Joe Cline is a professional real estate broker, investor, and REALTOR with RE/MAX Capital City, Austin, Texas. Joe believes in providing world-class service to his clients through educating and coaching them through their real estate transactions.
Joe's commitment to education and service is reinforced by his achievement and participation in the Austin Board of Realtors, Council of Residential Specialists, Accredited Buyer's Representative's Council, Texas Association of Realtors, and National Association of Realtors.
Joe holds his Broker's license, the Accredited Buyer's Representative designation, the Certified Residential Specialist designation, the Certified Home Marketing Specialist designation, Cendant Mobility Marketing Specialist designation and the Cendant Mobility Referral Specialist designation.
Find out more about Austin real estate and new homes in Steiner Ranch .
Arg! There are few disasters that can occur in the home that are more heinous and hard to deal with than water damage. It can sneak up on you or hit you suddenly. No matter how it strikes, it's a tough one to clean up after and the damage can be subtle and long lasting.
It's not always obvious when water damage has occurred because often the source of the damage is a broken or leaky pipe behind the drywall or under the concrete slab of your house. Leaking pipes take a long time to show up, especially if the leak is slow and, by the time water spots or sagging ceiling tiles start to show, the damage can be extensive.
Another source of water damage, a clog in the drainage system, can manifest itself suddenly in most cases. The resulting backed up toilet, sink, or bathtub drain is easy to spot and easy to rectify, usually.
A third kind is a failure of a major appliance – the dishwasher, washing machine, or refrigerator – and the resulting damage can also be hidden for some time.
Last on the list is damage that occurs when the roof or basement walls leak and the sump pump fails. This last type can be quite devastating and is usually readily apparent to the naked eye.
Finding the damage can be easy if the cause is a sudden catastrophic failure of an appliance or plumbing, or a violent rain storm that damages roof tiles or shingles. Sometimes it can be subtle and slow to reveal itself, in the case of plumbing behind the walls. A hot water pipe may expand, causing a leak between joints, for example. The leak disappears when the pipes cool down, making detection work slow and frustrating. A hot spot in the concrete slab or bathroom tile may indicate another hot water pipe leak. (This is even more fun to sort out if you have radiant floor heating.)
Water spots in the ceiling are a definite indication that something is amiss, as well as wet carpeting and you don't have a dog. Small leaks are the worse as the damage is slow to develop and hard to spot.
It's important to understand the extent of the water damage so that clean up and repair can be thorough and effective. While some damage is immediately apparent – such as damage to porous materials like wood, carpeting, drywall and such – latent damage like mold may take months or even years to develop although, depending on conditions, mold can develop in as little as 24 hours. Thorough drying of the damaged area, as well as replacing such porous materials as carpeting, drywall, and ceiling tiles, will minimize and possibly prevent a mold or mildew problem. Antiseptic solutions may need to be applied, particularly if the source of the damage was a backed up sewer or septic system.
Bottom line: address water damage immediately, for your house’s sake and for your health.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Lakeway Texas Real Estate: the Hills of Lakeway Community
- Austin Texas Real Estate Profiles: Lakeway
- A Peak at Lakeway, Texas
- Why Families Are Calling Lakeway, Texas Home
- Lakeway Texas Subdivision Information: the Preserve at Lakeway
- The Best Parks of Lakeway Texas
- Lakeway Texas Neighborhoods: Rough Hollow
- Lakeway Homes for Sale: a Profile of Cardinal Hills in Texas
Before Buying Miami Condos – Some Mortgage ABC’s
By: Mark Ferrer | 27/11/2009Before you look for Miami condos, you must first know the basics. You are about to travel a road most traveled but least completed. The real estate journey is a perilous one; full of challenges to test your patience and determination. And if you're a first-time buyer, make sure you know one of the most and probably the single-most important part of owning a home, the mortgage.
Houses for Sale Cornwall
By: Anna Barrington | 27/11/2009Browse the property sections of the popular residential sales magazines and websites and there are many tempting properties in the idyllic location of Cornwall. You may be doing this whilst sitting at your desk in the big smoke and want to relocate your family for a bit of the good life. But is it all it is cracked up to be. Here we outline some good areas to start your search and some of the pros and cons you will encounter.
How to paint a vinyl Window Replacement, Northern Virginia?
By: John Cvetkovic | 27/11/2009The new, replaced windows attract a lot of emphasis on to them and thus they have to be kept in the best of forms. The vinyl window panes get eroded with time and thus they need to be colored again. The Windows replacement, Northern Virginia companies take care of this aspect, but still, you will be required to take efforts to color your vinyl window panes.
How to construct a Virginia Deck?
