Fast, Reliable Reconstruction & Cleanup Across Minneapolis
When a Minneapolis basement floods during spring melt or an ice dam soaks a Longfellow bungalow’s walls, you need a crew that knows exactly what’s behind those lath-and-plaster walls before they open them. We’re Wade’s Restoration, and our Reconstruction & Cleanup team has been pulling waterlogged homes back together across Minneapolis for over 29 years. Wade Ferris answers his own phone at (888) 690-6095, day or night, and he’ll be the one walking your property, not a sales rep reading from a script. In Minneapolis, where pre-1950 construction means lead paint, asbestos, and horsehair plaster are all in play, the wrong crew turns a cleanup into a hazard. We know what we’re getting into before the first wall comes open.
Why Wade’s Restoration of Minneapolis Is Minneapolis’s Preferred Reconstruction & Cleanup Company
Minneapolis homeowners have been burned by out-of-market franchises that quote one number on the phone and another at the door. Wade built this company in 2007 on the opposite idea: his name is on the truck, his license number is published, and he’s going to run into you at the co-op on a Saturday. That’s the oldest accountability mechanism there is, and it still works.
Our crews serve Minneapolis neighborhoods from Powderhorn to Northeast, and we’ve rebuilt enough 1920s Craftsman bungalows to know that the wall assembly is never what the marketing photo shows. When our IICRC-certified techs open a wall after an ice dam, they document every step, run containment when lead is present, and hand you a daily moisture log. Wade takes those readings himself and gives you the full log at the end of the job. Almost nobody in this trade does that. Your insurance adjuster will get the same log, because Wade deals with them directly. You’re never the one stuck relaying information between two sides.
Response time matters. If you call (888) 690-6095 with water actively moving through a finished basement in Richfield or Edina, Wade can be on the road inside the hour. In Minneapolis proper, he’s closer. And there’s no trip charge inside Hennepin County.
Our Reconstruction & Cleanup Services in Minneapolis
Full-Service Reconstruction
After water or fire damage, Minneapolis homes rarely need just a patch. They need full rebuilds: framing, drywall, insulation, trim, paint, and flooring. The pre-WWII stock that dominates South Minneapolis and Northeast is full of old-growth fir floors and plaster-and-lath walls that can’t be matched with off-the-shelf materials from a big box store. We source period-appropriate materials and rebuild to current code, including sealed insulation and vapor barriers where the original construction had none.
Drywall & Flooring Repair
When an ice dam soaks the top of a Longfellow bungalow’s interior wall, the damage usually runs deeper than the surface. Water migrates down wall cavities, wets horsehair plaster that’s often embedded with lead paint, and puddles at the baseplate. That means sectioning out plaster, running hazmat containment if lead is found, and rebuilding with new drywall and sealed insulation. For flooring, we handle hardwood refinishing, subfloor replacement, tile reset, and LVP installation. We match existing materials where possible and tell you plainly when a full section needs to be replaced instead of patched.
Contents Restoration & Pack-Out
When a Powderhorn basement floods, the contents matter as much as the structure. We pack out, inventory, clean, and restore your belongings off-site, then bring them back once the rebuild is done. Every item gets photographed and logged for your claim. If a piece is toast, we’re straight with you about it, and the adjuster gets the same documentation. No inflated replacement lists, no surprises at settlement.
Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning
Post-construction dust gets into everything: carpets, upholstery, drapes, inside cabinets, along baseboards. We run professional-grade extraction and cleaning equipment from Phoenix and XPOWER to pull construction dust, drywall compound residue, and leftover moisture out of textiles and soft surfaces. It’s not a broom-and-vacuum pass. It’s the difference between a house that looks rebuilt and a house that feels clean.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Minneapolis
We don’t stock homeowner-grade equipment. Our trucks carry professional restoration gear so the job gets done faster and dries properly the first time. You’ll see Dri-Eaz dehumidifiers and air movers, Phoenix axial fans, Injectidry injection drying systems for wall cavities and hardwood, and B-Air HEPA filtration on jobs where lead or asbestos is in play. Minneapolis homeowners with pre-1950 houses should care about this: the equipment determines whether a wall cavity dries in three days or three weeks, and whether mold gets a foothold. We stock local parts and equipment in Minneapolis, so when your place needs a rebuild, the gear and materials aren’t waiting on a truck from Chicago.
Common Reconstruction & Cleanup Problems We See in Minneapolis Homes
- Ice dam water concealed in wall cavities. Minneapolis’s extreme continental winters, with temperatures routinely dropping to -20°F or colder and heavy snowpack sitting on roofs for months, make ice dams the city’s most endemic restoration problem. Pre-1950 homes with minimal attic insulation let heat escape, melt the rooftop snow, and the water refreezes at the cold eave then backs up under shingles into walls. By the time you see the stain on the ceiling, the stud cavities have often been wet for weeks.
