Four Reasons To Hire a Restoration Company Instead of a General Contractor

7/26/2022 (Permalink)

If you've experienced any kind of fire, water, storm, or mold damage to your home in northern Idaho, chances are, you are not going to opt for “do-it-yourself” no matter how much building experience you have. Instead, you need to hire a professional builder who can properly assess what needs to be done and who can restore your home to its pre-damaged condition. 

But if you're thinking about hiring a general contractor to perform the work, think again. General contractors are great if you intend to remodel a house or build a new house from the ground up, but when it comes to rebuilding after a disaster, your best bet is to search for "restoration contractors near me" and, when you do, you'll find that our experts at SERVPRO are the best technicians available to handle every aspect of your restoration job from start to finish. Here’s why.

1. Specialized Skills

For starters, most general contractors outsource their jobs to subcontractors while they manage and oversee the project. They often work with the same subs, and that’s a good business practice. But when it comes to restoration, you can’t work with just any sub. Restoration work is different. It’s not just a question of building know-how, it is a question of water damage, fire damage, storm damage, and mold remediation know-how. 

When you hire restoration specialists, technicians who are highly trained in specific types of damage restoration will perform all the work. At SERVPRO of Coeur d'Alene, our staff have IICRC industry certifications and undergo additional certification and franchise training. They are required to take part in continuing education classes to ensure that they know about the most up-to-date technologies and practices for repairing and restoring homes with fire, water, storm, or mold damage.

2. Thorough Service

If you hire a general contractor to perform restoration work on your home after damage, the subcontractors will certainly do their best, but the fact is, they may not have the necessary equipment to perform the cleaning, drying, or extraction processes that a professional restoration company will have. After all, their bread and butter is straight construction, and it does not make sense to purchase special equipment or provide extra training to their personnel if they rarely have to utilize that equipment or those skills.

For example, if your home has been damaged by a flood, leak, or even a fire that was extinguished by fire hoses, our experts use advanced detection devices to find water that is still present or that may have seeped into walls, attics, or floor joists in areas that look undamaged. We also have commercial drying equipment that is not available at a local big-box construction store. 

Even more, for fire damage, it is not uncommon for soot and smoke to have left residue in rooms that are completely undamaged by the fire itself. That residue can create odors, cause paint or other finishes to discolor over time, and may even be toxic, leading to respiratory or other health problems. A general contractor will probably ignore those spaces that are not visibly damaged by a disaster, but a restoration company goes beyond what is visible.

3. Affordable Service

Because general contractors outsource their jobs to other trades, you end up paying not only the subcontractors’ fees, but you’ll probably end up paying a premium on that, as general contractors often charge their own fees over and above what they pay their subs. Moreover, general contractors probably won’t bother helping you with an insurance claim.

When you choose SERVPRO of Coeur d'Alene, we know what insurance companies need in order to substantiate your claim. While we can’t handle every aspect of your insurance claim, we understand that your financial well-being depends on having the insurance company cover the maximum amount of your restoration bill depending on the coverage you have. We will work with you to make sure you get the best service at the best price, with adequate documentation, to minimize any hassle or out-of-pocket costs.

4. 24-Hour Emergency Service

If your disaster occurs at night or on a weekend, chances are, you won’t be able to reach a general contractor or other conventional builder. At SERVPRO we offer 24/7 emergency services, so whether you wake up in the middle of the night to fire, water, or storm damage, you can expect an immediate response.

Contact SERVPRO of Coeur d'Alene today to learn more about the different services we offer and how we can help restore your home after a disaster.