Water damage is priced in two halves that get confused constantly: mitigation, which is extraction, containment and drying, and reconstruction, which is putting the house back. The ranges below are built from prices Austin area restoration firms post publicly, converted where they are quoted per square foot or per equipment day, and set against the city and utility figures that surround a loss. None of it is a quote.
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Six boxes, about thirty seconds. You pick when to be called back, and that is when the phone rings.
Or call (512) 566-1943The consensus standard is ANSI/IICRC S500, Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration, fifth edition, 2021. Its Category 3 definition covers grossly contaminated water including sewage, wasteline backflows originating beyond a trap, and rising water from rivers or streams. The standard body also states that wind-driven rain is not automatically Category 3.
The fiscal year 2026 homeowner permitting schedule lists a plumbing permit at $200.43, up from $184.70, and applies the same figure to common residential building permits and small projects. The schedule took effect October 1, 2025.
Austin Water offers a leak adjustment under City of Austin Code section 15-9-141 and asks for the request within 90 days of repairing the leak, with the paid repair invoice, account number, service address and date range of the high bills.
Every range below is what companies working in Austin publish for that job, gathered from the numbered price pages under the table. It spans what several of them show, so the figures move with the specifics of the property and with who does the work. Nothing here is a quote, and no business has set a price on this page. A real number comes from whoever looks at the job.
| The job | Range seen | Billed as | What moves it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean-water loss dried out, roughly 500 square feet affected | $1,500–$4,000123 | posted at $3.00 to $8.00 per square foot of affected area, multiplied by a 500 square foot footprint | A supply line caught the same day is the least expensive version of this job. |
| Gray-water loss from an appliance or fixture overflow, same 500 square feet | $2,000–$3,57512 | posted at $4.00 to $6.50 per square foot across 500 square feet, then a stated 10 percent contamination markup applied to the high end | Arithmetic shown: 500 by $4.00 is $2,000, and 500 by $6.50 plus ten percent is $3,575. |
| Sewage backup cleaned, sanitized and contaminated material removed | $1,200–$10,0001245 | per job; the per-square-foot route posts $7.00 to $7.50 plus a 20 percent markup, which totals $3,500 to $4,500 across 500 square feet | One company posts larger sewage jobs beginning near ten thousand, which sets the ceiling here. |
| Standing water extracted and one room dried, under 200 square feet | $500–$2,50016 | flat per job for extraction and a short dry-down, no material replacement included | Extraction alone is not restoration. Trapped moisture in wall cavities is what the follow-up visit finds. |
| Drying equipment on site: three air movers and one refrigerant dehumidifier, four days | $448–$1,03178 | daily rental rates totaled over four days plus posted setup and breakdown; low is 3 by $18 plus $58 for four days plus $65, high is 3 by $32 plus $118 for four days plus $175 | Equipment days are billed separately from labor, so a longer dry-down shows up as its own line. |
| Multi-room mitigation across 200 to 800 square feet, structural drying included | $1,200–$7,00013 | flat per project; includes extraction, containment, drying and monitoring, and excludes finish rebuild | Hardwood and laminate push the top of this range because both dry slowly or not at all. |
| Rebuild after the dry-out: demolition, drywall, flooring, trim and paint | $3,000–$30,00069 | flat per project, priced after the space is dry, single room at the low end and several rooms at the high end | This is a second contract, not part of mitigation, and it begins only after moisture readings clear. |
Prices each of these companies publishes on its own site, read on the date shown in each listing. A published price can change without notice, so treat a number here as what was posted rather than what you will be told today.
ANSI/IICRC S500 sorts water by contamination rather than volume, and that sorting moves the number first. Clean supply-line water, gray water from an appliance overflow, and grossly contaminated water are three different jobs on one floor plan. Austin firms publish the gap plainly. Clean water runs roughly three to four dollars per square foot. Gray water runs four to six and a half plus a stated contamination markup. The contaminated category starts at seven, with a larger markup and material replacement. Two nuances get lost online. Category can shift with time and temperature, so response speed is a cost factor. And storm water is assessed rather than assumed into the worst category.
Most posted pricing here is a rate, not a total, so both arithmetic steps behind the table are worth showing. A 500 square foot affected area at three to eight dollars per square foot is $1,500 to $4,000 of mitigation. Drying equipment bills by the day on top: three air movers and one dehumidifier for four days runs about $448 at posted low daily rates with a $65 setup charge, or about $1,031 at high rates with a $175 setup charge. That is why an invoice looks nothing like the rate someone read online. Published drying times run one to two days for tile, three to five for drywall, and five to seven for hardwood.
A slab-on-grade home with no basement lets water spread sideways across a wide floor area instead of collecting in one low room. Affected square footage climbs fast on a small leak, so wall cavities and cabinet toe kicks get checked before anyone signs off. Source matters as much, so a scope establishes where water came from before deciding how clean it was.
Mitigation is not permitted work, but the repair behind the loss often is. A failed supply line, drain, water heater connection or sewer lateral is plumbing work, and the City of Austin homeowner permitting fees, fiscal year 2026 schedule lists a residential plumbing permit at $200.43, up from $184.70. Reconstruction touching structure, plumbing or electrical carries its own permit and review time. Then there is the water that ran. A leak unnoticed for a billing cycle shows up as a spike. The utility publishes an adjustment path under City Code section 15-9-141, requested within 90 days of the repair. It wants the paid invoice, account number, service address and the dates of the high bills.
Drying a house and rebuilding it are separate scopes, often separate contracts. Posted mitigation figures stop at extraction, containment, drying and monitoring, and exclude drywall, paint, flooring and trim. Reconstruction is priced after the space is dry.
A complete estimate states the water category and the reasoning, the measured affected area, and the evaporation load. It lists equipment by type and count with a daily rate and expected days, not one drying charge. It says what is removed, whether flood cuts are planned and to what height, and who signs off that the structure is dry, since that signature starts a rebuild. National averages describe a modest clean-water loss in a house with a basement in a mild climate, and they omit the plumbing permit, the floor area a slab gives water to travel, and the rebuild that follows a serious loss.
Get the water source identified, the standing water removed, and the wet materials checked with real readings. If water is near electricity, came from a sewer, or is still entering from outside, stay clear of the area and arrange an urgent restoration visit.
Call (512) 566-1943Upfront pricing · No obligation · Local Hays County technician