An emergency on Kiawah usually involves two things that make it harder — the gate, and the fact that nobody may be in the house.
We are set up for gated access
Getting a contractor onto the island at short notice is its own problem. We are familiar with the pass and clearance process and work regularly with the management companies here, which means we are not held up at the gate while water is running inside your home.
If the house is empty
Most of our urgent calls here come from a caretaker, a neighbour or a management company rather than the owner. If you are away, please make sure whoever holds keys also knows where the main shut-off is — that single piece of information saves more damage than anything else.
Winter is the risk period
A hard freeze in an unoccupied house with the heating turned down is where the serious damage happens on this island. If your home sits empty over winter, it is worth having the water shut off and the system drained rather than trusting the thermostat.
We come out at any hour for
- Burst or frozen pipes in unoccupied homes
- Water heaters leaking or failing
- Sewage backing up into tubs and floor drains
- Irrigation and outdoor line failures
- Gas smells, which we treat as immediate