By: John Cvetkovic | 27/11/2009The process of building up a deck can be a hectic process. The deck builders in Virginia can charge you inappropriate amounts. But, what if you do not have the knowledge to build it up, on your own? Or, what if there are a few ambiguities regarding the deck layout and material? You have no option to leave your deck half built or to bring in any of the deck builders in Virginia as that will be an added expenditure.
Get a Virginia window replacement and experience the warmth for many more years
By: John Cvetkovic | 27/11/2009Virginia is quite an eminent state of the US, a cosmopolitan in true sense. There are many people living and there is hence a very well developed residential plan of the city. Hence the circuit of markets and service providers are also well developed and widespread.
Fact-file of Northern Virginia Deck
By: John Cvetkovic | 27/11/2009The Virginia deck and fence manufacturers have got a very difficult task to do. On one hand they have to deal with the appropriate design of decks, for them to look good, while on the other, they need to manage the mechanics of the deck to save it from instability. These Northern Virginia Deck builders have a particular format on which the decks are built up. Let us have a look at the guidelines set forth.
Doing Virginia window replacement in a professional way
By: John Cvetkovic | 27/11/2009The Virginia window replacement is a task that most of the people do not insist upon. They only do this replacement if either the existing window panes get deteriorated with time or when they want to give their house a new look. The best thing about these windows is that they can easily be replaced and also can be distinguished very easily.
Dining out at Virginia Kitchen
By: John Cvetkovic | 27/11/2009A kitchen is literally defined as a place for preparing meals. Of all the different kitchens you will find in Virginia, the Virginia Kitchen by Waffle King is one the best places for a fine dining experience. It is located in Herndon, at 450 Elden Street. It is open all week round from Monday to Sunday and treats you to a great breakfast, brunch and lunch menus.
Water in the Home: How to Find, Fix, and Clean Water Damage
By: Joe Cline - Austin Real Estate Broker | 26/08/2008 | Real EstateArg! There are few disasters that can occur in the home that are more heinous and hard to deal with than water damage. It can sneak up on you or hit you suddenly. No matter how it strikes, it's a tough one to clean up after and the damage can be subtle and long lasting. It's not always obvious when water damage has occurred because often the source of the damage is a broken or leaky pipe behind the drywall or under the concrete slab of your house. Leaking pipes take a long time to show up, espe
How to Handle Electricity and When to Call in the Pros
By: Joe Cline - Austin Real Estate Broker | 26/08/2008 | Real EstateThere is a reason you call the electrician every time something goes wrong with your electricity - not many people, you included, like playing around with wires. There are too many opportunities to electrocute yourself, start a small fire or do similar damage to you and everyone around you. However, you don’t want to be too hasty in calling for help, particularly since each visit comes with a bill that, in this economy, isn’t always something you can afford. Therefore it is important you take pr
Real Estate Tidbits: Gardens More Than a Labor of Love
By: Joe Cline - Austin Real Estate Broker | 21/05/2008 | Gardening“He who plants a garden, plants happiness” is an old saying. However, things have changed a lot nowadays. Today, the proverb could be thought of as “He who plants a garden, plants money!”
The Wonder of Green Technology
By: Joe Cline - Austin Real Estate Broker | 21/05/2008 | Remodeling“Modern technology, owes ecology, an apology” is an old saying. In the case of the new technology in building homes, this proverb seems to be false.
New Home Builders: New Breed of Dream House Builders
By: Joe Cline - Austin Real Estate Broker | 21/05/2008 | Moving & RelocatingBuilding a dream house is not an easy task. For one, you need someone who is patient enough and understanding enough to explain the processes of building a house -- what to expect during and after -- and the budget that you need every step of the way.
Georgetown Quality Home Builder That Fits Your Budget
By: Joe Cline - Austin Real Estate Broker | 21/05/2008 | Moving & RelocatingGeorgetown, Texas is a great City to settle down: peaceful yet very modern. The only problem you might have in building your dream home in this wonderful city is your budget; you think that your savings aren't enough to hire a Georgetown custom home builder to build your wonderful dream home.
Home Builder in Texas That is Within Budget
By: Joe Cline - Austin Real Estate Broker | 21/05/2008 | Moving & RelocatingMagazines about homes and gardens and on lifestyle network, the main feature for every issue are the beautiful homes of the rich and famous. You want your Texas home to be built as elegantly and as beautifully as the rich and famous homes.
Solar Power- Power From the Roof
By: Joe Cline - Austin Real Estate Broker | 21/05/2008 | RemodelingThe hot topic nowadays around the globe is “scarcity of power”. As a country moves towards the peak of development, so is the demand of power. Reports show that there are many homes using electricity more than that used by a small industry!