Storms and emergencies
Storms, leaks and the 3 AM phone call.
Most damage to an empty house comes from water and weather. We get the house ready before the season turns, and if something goes wrong, one of us goes.
If something goes wrong
One call, and one of us goes.
The call
You call, or a neighbor does. Clients get one number for any hour.
We go
With your key, your codes and your written instructions, because we agreed all of it before the first visit.
We stop it getting worse
Water off at the main if that’s the problem. Then the plumber, roofer or glass company from your list, up to the limit you set.
You hear from us
Photos of what we found and what we did, as soon as things are under control.
Storm and fire-season prep
$95 to $250, depending on the house, with a photo report when it’s done.
- Before the rain
- Drains and downspouts cleared from the ground, patio furniture and cushions in, and the irrigation paused.
- Before the Santa Anas
- Umbrellas down, anything loose brought inside, and the windows shut.
- Your shutoffs
- We know where your water, gas and power shutoffs are, and each one is photographed in your house file.
Water first
Expensive damage usually starts as a slow leak.
A running toilet or a weeping valve can go on for weeks in an empty house. The water meter shows it long before a ceiling does, so we read yours every visit with everything turned off.
Chubb’s claims from 2014 to 2018 put the average water leak above $55,000. Chubb claims data, via Insurance Business, 2020
On the first day, we find your main shutoff, photograph it, and agree with you on when we close it.
The dial is still. No leak.
If the small triangle on the meter turns while every tap is off, water is going somewhere it shouldn’t.
The La Jolla year
What an empty house is up against, month by month.
Each season here brings its own risks to an empty house, and the expensive ones usually involve water. This is the calendar we work to.
In October, watch for Santa Ana winds, coastal heat and termite swarms.
Water is the expensive one. Chubb’s claims from 2014 to 2018 put the average water leak above $55,000, and in its 2017 survey only 22 percent of owners shut off the main before a trip. We photograph your shutoff on day one and agree when we close it.
Source: Chubb claims data, via Insurance Business, 2020; Chubb homeowner survey, 2017
Dry offshore wind, most often in December and strongest in January. Cushions and umbrellas come inside and the windows stay shut. If the gutters are full of dry leaves, we call your gutter company.
Source: Guzman-Morales et al., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Geophysical Research Letters, 2016
The coast’s hottest days have historically come in early fall, when Santa Ana winds blow offshore. A shut house heats up fast. The AC has to hold, and plants and wine fridges notice first.
Source: Guzman-Morales et al., 2016
The first real rain finds every loose downspout and blocked drain. On January 22, 2024, a weak atmospheric river put 2.73 inches on San Diego’s airport gauge in a day, most of it in three hours. Gutters and drains before, ceilings after.
Source: CW3E, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, storm summary, January 2024
The highest tides at Scripps Pier this winter: about 7.0 feet the week of Thanksgiving, 7.1 feet on the morning of Christmas Eve, and 6.9 feet on January 21 and 22. Low patios and drains near the sand at the Shores are the ones to watch.
Weeks of marine layer keep a closed house damp. The EPA says to keep indoor humidity under 60 percent, so we check it, air the house out and look inside closets.
Source: US EPA, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home
In a closed house the signs pile up unseen: tiny six-sided pellets under a sill. We photograph the same sills each visit, so a new pile stands out.
Salt does the most damage where rain can’t rinse it off: under decks, porches and roof overhangs. We photograph railings, hinges, slider tracks and the outdoor AC unit every quarter.
Source: FEMA Technical Bulletin 8, 2019
Written October 2026.
La Jolla, right now
Today’s weather, read for an empty house.
Water temperature from NOAA’s gauge at the end of Scripps Pier, NOAA’s tide predictions for the same spot, and the Weather Service’s forecast for the coast. When an alert goes up, here’s what it means for a house with nobody in it.
Water at Scripps Pier
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Live reading
Tide now, predicted
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Above mean lower low water
Waves, Torrey Pines buoy
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Wave height offshore
Tide, next day and a half
Water temperature and tide predictions from NOAA station 9410230 at Scripps Pier. Forecast and alerts from the National Weather Service in San Diego. Waves from buoy 46225 (CDIP 100), Torrey Pines Outer. Updated every fifteen minutes.
Who the any-hour number is for
Our clients, because we hold their keys and know their houses. If you’re not a client yet and water is coming through a ceiling, call a plumber first, then call us.
How quickly can you get to the house?
Most of La Jolla is within fifteen minutes of us. If Darylee is away, Tyler goes, with the same keys, codes and instructions.
What if something breaks?
We text you photos right away. Small fixes under the limit you set, we arrange and tell you about. For anything bigger we get quotes from licensed trades and you choose. You pay them directly. We never mark up a repair.