The Colony stretches along the eastern shore of Lewisville Lake in Denton County. Much of the housing was built from the 1970s through the 1980s, with newer development around Austin Ranch and the Grandscape area along State Highway 121. Homes from that earlier era are now forty-plus years old, and that's when original plumbing, water heaters and fixtures start to give out.
Pipe breaks
Searches from The Colony often mention pipe breaks. In older homes, supply lines, shutoff valves and the pipes themselves wear out. Many homes here sit on slab foundations over clay soil, which moves with the seasons and can stress water lines under the slab. A hard freeze adds pressure on pipes in attics and outside walls. When a pipe breaks, shut the main off first. A plumber repairs the line, and a restoration company removes the water and dries the house.
Mold after a leak
Mold remediation also comes up a lot here. Mold usually follows a leak that wasn't found or dried in time: a slow drip under a sink, a toilet seal leaking into the subfloor, or condensate dripping in the attic. Remediation means fixing the moisture, containing the area, removing moldy drywall and insulation, cleaning and drying, and then rebuilding.
Restoration companies in The Colony
When you're connected with a company, ask what they'll remove and why, how they'll confirm the area is dry, and how they document the job for insurance. Those answers tell you a lot about how the job will go.
A lakeside city with an older core
Much of The Colony was built as a planned community in the 1970s and 1980s, so large parts of the city have housing of similar age. That matters for water damage: homes built around the same time tend to hit the same problems at the same time. Original water heaters, supply lines, angle stops and drain lines in many of these homes have been replaced once already or are due.
Newer areas along SH-121, around Austin Ranch and near Grandscape, add apartments, townhomes and newer single-family homes with different issues: upstairs laundry leaks, plumbing fittings and attic AC condensate overflows.
The Colony through the year
- Spring storms bring hail and heavy rain. Roof leaks and water through windows are common afterwards.
- Summer heat dries the clay soil, and slab movement can stress water lines under the foundation.
- Long AC seasons mean condensate lines and drain pans in attics clog and overflow.
- Winter freezes are rare but can burst pipes in attics and exterior walls.
Local resources
The City of The Colony provides water and wastewater service. Contact the city if the problem is on the street side of the meter or in the public sewer. Denton County publishes floodplain information for areas near the lake and creeks.
A typical call from The Colony
One example: a homeowner in a 1980s house notices a musty smell in a bathroom and soft flooring near the toilet. The wax seal has been leaking for months. The crew finds the subfloor wet and mold on the underside of the flooring. The area is contained, the damaged flooring and subfloor are removed, the framing is cleaned and dried, and a plumber resets the toilet.
ZIP code
We connect callers in The Colony, ZIP 75056.
Across the lake we take calls in Lewisville, and to the east in McKinney.