Upperville, VA Water Damage Restoration Through the Winter

Upperville in brief

Upperville is an unincorporated village in northwestern Fauquier County, with no town government; the county provides services. It lies along Route 50 west of the Town of Middleburg, which is across the county line in Loudoun, with Marshall to the south and The Plains to the southeast. Round Hill, also in Loudoun, is to the north.

The village is a short run of old houses, a church and a few buildings along the highway, and the land around it is horse country: large farms and estates with main houses, cottages, stables and outbuildings. Many houses are old, some built of stone or brick, others of frame enlarged over time. Private wells and septic systems serve the area.

Stone and brick under old houses

Older Upperville houses often stand on fieldstone or brick foundations, and some are stone throughout. Lime mortar softens over the decades and lets groundwater through its joints, brick absorbs water and can flake where it freezes wet, and cellars built for storage were never meant to be dry living space. A certain dampness after long rain is the normal condition for these walls.

What the crew protects is what sits against them: framing and finishes added later, insulation, stored belongings, and mechanical equipment on the cellar floor. They measure a dry area of the same wall to set a reference and dry to that. Outside, gutters and downspouts that carry water well away from the stone matter more than anything done inside.

Winter freeze across a property

Pipes freeze where cold reaches them, and a large Upperville property has many such places: a wing or addition over a crawl space, an unheated mudroom or pantry, a garage, a cottage kept at low heat, the barn, the well house and field hydrants. Old houses with little insulation in exterior walls add more.

As water freezes it expands, pressure builds between the ice and the nearest closed valve, and the pipe splits, often a short distance from the frozen section. Nothing leaks until the thaw. A guest cottage or empty house can then run water for days before anyone walks in.

Before winter, close crawl-space vents, insulate exposed lines, drain and shut off seasonal buildings, and keep low heat and a temperature alarm in any building with water. After a deep cold spell, walk through each building on the first warm day.

Crawl spaces under wings and additions

Many old houses here grew over generations, and the newer kitchens, baths and wings often sit over crawl spaces rather than the original cellar. That's where the plumbing runs, and it's the part of the house nobody visits. Water from a frozen split or a leak above sits on the soil or vapor barrier and saturates the insulation between the joists.

Drying starts with pumping out standing water and pulling the wet insulation, which sags and holds water against the framing. Torn vapor barrier comes out too. Then dehumidifiers and air movers run, sometimes ducted in through a small access door, until the joists and subfloor read the same as dry wood in the house. Old, thick timbers may take longer than modern framing.

Also near Upperville

Upperville is part of our Fauquier & the Piedmont service area. Neighboring pages cover Marshall and the Town of The Plains in Fauquier County, and the Towns of Middleburg and Round Hill in Loudoun County.

• Marshall
• Middleburg
• The Plains
• Round Hill

Upperville service area

We connect owners, farm managers, tenants and caretakers across ZIP code 20184: the village and the farms and estates around it. Many properties are down long drives behind gates, so tell us how a crew gets in; we'll give you an honest estimate of when they can arrive.

ZIP codes served: 20184

Services for Upperville properties

• Frozen Pipe Burst Cleanup
• Basement Seepage & Groundwater
• Structural Drying & Dehumidification
• Sewage Backup Cleanup
• Storm & Heavy Rain Water Damage
• Vacant Unit Water Damage

Upperville water damage questions