Water damage restoration in Tempe, AZ

Homes and water damage in Tempe

Tempe is a landlocked, largely built-out city between Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa and Chandler, home to Arizona State University. North and central Tempe have many 1950s–1970s homes, including historic neighborhoods like Maple-Ash near campus. South Tempe filled in during the 1970s and 1980s, and The Lakes area was built around man-made lakes in the 1970s. Tempe also has a very high share of rentals, student housing and apartments, where leaks often involve a tenant, a landlord and neighboring units.

Many Tempe homes are 40 to 70 years old, with copper or galvanized plumbing, cast-iron drains and flat or low-slope roof sections. Evaporative coolers are still found on older homes. Apartment and condo buildings mean leaks can travel between units.

Tempe Town Lake and the Salt River channel run through the north end of the city, and neighborhoods south of the river were built largely on flat former farmland crossed by irrigation laterals. Many older Tempe homes have been flipped or remodeled more than once, so it's common to find newer PEX tied into original copper or galvanized lines, and those transitions are frequent leak points.