Hollywood is large enough to contain several different water problems inside one city boundary. A canal-front house in the lakes area, a 1950s ranch west of the rail line and a beachside condo on A1A can all flood in the same storm, for three different reasons. This page explains how we read a Hollywood building before we scope the work.
What should a Hollywood homeowner know first?
Hollywood covers 30.8 square miles in southeastern Broward County, with a 2020 population of 153,067 — the third-largest city in the county. About 11.23 percent of its area is water, and it includes roughly five to six miles of Atlantic beach, interrupted briefly by a section deeded to Dania Beach.
A planned 1920s city with two waterfronts
Hollywood was laid out in the 1920s as a planned community, with two yacht basins dredged and connected to the Intracoastal Waterway. That design gave the city two waterfronts — the ocean on one side and the Intracoastal and its canal system on the other — and a street grid that still shapes where water goes. The lakes area carries canals and lake frontage, and a lot that backs onto one drains toward it rather than away. During heavy rain, the canals rise while the rain is still falling, so a property can take water from the rear while the street in front is clear.
Housing from the 1920s boom to post-war subdivisions
The city's housing spans a century. There are 1920s and 1930s houses near the historic core, post-war block ranches in the subdivisions that filled in during the 1950s and 1960s, and mid-century and later condo buildings along the beach and the Intracoastal. By 1960 the city already had more than 2,400 hotel units and 12,170 single-family homes. That range matters because each era fails differently: original cast-iron drains and galvanised lines in the oldest houses, low-pitch roofs and carports in the post-war stock, and shared plumbing chases and flat roofs in the beachside buildings.
Beachside and inland are not the same problem
On the barrier side, water arrives from the ocean and the Intracoastal: storm surge, king tides and wind-driven rain against windows and balcony doors. Inland, the problem is rainfall that cannot infiltrate, plus canal backup where the drainage system is already full. A beachfront building can take salt water at a garage level while a house two miles inland takes clean rain through a roof edge on the same afternoon. The two need different documentation, different material decisions and, often, different trades after we leave.
Who serves a Hollywood address
A Hollywood address can involve the city, the county and, on the barrier island, a condo association. Permits and street drainage are city business. Broward County publishes the flood maps used for insurance and runs countywide emergency management, while the regional canal network is a water management district matter. In a beachside building the association controls access, work hours and sometimes the scope itself. We record what we find, note who authorised access, and hand over documentation aimed at each of those parties.
What does a Hollywood property need?
The city's size means the answer changes street by street. Beachside buildings need surge and wind-driven rain handled, canal-front houses need rising water documented, and inland post-war homes need roof-edge leaks and rainfall intrusion read properly.
- Water restoration covers extraction, drying and the repairs that follow, whether the water came from a canal, a roof or a supply line. The first step is always the same: find the boundary of what is wet.
- Storm damage covers wind and rain intrusion at roofs, balcony doors, windows and lanai ties, with leak detection included so the entry point is identified before material is removed.
- Mold remediation applies where a wall, ceiling or cabinet base has stayed damp long enough for growth. Containment and removal come first, then the source.
A beachside job often needs all three, in that order, across a single season. An inland job is usually one service plus a hand-off.
Why choose a Fort Lauderdale crew in Hollywood?
Our base at 708 SE 32nd St in Fort Lauderdale is about six miles from Hollywood, and we work across the range of building stock the city contains: 1920s houses with original drains, post-war block ranches and multi-storey buildings near the beach. We read moisture before removal, write the scope before work starts and name the trade that owns a source repair. On a condo or association building we plan access, containment and material routes before the crew arrives. This site does not publish licence numbers, certifications or reviews, and we will not invent them.
