Forest Hills has two kinds of home that water treats very differently. Along Queens Boulevard and the streets off Austin Street and Continental Avenue stand prewar and postwar apartment buildings, many of them co-ops. South of the boulevard, Forest Hills Gardens and the streets around it are lined with Tudor-style houses of brick, stucco and timber, with Forest Park beyond. Water damage in Forest Hills is often a leak from above in the apartments and a basement or an old pipe in the houses.
Queens Water Damage Restoration is an independent referral service, not a restoration company. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local restoration provider serving Queens, who can contact you, inspect and quote any work directly. You decide whether to hire them.
Water damage in a Forest Hills co-op
In a co-op, you own shares and lease your apartment, and the corporation runs the building. When water comes through your ceiling, the source may be the apartment above, a riser inside the wall or a building system. Tell the super and the managing agent straight away, in person and in writing, so the water can be stopped at its source. Ask the managing agent what the building’s process is for leaks between units.
Record everything in your apartment before it is cleaned or moved: photographs and video of each room, the ceiling and walls, the floor and every damaged item, with the date and time. Co-op corporations and shareholders may each have their own insurance for their own parts; which covers what depends on the policies and the proprietary lease. This site cannot tell you; check your own policy or ask your agent.
Then make sure someone is drying your apartment quickly. The EPA’s guidance is to dry water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth.
Older ceilings and walls
Older apartments and houses often have plaster ceilings and walls rather than drywall. Wet plaster can be hard to judge by eye, and a ceiling that bulges or sags is holding water. Do not stand under it. Switch off the lights on that circuit from the panel only if you can reach it from a dry place, and never touch switches or fixtures while standing in water. Have the ceiling checked before it is painted over. Repairs after drying are on water damage repair in Queens.
Water damage in a Forest Hills house
In the houses, water often starts in the basement or in old supply pipes. A burst pipe means closing the main valve where the water line enters the house. Basement water after a storm can come from groundwater, from the street, or from a sewer backup through a floor drain; DEP lists all three among the four ways New York City floods. If the water came up through a drain, treat it as sewage: the IICRC S500 counts sewage as Category 3 water. See sewage cleanup in Queens.
Gutters and downspouts matter on the area’s older houses too. DEP says it is mandatory for homeowners to make sure downspouts are disconnected from the sanitary sewer, redirecting the water at least 6 feet from the foundation, because connected downspouts can cause sewer backups in basements.
Mold in Forest Hills apartment buildings
If your building has 10 or more apartments, NYC’s Health Department says mold covering more than 10 square feet must be assessed and removed by workers holding a New York State Department of Labor mold license, and state law does not allow the same worker to do both the assessment and the removal. Local Law 55 makes owners of buildings with three or more apartments keep units free of mold and fix the leaks behind it. See mold remediation in Queens.
Near Forest Hills
Nearby pages: Richmond Hill across Forest Park, Jamaica to the southeast, and Elmhurst up Queens Boulevard. Rego Park and Kew Gardens are on the Queens neighborhoods page.
Water damage in a Forest Hills co-op or house? Send the form, pick Forest Hills, and an independent local provider can contact you.
Questions people ask
Who is responsible for a leak from the apartment above in a co-op?
It depends on the source, the proprietary lease and the policies involved. Tell the managing agent in writing, photograph everything and check your own policy or ask your agent.
Is a wet plaster ceiling dangerous?
A bulging or sagging ceiling is holding water and can come down. Keep out from under it and have it checked before repair.
Is this site a restoration company in Forest Hills?
No. Queens Water Damage Restoration is an independent referral service, not a restoration company. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local restoration provider serving Queens, who can contact you, inspect and quote any work directly. You decide whether to hire them.
Water damage in Queens? Tell us your neighborhood and what happened.