Gateway/Services/Water damage restoration
Water damage
restoration in St. Louis.
When a pipe bursts, a basement floods, or a sewer backs up, the first 48 hours decide what gets saved and what gets thrown away. Gateway is on-site in ninety minutes, extracting, drying, documenting, and writing the file your insurance carrier wants. Twenty-four seven across the St. Louis metro.
What’s actually happening
Water damage isn’t just water.
It’s a clock.
Every hour standing water sits, the cost of fixing it grows. By the third day, what could have been a drying job becomes a tear-out. Knowing where you are on the clock, and acting accordingly, is the whole game.
Saturation phase
Drywall, wood subfloor, and insulation absorb water fast. Caught now, most materials dry in place. Carpet pad usually has to go; the carpet itself often saves.
Mold germination window
Mold spores already on the surface start germinating in damp organic material. Drywall starts wicking water vertically. Cabinets and base trim start to swell.
Visible mold + structural risk
Visible mold colonies. Drywall starts to delaminate. Subfloor warps. Now we’re tearing out and rebuilding instead of drying. The longer it sits, the more comes out.
“We don’t tell you it’s mold because it looks like mold. We test, we plan, we write the insurance file your carrier actually wants.”
What’s included
Every Gateway water-damage job
covers all of this.
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Emergency water extraction
Truck-mounted vacuum extraction for standing water. Rapid removal cuts the saturation timeline in half.
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Moisture mapping & documentation
Pin and pinless moisture meters, thermal imaging where needed. Every reading goes into the insurance file.
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Structural drying
Air movers, dehumidifiers, HEPA scrubbers, sized to the job. Daily drying logs until materials hit equilibrium moisture.
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Air-quality + surface testing
When the situation calls for it, in-house testing capability through our sister operation AirSense Environmental.
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Antimicrobial treatment
Where appropriate to prevent mold establishment in materials we’re saving. Honest scope, we don’t fog spaces that don’t need it.
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Selective demolition (only what’s needed)
Drywall, flooring, insulation, cabinetry, removed only when the test data and drying numbers say it has to come out.
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Content protection & pack-out
Items moved out of the affected area, drop-clothed, and protected. Pack-out and storage available when scope warrants.
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Insurance file delivery
Xactimate-aligned scope, photos, drying logs, equipment counts, formatted the way your carrier expects. Direct adjuster communication when authorized.
How a water-damage job runs
Four steps. Same every job.
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01
Call & dispatch.
Live phone. We confirm the situation, dispatch a crew with equipment for the scope you describe, and tell you what to do (and not do) until we arrive.
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02
On-site in 90 min.
Drop cloths down. Photos start. Standing water out. Affected materials assessed. Initial moisture readings logged.
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03
Plan & equipment.
Written scope built from the readings. Drying equipment placed and running. Daily monitoring schedule set.
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04
Dry, monitor, hand off.
Drying logs daily. Equipment adjusted as readings come down. Insurance file delivered. Rebuild can start.
Insurance & the claim
Trained on exactly
what your carrier wants to see.
Most homeowners don’t realize how much of a delayed claim is caused by the contractor’s paperwork, not by the carrier. Wrong scope format. Missing photos. No drying logs. No equipment counts. Estimates that don’t match line-item codes the adjuster knows.
We deliver the file the way your carrier expects it the first time. That’s the difference between a claim that closes in two weeks and one that drags on for two months.
- Xactimate-aligned scope and pricing
- Photo + drying-log documentation built into every job
- Equipment counts and run-time tracking
- Direct adjuster communication when you authorize it
Common questions
What homeowners ask us
at hour one.
Will my homeowners insurance cover this?
Most sudden, accidental water-damage events are covered (burst pipe, appliance failure, sewer backup with a rider). Slow leaks and groundwater seepage often aren’t. We can usually tell you which category your situation falls into within a few minutes of being on-site.
Should I start ripping out wet drywall myself?
Generally no, wait for us. Tear-out you do before testing can disqualify legitimate scope items from your claim, and it can also expose you to mold spores and contaminated water. If the water is from a sewer or unknown source, definitely don’t.
How long does the drying take?
Typical residential water mitigation is 3–5 days of active drying. Larger jobs or jobs with significant absorption (hardwood, plaster, insulation) can run 7–10 days. We monitor daily and adjust equipment until materials hit equilibrium moisture.
Can I save my hardwood floor?
Often yes, if we get to it within the first 24–48 hours and the saturation hasn’t reached the subfloor adhesive. Engineered hardwood is harder to save than solid; older finishes harder than newer. We’ll tell you honestly which side of the line your floor is on.
Do you test for mold automatically, or only if I ask?
We test when the situation calls for it, visible suspected growth, water that sat more than 48 hours, or a homeowner concern. We don’t test (and bill for testing) on every job; that would be padding the scope. The test is a tool, not a default upcharge.
What’s your response time on a Saturday at 2 a.m.?
Same as any other time: 90 minutes or less to St. Louis metro addresses. We have crews on rotating after-hours dispatch every night and weekend of the year.
Related services
What else we do.
Water in your home right now?
Live phone, twenty-four seven. We’ll be on-site in ninety minutes.