Why Hollywood water damage gets worse quickly
A city with 11.23 percent of its area in water has a lot of edge to flood. When canals and the Intracoastal rise during a storm, water reaches lots that drain toward them long before it reaches the street, and a wall base that takes water from behind a house can stay damp for weeks. Inland, the same storm leaves rainfall standing on ground that is already saturated. Meanwhile the indoor conditions that follow are ideal for growth: air conditioning keeps surfaces cool, humidity stays high and any wet material is slow to dry. Hollywood also has a large share of older housing, where original drain lines and roof edges are already at the end of their service life. A small failure in a 1950s house in July can become a remediation job by August.
What should a Hollywood homeowner check before the next storm?
The answer depends on which side of the city the property sits. On the barrier island the threat is surge, king tides and wind-driven rain. Inland in the lakes area it is canal levels and rainfall that cannot drain.
Beachside: openings and the roof. In a 1950s or 1960s building near the beach, the flat roof, the parapet and the window and door openings take the weather first. Check that sealant at the parapet and around openings is intact, that roof drains are clear, and that storm shutters or impact coverings are present and fit. Salt air ages metal fixings and flashing faster than inland.
Inland: the canal behind the lot. In the lakes area a lot that backs onto a canal drains toward it, and during a slow storm the canal rises while rain is still falling. Check that the rear of the lot is not lower than the water line, that the pool or patio deck drains away from the house, and that a new fence has not blocked a swale.
In both: the plumbing's age. A 1920s house near the historic core may still have cast iron or galvanised lines. A post-war ranch may have original drains under a slab. Slow drains, a stained ceiling below a bathroom, or a water bill that creeps up are worth a look before the season rather than after it.
Know where to shut the water off. City water enters at a meter and a valve, and a house that has been extended may have more than one shutoff. Find the one that stops the whole house and make sure it turns.
Water in Hollywood often arrives from the rear of the lot or from the roof rather than the street, so check the sides of the property most people never look at.
How a Hollywood job runs, step by step
The first decision on a Hollywood job is which side of the city the building sits on: barrier island, the lakes and canals, or the inland grid. Each gives water a different route in.
- Fix the location before the scope. Beachside, canal-front and inland addresses fail in different ways. We confirm which one we are dealing with, because a surge-damaged ground floor and a canal-side slab need different equipment and a different order of work.
- Trace the path. Readings are taken where water crossed: around openings and parapets on the beachside, at the rear wall and pool deck on a canal lot, at the slab edge inland. A thermal scan follows it into the wall or ceiling.
- Separate storm water from building water. A roof opening, a rising canal and a failed supply line can wet the same room. The scope says which is which, because one is a repair and the other is a source that has to be closed first.
- Remove by material and era. Cast iron and galvanised lines in the oldest houses, original drains under post-war slabs and flat roofs on beachside buildings each call for a different cut. Porous material that has been wet long enough comes out; solid material is dried and cleaned where it can be.
- Dry and document to the same points. Readings are logged at fixed locations each visit and compared with the dry reference, then handed over with photographs for the owner, the association or the adjuster.
What's included on a Hollywood job:
- A scope that names the water source and separates it from the repair
- Moisture readings at fixed points, photographed from the first visit
- Extraction and removal of saturated flooring, ceiling and cabinet material
- Drying set for the assembly in front of us: flat roof, slab or framed wall
- Containment and HEPA filtration where growth is present
- A written record an association, landlord or insurer can use
- Hand-back with day-one and final readings compared
What's the next step in Hollywood?
Call (954) 707-5047 and say where the property sits, beachside, canal-front or inland, and what is wet. We will explain what the first visit covers, what to move clear and what to shut off if it is safe. If the source is a roof, a canal or a neighbouring unit, we will say so before you book.
Around Hollywood
We regularly work near:
- 📍Hollywood Beach
- 📍Intracoastal Waterway
- 📍Downtown Hollywood
- 📍Dania Beach
- 📍Fort Lauderdale
- 📍Hallandale Beach
Mold Remediation in Hollywood — Local Notes
- •2020 population 153,067; third-largest city in Broward County
- •About 11.23 percent of the city's area is water
- •Includes roughly five to six miles of Atlantic beach