- Lead-paint plaster contamination. In the 1910s-1930s bungalow corridors of Longfellow, Powderhorn, and Northeast, water that moves through interior walls frequently contacts horsehair plaster embedded with lead paint. That triggers full lead abatement and plaster demolition rather than a simple drywall patch, a cost multiplier out-of-market adjusters routinely miss until a Minneapolis crew flags it.
- Sump pump failure during spring snowmelt. Minneapolis averages around 54 inches of snow per year with a frost depth exceeding 42 inches, so every home here has a deep basement and a sump pump running hard during rapid spring warming. When the pump fails, several inches of water equivalent can dump into a finished basement in a single day, flooding living spaces and soaking drywall, carpet, and stored contents.
- Asbestos in pre-1950 building materials. Floor tile mastic, pipe insulation, and old attic insulation in Minneapolis’s pre-WWII housing stock often contain asbestos. The moment reconstruction touches those materials, hazmat abatement protocols kick in and the project scope expands. We plan for this from the first walkthrough so you’re not blindsided mid-job.
Pricing for Reconstruction & Cleanup in Minneapolis, MN
We Also Serve Cities Near Minneapolis
If you’re in Saint Louis Park, Richfield, Edina, or Saint Anthony, we head your way regularly. Many of those communities share the same pre-1970 housing stock and spring melt flood risks, and we serve them with the same crews and equipment. Wade’s Restoration is Minneapolis-based, and we cover the surrounding metro daily. If you’re in Minneapolis proper or one of those neighbors, one call gets you on the schedule.
Serving Minneapolis, MN - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Minneapolis area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Reconstruction & Cleanup in Minneapolis
How does ice dam water damage in a Minneapolis bungalow typically affect the plaster walls?
Ice dam water in a pre-1950 Minneapolis bungalow typically saturates the top of interior plaster walls first, then wicks down into stud cavities and contacts horsehair plaster that’s often embedded with lead paint, requiring full plaster demolition and lead abatement rather than a drywall patch. In Longfellow and Powderhorn bungalows especially, the damage is usually worse inside the wall than the visible stain on the ceiling suggests. If you see water staining near the top of an exterior wall after heavy snow, get a moisture reading before the wall is opened. Wade takes those readings every day and hands you the log. Call (888) 690-6095 for a free assessment.
What should I expect when your crew opens a wall after a Longfellow ice dam claim?
You should expect containment barriers, HEPA air filtration, and full PPE if lead paint or asbestos is suspected, because a 1920s Longfellow bungalow wall almost always tests positive for one or the other. Our crew runs a contained work area, documents every step with photos and moisture readings, and gives the adjuster a written log. The wall cavity usually shows water damage far beyond the visible stain, which is why we don’t do blind quotes on pre-1950 Minneapolis homes. We open, assess, document, and then give you a firm written scope before rebuild starts.
Why does my Minneapolis basement flood every spring even after a sump pump replacement?
Minneapolis’s frost depth exceeds 42 inches, so groundwater is always pressing in during spring thaw, and a new sump pump can still fail if the discharge line freezes, the check valve sticks, or the pump’s capacity can’t keep up with rapid melt. In 1950s-70s Minneapolis construction, finished basements sit right at the water table’s mercy. We inspect the full system, not just the pump: discharge routing, check valve, backup power, and the grading around your foundation. When the basement floods, we strip out, sanitize, dry, and rebuild, then make sure the water won’t be back next April. Call (888) 690-6095 to have Wade look at it.
Can you pack out and restore contents from a flooded Powderhorn basement without bringing mold spores into the rest of the house?
Yes. We run HEPA-filtered containment around the basement stairwell and pack out contents through a designated exit, then clean and restore them off-site while the basement is dried and rebuilt. Powderhorn basements in that 1900s-1930s housing stock are often finished living spaces full of stored belongings, and the last thing you want is mold spores riding air currents into the kitchen. Every item gets photographed and logged for your claim. If something isn’t salvageable, we tell you straight and document it for the adjuster.
Do you help with insurance claim documentation for ice dam reconstruction in Minneapolis?
Yes. Wade deals with your adjuster directly, sends the daily moisture log, photo documentation of every layer we open, and a written scope of the rebuild. You’re never the one stuck relaying information between us and the insurance company. For Minneapolis ice dam claims especially, adjusters often miss the lead-paint and asbestos factors that a local crew flags on day one. That documentation is the difference between a settlement that covers the full rebuild and one that covers a patch. Call (888) 690-6095 and we’ll walk the claim with you from the first phone call.
Call Wade’s Restoration for Reconstruction & Cleanup in Minneapolis
If you’re staring at a water stain spreading across a Longfellow ceiling or standing in a flooded Powderhorn basement, call (888) 690-6095 now. Wade answers his own phone, no answering service, no queue, no runaround. He’ll tell you honestly what you’re looking at, what it’ll cost, and whether you need full reconstruction or a targeted repair. Estimates are free, there’s no trip charge inside Hennepin County, and every rebuild comes with the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. To wade is what you do through a flooded basement at two in the morning, and it happens to be his name.
Written by Wade Ferris, Owner at Wade’s Restoration of Minneapolis, serving Minneapolis since 2007.