clearly now.

Power is the other factor. In a summer thunderstorm or a winter ice storm, the power often fails, and when it does the well pump and the sump pump stop together. The house has no water upstairs and nothing pushing water out downstairs. A backup sump pump on its own battery, or a generator sized to run both pumps, is the usual answer on a Clifton-area lot.

If water came from a drain, septic matters. A backup from a toilet, shower or floor drain is treated as contaminated, so carpet, pad and drywall it reached are removed rather than dried, and hard surfaces are cleaned and disinfected. Backups often point to a full tank or a waterlogged drain field, so get a septic contractor to look before the house goes back to normal use.

In the old town: stone and brick foundations

The historic houses in Clifton's center were built long before poured concrete. Their foundations are fieldstone or brick laid in lime mortar, which lets moisture pass through slowly and was never meant to be watertight. A little dampness in these cellars is normal, and the walls stay sound as long as they can breathe.

Damage comes from extra water: a pipe splitting in the cellar or crawl space, a gutter overflowing at one corner, or runoff redirected toward the house by a new driveway or patio. Finishes fixed against the old masonry, such as drywall or paneling, can trap that water on both sides.

Drying masonry takes patience. Stone and brick hold water deep in the wall, so readings go into the wall and the timbers resting on it, not just the surface. Sealing the inside face usually makes things worse. Lasting fixes come from outside: gutters, downspouts, grading and repointing with a compatible mortar.

Clifton service area

We connect property owners across ZIP code 20124: the Town of Clifton and the wooded, large-lot country around it. Roads here are winding and some driveways are long or gated, so mention access when you call. We'll tell you honestly when a crew can reach you.

ZIP codes served: 20124

Crawl spaces under older houses and additions

Many of Clifton's older houses, and the additions built onto them, sit over crawl spaces. Under a house, a crawl space sits over damp soil with little moving air, and in summer its vents let in humid outdoor air. Water gets in from plumbing leaks, pipes that split in the cold, groundwater and runoff, and once it's there it has nowhere to go.

Upstairs you notice a musty smell, a soft or bouncy floor, or boards that start to cup. Down below, wet fiberglass insulation sags between the joists and holds water against the subfloor. The vapor barrier on the ground, if there is one, may be torn or missing.

Drying means pumping out standing water, removing wet insulation and debris, and running dehumidifiers with the vents closed until the joists and subfloor read dry. Afterward, a sound vapor barrier and a fix for whatever let the water in keep it from coming back.

Services for Clifton properties

• Basement Water Damage
• Sump Pump Failure Cleanup
• Frozen Pipe Burst Cleanup
• Gutter & Drainage Water Intrusion
• Hardwood Floor Water Damage
• Structural Drying & Dehumidification

Places around Clifton

Clifton is part of our Fairfax County & City of Fairfax service area. Neighboring pages cover Fairfax Station and Burke to the east, Centreville to the north and the City of Fairfax.

• Fairfax Station
• Centreville
• Fairfax
• Burke

Clifton water damage questions