One call when water gets in: the plumber, the restoration crew, the insurance documentation and the root-cause fix, coordinated by your Home Manager.
A burst pipe on the third floor, a sewer backup in a storm, a leak behind a vanity while the family is away. In a large house, water travels through ceilings, plaster and hardwood before anyone sees it. What happens next decides whether the repair takes weeks or months.
Zebrano members make one call. Your Home Manager knows where the shut-offs are, which plumber to send and which restoration crew to bring in, and coordinates them from the first hour. See also our pages on the emergency plumber and burst pipes, backwater valves and sump pumps and mold remediation.
Many older Toronto homes have clay or cast-iron drains connected to the city sewer, and heavy storms can push water back into the basement. A backwater valve, a sump pump and well-maintained eavestroughs and grading are the usual protections. The City of Toronto offers a subsidy toward some flood-protection work; we can help you through it.
Members get these checks on their yearly maintenance plan: backwater valve and sump tests before spring storms, eavestroughs cleared in the fall, and the house checked while you travel.
Backwater valves, leak sensors with automatic shut-offs and battery-backup sump pumps are now standard on many new homes, and your Home Manager plans them into older houses.
Keep clear of water near electrical outlets or the panel. Shut off the main water valve if a pipe has burst. Photograph everything before it is moved, then call your insurer. If you are a member, call your Home Manager. If you are not, call us at 416-721-8655 and we will tell you what we can do.
A record storm overwhelms the city sewer, and water starts rising through the basement floor drain of a house that has just joined, still on its original clay drains. The owner calls the Home Manager, who tells them what to stay clear of, walks them to the water shut-off, and sends a plumber and a restoration crew. The crew dries and protects the space while the Home Manager photographs everything for the insurer. The plumber finds the weak point, usually a drain with no backwater valve, and installs one. Many older homes were built without them.
It depends on the cause and your policy. Sudden events like a burst pipe are often covered; sewer backup and overland flooding usually need specific endorsements; slow leaks over time are often excluded. Check your policy wording or ask your broker. We document the damage with dated photos and notes and work with your adjuster, but whether a claim is covered is your insurer's decision.
As fast as possible. Mould can start to grow within a day or two on wet drywall, carpet and wood, so drying should start the same day where it can. Restoration crews extract water, set up dehumidifiers and air movers, and measure moisture in walls and floors until they are actually dry, not just dry to the touch.
Often, if drying starts quickly. Boards that have cupped can settle once their moisture level returns to normal, and can then be sanded and refinished. Floors that stayed wet too long, or engineered boards that have delaminated, usually need replacing. A restoration specialist measures the moisture before anyone decides.
Usually one of three things: sewer backup in heavy storms, especially in houses without a backwater valve; water coming through the foundation because of poor grading or overflowing eavestroughs; or a failed pipe, water heater or sump pump. Finding which one it was is what stops it happening again.
If water is still coming in, a plumber first to stop it. Then a restoration company to remove the water and start drying. For Zebrano members it is one call: your Home Manager sends both and keeps your insurer informed.
There are no monthly fees. Members buy a minimum of 60 hours of Home Manager time at $121 an hour, and unused hours never expire. Trade and maintenance work is billed through Zebrano as it is done, on the same invoice, because every home's needs are different.
Your Home Manager already knows the house, the shut-offs and the trades, so the response starts at the first call instead of after a day of phoning around. One person runs it to the end, and Zebrano stands behind the work.
Zebrano - Luxury Home Management. We look after Toronto homes: maintenance, trades, small renovations, refreshes and emergencies. In business since 2001.