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Technician carrying an air mover into a postwar home near apartment buildings at dusk in Costa Mesa

Water Damage Restoration in Costa Mesa, CA

From Mesa Verde to the Eastside, Costa Mesa addresses in 92626 and 92627 are covered.

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(888) 217-4707How the line works

A call connects you with an independent restoration contractor who serves the city. HB Water Damage is an independent referral service that connects homeowners with independent restoration contractors; the contractor sends the crew and does all of the work.

IndependentNot owned by a contractor.

Check any licenseVerify at cslb.ca.gov.

Answered daily7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific

Huntington Beach areaPlus 20 nearby cities

In short

Water damage restoration in Costa Mesa means stopping the leak, drying the building and replacing what cannot be saved, in a city where most households rent and many homes date from the 1950s and 1960s. An independent contractor handles the job for owners, landlords and tenants.

Why Costa Mesa properties get water damage

Brown water stain spreading across an apartment ceiling in Costa Mesa with a bucket catching drips
Southern California homes under tall palm trees

A postwar city built fast

The city's history says thousands trained at the Santa Ana Army Air Base during World War II, on land now used by the OC Fairgrounds and Orange Coast College, and many returned with families after the war. The city incorporated on June 29, 1953, with 3.5 square miles and 16,840 people, and by 1988 had grown to about 90,000 people and 17 square miles. Census data shows the result: about 42 percent of Costa Mesa's 44,427 housing units were built in the 1950s or 1960s, and the median year built is 1972.

Mostly renters, many shared walls

About 60 percent of occupied homes in Costa Mesa are rented, and a third of all units sit in buildings with five or more apartments. In a stacked building, a failed washer hose, toilet supply or water heater upstairs becomes a ceiling leak downstairs.

Sewer laterals are the owner's job, out to the street

The Costa Mesa Sanitary District maintains about 224 miles of sewer main and 20 pump stations that lift wastewater from low-lying areas so it can keep flowing by gravity. The district says property owners are responsible for their lateral up to and including the connection with the district main, usually in the middle of the street. It names tree roots, grease and so-called flushable wipes as the main causes of backups.

Two water suppliers

Mesa Water District, which serves most of the city, meets all of its demand with local groundwater delivered through 317 miles of pipeline. Parts of Costa Mesa are served by the Irvine Ranch Water District instead, so a street main break goes to whichever agency bills you.

Wet winters have hurt Costa Mesa before

The city's history records that an early 1889 storm washed out the railroad at the old town of Fairview, near today's Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue, and brought financial disaster to the settlement.

Stopping the damage before help arrives

  1. Close the nearest valve. In an apartment, start with the valve under the sink, behind the toilet or on the water heater. In a single-family house, the main shutoff is usually on the pipe near the front hose bib.
  2. Tell the building. Renters should notify the landlord in writing and warn the unit below.
  3. Turn off power to any room where water has reached outlets, appliances or cords, if you can do it from a dry spot.
  4. Stop using plumbing if water is rising from a floor drain, shower or toilet. That points to a lateral blockage, and the water is sewage.
  5. Know who to call outside the house. Report a main break to Mesa Water District or Irvine Ranch Water District, whichever is on your bill. Report a public sewer problem to the Costa Mesa Sanitary District at (949) 645-8400.

Water in your home right now? Call and get connected to an independent restoration contractor who covers your street.

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(888) 217-4707

Steps the contractor follows

The contractor applies the IICRC S500 standard. The first visit maps moisture with meters, including ceilings and walls in the unit below. Standing water is extracted, and materials that cannot dry in place, such as saturated drywall, pad or cabinet bases, are removed. The crew the contractor sends sets air movers and dehumidifiers and logs readings until materials are dry. Cleaning and a photographed report finish the job. When a lateral backs up into a home, the water is Category 3, so carpet and pad it touched are discarded and the area is disinfected.

Technician placing air movers and a dehumidifier in a Costa Mesa apartment with flooring lifted

Costa Mesa neighborhoods covered

Coverage spans Mesa Verde, College Park, the Eastside, the Westside, the South Coast Metro area near the 405, the blocks around the OC Fairgrounds and Orange Coast College, and the apartment corridors along Harbor Boulevard, Newport Boulevard and Placentia Avenue.

Zip codes

  • 92626
  • 92627

Ready to talk to someone? Call, and ask the contractor for their CSLB license number before work starts.

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(888) 217-4707

Costa Mesa FAQ

Who pays when a leak upstairs damages my apartment?

Responsibility follows the source. Building pipes are usually the owner's responsibility, a tenant's own appliance may fall to that tenant's renters policy, and HOA rules apply in condos. Report it in writing and take photos first.

Is sewer backup covered by insurance?

Many standard homeowners policies exclude sewer backup unless you added an endorsement. Since the Costa Mesa Sanitary District puts the lateral on the owner, a backup from a blocked lateral is often the owner's cost. See sewage backup cleanup.

How do I lower the risk of a sewer backup?

Keep grease and wipes out of drains and have the lateral inspected with a camera. The Costa Mesa Sanitary District offers eligible homeowners a rebate toward a CCTV lateral inspection or a new ground-level cleanout.

Who is the contractor on the other end of the call?

An independent restoration company that serves Costa Mesa. It pays a referral fee to HB Water Damage for each connected call, and it quotes and bills you directly.

Not sure what you are looking at? Call, describe what is wet, and an independent local contractor takes it from there.

Call
(888) 217-4707
Water spreading across a kitchen floor from under the sink at night with a phone on the counter
7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific

Water in your home? Talk to someone now.

One call reaches an independent restoration contractor who covers your area. The contractor handles the inspection, the estimate and the work.

Call
(888) 217-4707

Independent line. No charge to you. Calls may be recorded.