Sewage Backup Cleanup on Lakewood's Gold Coast
In a multi-story lakefront building, water doesn't stay where it started. Here's how shared stacks and building management change a sewage cleanup.
About the Gold Coast
"Gold Coast" is the name commonly used for Lakewood's lakefront strip of larger apartment and condo buildings along Lake Avenue and Edgewater Drive. It appears as the name of a neighborhood in real-estate listings, and boundaries are informal.
The Lakewood Historical Society notes that clusters of larger apartment buildings were built in the 1910s and 1920s at the east end of Clifton Boulevard and along Lake Avenue and Edgewater Drive, which is the part of the city this page covers.
Sources
Historical background is from the Lakewood Historical Society. The name "Gold Coast" itself is informal usage, so treat the district's edges as approximate.
What that means for sewage backups
Water travels between floors
In a multi-story building, a toilet overflow or drain backup can move through floors and along shared walls and pipe chases. The unit below is often affected first; see toilet overflow cleanup.
Building management is part of it
Condo boards, associations and managers usually control the common plumbing. Notify them promptly and keep records; see rental and multi-unit cleanup.
Clean water or sewage?
Leaks between units aren't always sewage. A failed supply line or water heater is a different job, covered by water damage restoration.
Common service needs here
- Toilet overflow cleanup when contaminated water reaches floors below
- Multi-unit cleanup for losses that involve several owners or tenants
- Water damage restoration for leaks and appliance failures
- Odor removal in units where sewage soaked into carpet and subfloor
Vertical buildings, vertical spread
In a high-rise, a loss on an upper floor is rarely a one-unit problem. Wastewater can run down a wall cavity or along a pipe chase and appear as a stain or drip several floors below. That's why an assessment in a multi-story building checks the units around and beneath the source, not only the room where the water first appeared, and why records should list every unit that was checked.
Elevators, stairwells and shared corridors matter too. Getting equipment in and waste out of a building like this takes coordination with management, so calling them early saves time.
Who handles what
Unit owners, associations and managers divide responsibility differently in each building. Your governing documents and policies decide it, and we don't give legal advice. Keep a written record of who you told and when.
Nearby
Clifton Park is west along the lakefront. The service areas page lists the other districts.
Common questions
Who do I call first in a condo?
Tell building management right away, then call for cleanup. Keep people out of the affected area.
Does the association's insurance cover my unit?
It depends on the governing documents and the policies involved. See documenting a loss for what to record.
Can sewage from one floor reach another?
Yes. Water follows floors, walls and pipe chases. That's why the units below the source are checked as well.
How do I find out if the neighbor's unit was affected?
Ask building management, who usually receive reports from several units at once. Don't enter another unit without permission.
Call about a condo or apartment backup
Tell us the building, the floor and whether other units are involved.