Hobe Sound Water Damage Help for Manufactured Homes

For water damage restoration and flood cleanup in Hobe Sound, including Hobe Heights and the homes on Jupiter Island, call South Florida Restoration Co. The worst water here has come from rain with nowhere to go, and a big share of the housing is manufactured homes and houses that sit empty part of the year.

What 2020 did in Hobe Heights

After a wet week, storms on June 2 and 3, 2020 dropped 5 to 10 inches across eastern Martin County, with 11 to 13 inches measured in Hobe Sound, some of it at 6 inches in under four hours. Water got into homes, and in eight of them it reached the wall outlets or higher. On June 5, another 2 to 4 inches in two hours flooded several homes again, mostly in Hobe Heights. Residents told WPTV the water stood for days and septic tanks backed up. It happened again that fall. After 5 to 8 inches fell overnight on October 1, 2020, onto ground that was already soaked, NOAA storm records describe standing water more than 3 feet deep in parts of Hobe Heights and the neighborhoods around it, and water that was very slow to go down. Martin County has since bought and demolished 13 homes and permitted a new outfall to carry flood water to a treatment area before it reaches the Intracoastal.

Water that high is outside water, often mixed with whatever came up from the septic tanks, so it gets full flood cleanup. Drywall is cut well above the high-water mark, insulation and flooring come out, outlets and wiring get checked before the power goes back on, and whatever stays is disinfected ahead of the drying.

High water off the Indian River

Rain isn’t the only source. On September 21, 2020, a king tide on top of swells from Hurricane Teddy raised the Indian River enough to flood roads and push water into a few homes in Hobe Sound, NOAA storm records show, and roads flooded in far south Jupiter Island. Tide water is salty, so floors and walls it reached get washed before they’re dried.

Mobile and manufactured homes

More than a quarter of Hobe Sound’s homes are mobile or manufactured homes, far more than in the county as a whole. Most of the rest went up in the 1970s and 1980s; Census estimates put the median Hobe Sound home in 1983. When flood water or a broken line gets under one, the drying starts beneath the floor, not in the rooms. The Martin County page explains how that work is set up.

Jupiter Island and part-year houses

About 36 percent of Jupiter Island’s homes and about 13 percent of Hobe Sound’s are held for seasonal use. In a house shut for the summer, a slow leak at a water heater, an ice maker line or the AC drain pan can run for weeks with nobody there, and the humidity does the rest. If you look after a house for an owner who’s away, the address and a few photos are enough to start. The guide to closing up a Florida home covers what to set before leaving.

Hobe Sound ZIP codes

Homes in 33455 and 33475 are covered, and 33455 takes in Jupiter Island along with Hobe Sound. Don’t see your ZIP? Call anyway and we’ll check your address.

Say whether the water rose from the street or the yard, whether it’s a manufactured home and whether the house is on septic. Calling for an owner who’s away? Give the address and how to get in.