Case Study: Downtown Salt Lake City High-Rise Water Main Break
Category 3 commercial water damage restoration in a downtown Salt Lake City high-rise office building. Response involved rapid extraction across multiple affected floors, tenant coordination for business continuity, specialty content handling for office electronics and business records, and structural drying of commercial-scale finished spaces. Full tenant re-occupancy completed in 18 days.
Project Snapshot
- Location: Downtown Salt Lake City office high-rise (client name redacted per privacy agreement)
- Property type: Commercial office high-rise, multi-tenant, ~18 stories
- Loss event: Building water main break, upper-floor mechanical space
- Water category: IICRC S500 Category 3 (municipal water main containing accumulated sediment and pipe scale)
- Affected areas: 4 floors, multiple tenant spaces, shared building common areas, elevator vestibules
- Response time: 22 minutes from initial call to on-site response
- Project timeline: 18 days from response to full tenant re-occupancy
- Insurance coordination: Commercial property policy plus multiple tenant business interruption policies
The Event
A high-pressure water supply line in the building’s upper-floor mechanical space failed catastrophically overnight, discharging municipal water at high volume for approximately 3–4 hours before building security identified the breach and shut off supply. Water cascaded down through the building’s central mechanical shaft and horizontal utility corridors, affecting 4 floors of tenant office space, shared elevator vestibules, and common corridor areas. Total water discharge estimated at 8,000–12,000 gallons.
Response Protocol
Initial Response (First 4 Hours)
Response crew arrived on-site 22 minutes after initial call from building management. Initial actions included:
- Confirmation of source control (municipal water supply shut off at building main)
- Electrical safety assessment across affected floors before beginning extraction
- Initial extraction using truck-mounted extraction units and portable extraction equipment across all affected floors
- Moisture mapping using Delmhorst BD-2100 pin meters and FLIR C5 thermal imaging to document water intrusion extent
- Categorization confirmation (IICRC S500 Category 3 based on municipal water supply source containing accumulated sediment)
- Coordination with building management for tenant notification and temporary relocation logistics
Structural Drying (Days 2–10)
Structural drying protocol across affected floors involved:
- Deployment of 34 Dri-Eaz DrizAir 1200 desiccant dehumidifiers plus 12 Phoenix DryMAX XL LGR dehumidifiers
- Deployment of 88 air movers for continuous airflow across affected surfaces
- Daily moisture monitoring with documented moisture readings for insurance and building management reporting
- Contained air handling to prevent contamination spread to unaffected building areas through the building’s shared HVAC system
- Specialty ceiling assembly drying using Injectidry positive pressure systems on suspended ceiling assemblies
Contents Handling (Days 2–14)
Contents handling scope included:
- Emergency pack-out of affected office contents to Vivid climate-controlled storage facility
- Specialty electronics restoration coordination with certified electronics restoration partner for computers, monitors, printers, and audiovisual equipment
- Business records restoration coordination through specialty document restoration partner (freeze-drying, deacidification, digital scanning where appropriate)
- Furniture restoration and refinishing coordination
- Pack-back to restored tenant spaces upon completion
Reconstruction (Days 8–18)
Reconstruction scope included commercial carpet replacement, ceiling tile replacement across affected suspended ceiling areas, drywall repair and paint restoration on affected walls, and coordination with tenant IT vendors for network cable inspection and replacement where warranted.
Coordination and Insurance
Project coordination involved commercial property insurance policy for the building owner covering structural and shared common area restoration, plus multiple individual tenant business interruption policies covering tenant-specific losses and business continuity costs. Vivid provided consolidated documentation appropriate for both building owner and individual tenant claims, including day-by-day moisture readings, photographic documentation, and detailed scope of work by affected area.
Outcome
Full tenant re-occupancy completed in 18 days across all affected floors. All affected tenants returned to fully restored office spaces with no long-term operational impact. Coordination with building management resulted in mechanical space upgrades to prevent recurrence, including upgraded pipe supports, additional shutoff valves, and automated leak detection with automatic shutoff for the upper-floor mechanical space water supply.
Project Cost
Total project scope, including extraction, structural drying, contents handling, and reconstruction, was in the mid-six-figure range, with the largest cost components being contents restoration coordination (specialty electronics and business records) and commercial-scale reconstruction across 4 floors. Costs were covered through combined commercial property and tenant business interruption coverage with no client out-of-pocket beyond policy deductibles.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How quickly did Vivid respond to this downtown Salt Lake City emergency?
- Response crew arrived on-site 22 minutes after initial call from building management. Downtown Salt Lake City is within our fastest response range from our Fort Union office given the freeway access and lack of elevation-related considerations. Emergency line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- What made this a Category 3 water damage event?
- IICRC S500 Category 3 water contains contaminants that pose health risks. Municipal water main water is often assumed Category 1 (clean) but in high-rise buildings with older piping, the water frequently contains accumulated sediment, pipe scale, corrosion products, and biofilm that developed in the building’s own supply piping over decades. This categorization triggers different protocol requirements for extraction, drying, and antimicrobial treatment than Category 1 events.
- How did Vivid coordinate with multiple commercial tenants?
- Building management served as primary point of contact for building-wide response coordination, with Vivid providing tenant-specific communication for each affected tenant regarding contents pack-out, business continuity coordination, temporary relocation options, and pack-back scheduling upon restoration completion. Documentation was provided in formats appropriate for both building owner property insurance claims and individual tenant business interruption claims.
- What happened with the office electronics and business records?
- Electronics restoration coordination with certified electronics restoration partner produced successful salvage of most affected computers, monitors, printers, and audiovisual equipment. Business records restoration through specialty document restoration partner used freeze-drying, deacidification, and selective digital scanning to preserve affected records where physical restoration was impractical. Total content loss was minimized despite the significant water exposure.
- How does this compare to typical commercial water damage response?
- Multi-floor commercial water damage from building system failures produces more complex response than tenant-specific events. Coordination with building management, multiple tenant coordination, shared common area considerations, and shared building system considerations (HVAC, electrical, elevators) all add scope beyond tenant-specific water damage. Insurance coordination between commercial property and multiple business interruption policies also requires specialized documentation approach. Vivid handles commercial building system events with the scale of response equipment and coordination capabilities to complete restoration on expedited timelines minimizing tenant business disruption.
Contact Vivid Water Damage & Restoration
- Emergency Line (24/7): (385) 289-3885
- Address: 7084 S 2300 E #170, Salt Lake City, UT 84121
- License: Utah DOPL general contractor license #10894576-5501
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