Before anyone starts work: the Canton-area offices, in plain order

The Secretary of State's contractor FAQ sorts licenses into four kinds, and the first two are Residential-Basic and Residential-Light Commercial. The others are General Contractor and a Limited Tier of that license for contracts up to $500,000. The FAQ also says some specialty trades, and jobs costing under $2,500, need no contractor license from the state, and it does not say which trades are meant.

Water restoration and mold never appear in that FAQ. Whether a given water job falls under the contractor chapter is a question for the licensing board, and a written answer from the contractor is worth asking for.

The page at verify.sos.ga.gov carries the title Search for a Professional Licensee. Type into any field; an asterisk after partial text returns partial matches. It looks up one person at a time, and a separate link covers facilities. No phone number is listed, and the FAQ points to a verification-order page that shows no address.

If the name never turns up, the contractor can be asked to name in writing the license that covers the job.

Justia, a legal publisher rather than a state site, prints Georgia Code 43-41-17 in full. Subsection (a) bars anyone from the business of residential or general contracting without the required license, though a company can act through a qualifying agent who holds one. Under (b), a contract that needed a license and had none is void as a matter of public policy, the unlicensed contractor cannot enforce it, and that contractor has no lien claim for the work.

Subsection (g) lets repair work go ahead without a license when the contractor tells the owner that no license is held and the work does not affect structural integrity. That disclosure is worth asking about.

City Hall is at 110 Academy St, (770) 704-1500, open weekdays from 8 in the morning until 5 in the evening, per the Georgia Municipal Association. Building and Safety Services takes inspection requests at 770-704-1551 and lists 151 Elizabeth Street for in-person visits; its page gives no hours and no list of work that needs a permit, so ask City Hall to confirm. Code Compliance, 770-704-1554, covers exterior and property maintenance and says nothing about standing water.

Water and Sewer takes calls at 770-704-1502 on weekdays from 8 to 5. For a water outage, leak or sewer-related emergency after hours, its page gives the Operations line, 770-479-2392. Sewer backups are not named there, so say what is happening when you call.

The Development Service Center, (770) 721-7810, handles permits for unincorporated Cherokee County. Its residential page counts remodeled kitchens and bathrooms, additions and basement finishes as permit work, while wallpaper, paint, tile, carpet, cabinets and counters need none. It does not address drywall, water heaters or plumbing and electrical repairs by name.

A separate service-permit page covers people working a trade: plumbers, electricians, HVAC. It says permits go only to technicians with a state license and lists a $50 fee. Emergency work, a water heater failing overnight for instance, may start first, and the page then calls for a permit soon after and a final inspection. Neither page lists a street address or hours, and inspections are scheduled online through a portal.

For unincorporated addresses, the county's zoning FAQ sends water and sewer questions to the Cherokee County Water and Sewerage Authority at 770-479-1813, listed at 140 West Main Street with no after-hours number. The same FAQ gives 770-479-0444 for septic questions at the North Georgia Health District, though the district's own Environmental Health page names only a Dalton office, 706-529-5757. A property inside a city answers to that city's department.

For creek or river flooding, the county's floodplain page lists a stormwater line, 678-493-6074, and says FEMA issued revised flood maps on 7 June 2019. A county report says Holly Springs has annexed parts of Hickory Flat. No Holly Springs office page was read, so that city's numbers are not listed here.

On EPA's mold cleanup page the advice is to hire a cleaner with mold experience and check references, and for sewage-damaged areas to bring in a professional familiar with contaminated water. Readers with health concerns are told to see a health professional before any cleanup. The state contractor FAQ is silent on both.

Get the scope in writing: which rooms, which materials, and what readings will show the work is finished.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners lists the order. Find the deductible, photograph and film the damage, list every damaged item, keep receipts for repairs and new purchases, report the loss promptly, and bring the list to the adjuster. Georgia's Insurance Commissioner adds that temporary repairs are reasonable when safe, that significant repairs go to professionals, and that consumer questions can go to 1-800-656-2298.

What a policy covers is for the insurer to say; neither page promises anything about coverage.