What makes a great Denver Restoration Company?

After a fire, flood, or other emergency in your home or business, you want and need to get help as quickly as possible. However, it can be overwhelming deciding which professional restoration provider in Denver to choose. You may feel pulled in many directions, with your insurance company recommending one thing, friends or family suggesting something else, and Yelp reviews and Google searches returning a variety of options.

When you’re selecting a Denver restoration company to repair your home or business after a disaster, there are many important things to consider. Here, we discuss the most important things to check off of your list before making your final decision.

 

Do I Need to Use a Company Referred by my Insurance Provider?

If there’s only one thing you get out of this blog post, let it be this — you DO NOT need to use the restoration company suggested by your insurance provider. It’s important to remember that your insurance company has competing interests when it comes to repairing your home. They need to get the job done, but they also want to get it done as cheaply as possible, to appease their shareholders.

Because competition in the market is what makes any service provider excel, as they must do so to gain and retain customers, when competition is taken out of the equation, quality suffers. This is what can happen when an insurance provider recommends one restoration company to its customers. If they know they are going to get that work whether they do a great job or a shoddy job, the work will suffer.

Thankfully, Colorado lawmakers recognized this pattern, and in 2007 signed House Bill 07-1104 , known as the “Freedom to Choose” bill, into law. This bill ensures that you are free to choose your own repair company, and that your insurance company cannot directly or indirectly pressure you into choosing their preferred company. This means that the decision is in your hands, and that you need to research the quality of Denver restoration professionals and make your decision accordingly.

 

Choosing a Trustworthy Provider

So, what qualifications and characteristics should you look for in your restoration professional? You need to know that the company you choose has a history of providing consistent quality and great customer service, and that they’re fully qualified for all of the potentially dangerous tasks they’re taking on.  Check out our video about Selecting the Right Contractor.

 

BBB Rating

The first place to go to check the trustworthiness of any business is the Better Business Bureau. Here, you will be able to see what rating your professional Denver restoration company has earned, as well as other key facts about their business (how long they’ve been in business, etc.).

You will also be able to see how many complaints have been made against the company. Almost all businesses will have some complaints, but it is important to look at how many recent complaints exist, and see whether the number of complaints is very high compared to their volume of business.

Abbotts Fire and Flood is proud to have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

 

Licenses and Certifications

Of course, for any restoration contractor, licenses and certifications are not only desired, but required. Make sure that your provider is licensed by the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration, and ask what other certifications they have. There are a variety of special certifications that companies should have, depending on the type of restoration being done (fire, mold, water, etc.), so you can compare companies based on their credentials in this manner.

 

Online Ratings

Another great way to learn about potential Denver disaster restoration providers is to look at reviews and ratings on sites such as Yelp and Google. If the company has a good number of reviews, then the rating is likely to be pretty indicative of the quality of their work. You can also search specific terms to see whether the company has done a lot of work on the specific type of disaster restoration you’re dealing with.

Level of Experience

Restoration is a complicated process, and it takes many years to become a truly knowledgeable restoration provider. Restoration professionals need to understand how to identify damage, mitigate any dangers, and repair the damage to a pre-loss state. This process takes time to fully master, so the years of experience your provider has matter when it comes to the quality of their work.

It’s important to note, too, that home are built differently in different parts of the country. It is important important to hire a locally-owned company that understands the specific needs of homeowners in Colorado. If you hire a large franchise company, they may have policies, products, and equipment that are not the best fit for the dry and changing Colorado climate.

Abbotts management team consists of third-generation contractors who have been working for 20 years providing restoration services in Colorado.

 

Availability

Many disasters happen in the blink of an eye, and you need a restoration team who will be able to respond any time, day or night. Make sure you find a restoration provider who has 24/7 availability in case of emergencies.

Additionally, almost all types of damage only get worse with time. If water is allowed to sit, mold spores can develop in as few as 24 hours, and as water damage spreads, it can compromise the structural stability of your home or business. When looking at fire damage, there are a number of toxins, particularly in the soot and smoke, that only permeate deeper into the materials of your home and your possessions as time passes.

Any toxins you are dealing with from disasters need to be dealt with swiftly and thoroughly. For that reason, you need a company that can get to your project as quickly as possible. Of course, all companies will need to deal with state and insurance regulations, which can slow things down substantially, so make sure you work with a company like Abbotts that understands how to navigate these murky waters quickly.

 

Free Consultation

If you find yourself talking to a Denver restoration provider who wants you to pay them money upfront before even fully understanding the details of the project, take a step back. While a deposit is pretty standard, a quality contractor will offer a free consultation, so that you understand exactly what you are getting into and the extent of restoration services that will be necessary before you begin.

 

Versatility

One of the unfortunate things about disasters in homes and businesses is that quite often, one type of problem begets another.

For instance, if your home catches on fire, you’re obviously going to be dealing with damage from the fire itself, but you cannot forget the water that was used to fight the fire. That water is going to cause significant water damage. And if water is not handled quickly enough, mold can begin to grow.

This chain reaction means that, not only do you need a provider who will work swiftly to avoid such a spread, but also that you need to work with a Denver restoration company that can deal with all of these types of disaster remediation. If your water damage restoration provider does not know how to properly inspect for or remediate mold, then you will have to either hire another company for that piece, or risk living in a toxic environment once the repairs are complete.

Abbotts offers a full suite of restoration services, and will always check for every possible type of damage when inspecting your home or business.

 

With You Every Step of the Way

The last point, but certainly not the least, is that you need a restoration company that is focused on its customers. This is a stressful time and there will be a lot on your plate. Your Denver restoration provider should be there to work directly with your insurance company so that you don’t have to serve as a middle man on top of everything else.

You should feel like you have a partner in your home or business’s restoration, and be able to trust that they have only the best interests of you and your property in mind.

If you’re in need of disaster restoration services in the Denver metro area, please consider giving Abbotts a call. We are available 24/7 for emergencies, and will provide a free consultation on your restoration project.