When Disaster Strikes: Navigating the Storm Restoration Process

What’s Involved In Storm Damage Repair And Restoration?

When disaster strikes your home, the aftermath is more than just water and debris—it's a complex journey from chaos back to comfort. General contractor Jeff Bass pulls back the curtain on what storm restoration really looks like on the ground, revealing crucial insights that every homeowner needs to know before filing an insurance claim.

The restoration process begins immediately after damage occurs, with professionals working to reseal your home environment against further intrusion. But the real challenge often lies in navigating insurance claims. As Jeff candidly points out, "Insurance companies didn't grow by paying claims"—they operate much like casinos, collecting premiums while paying out as little as possible. This dynamic makes professional advocacy essential during the claims process.

Most homeowners don't realize that cleaning up storm damage too quickly can actually reduce their insurance payout. Proper documentation before remediation ensures maximum coverage for all affected areas. Jeff shares a remarkable success story where professional advocacy transformed a $37,000 initial insurance offer into an $80,000 settlement, allowing for a complete kitchen renovation and new flooring throughout the downstairs of a home following water damage from a leaky dishwasher. The difference? Having someone who understood how to identify and document all related damage, including cracked granite countertops and water-damaged hardwood floors the insurance company initially missed.

From understanding the supplemental claims process to knowing when remediation should be handled by specialists, this episode provides essential knowledge for anyone dealing with storm damage. The right contractor doesn't just repair your home—they transform disaster into opportunity by maximizing legitimate insurance coverage.

Ready to protect your greatest investment from storm damage? Call 469-831-5620 for a free consultation and discover why having a qualified advocate makes all the difference when disaster strikes your home.

To learn more about Remodel Contracting visit:
https://www.RemodelContracting.net
Remodel Contracting
801 Alpha Rd, Ste 133
Richardson, TX 75081
469-831-5620

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Remodel Contracting Podcast,
where outdated spaces meet theirmodern makeover destiny.
Hosted by Jeff Bass, generalcontractor, home renovation
expert and guy who firmlybelieves your avocado green
bathroom has gotta go.
Based in the DFW Metro, remodelContracting is here to help you
level up your living spaceBecause, hey, you updated your

(00:27):
wardrobe, now it's time toupdate your home.
Expect more, live better.
Let's remodel.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Storms don't just leave behind water, they leave
behind chaos.
Storms don't just leave behindwater, they leave behind chaos.
In this episode, jeff unpackswhat really goes into storm
restoration, from emergencyresponse to final walkthrough.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host,slash producer, back in the
studio with general contractorand home renovation expert, jeff

(01:01):
Bass.
Jeff, how are you today?

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Doing great.
Sofia, really happy to be herewith you, happy to have you back
, jeff Bass.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Jeff, how are you today Doing?
Great, sophia, really happy tobe here with you, happy to have
you back, jeff.
Now nobody breaks down the messand method like you.
Can't wait to dig into whatstorm recovery really looks like
on the ground.
So, jeff, let's get into it.
What's involved in storm damage, repair and restoration?

Speaker 3 (01:24):
Okay, that's a great question, great topic, sophia.
So, first of all, with any kindof storm damage, we want to
start the remediation process assoon as possible.
That means the first step is tostop however the damage is
coming in, whether it be winddamage, hail damage, water
damage.
We've got to seal up the houseagain.
Your house is a sealedenvironment and we need to

(01:46):
return it to that state asquickly as possible, and it
depends on what type of damageit is.
We do a lot of roofs, so ifit's a hail or storm damage on
the roof, we will immediatelysend the team out there to tarp
the roof and then we will startthe process after that.
If it's a water damage,depending on what it is.
I don't do 24-7 remediation,but there are a lot of companies

(02:09):
that do that I work with.
I believe in being excellent atwhatever you perform, and that
is just something that, as acompany, I prefer not to do.
I prefer to refer the 24-7remediation out to someone who's
an expert at doing that, who'san expert at doing that.
After you have returned thehouse to a state of being sealed

(02:31):
, where the elements are nolonger coming in your house,
then what we have to do is westart the repair process, so we
go in and, if it's a roof, wewill find out where all of the
leaks are.
We will check the condition ofthe gutters, of the siding, of
the shingles, of course, of thescreens on your windows, and

(02:57):
then you'll file your insuranceclaim, and the best thing for us
to do is to have one of ourrepresentatives there anytime
the insurance adjuster's there,so we can establish that
relationship, build that trustand so that they can see, so we
can give a different perspectiveon what kind of repairs are
going to be required.

(03:17):
It's important to have anadvocate in your court when
dealing with insurance companies.
Remember, insurance companiesdidn't grow by paying claims
right.
It's just like when you go toVegas.
They didn't build those casinosoff of winners, right.
They built them because peoplegive money and they keep it
there.
And that's the same wayinsurance companies grow, right.
They collect your money andthey pay as little in claims as

(03:40):
they can.
That's why it's important foryou to have an advocate on your
side and then we help with thatprocess.
Whether it be storm damage,water damage, roof damage, hail
damage, whatever it is, we workthrough that process, actually
even fire damage.
I just worked with a restauranton remediating their fire
damage.
So that's what it is.
We come in, seal up the house,make sure it's not leaking

(04:03):
anymore, go through theinsurance company to see what
kind of damage is going to becovered.
If it's interior damage, we'llbe pulling sheetrock off to make
sure that any framing behindthe sheetrock is drying out
properly.
And once everything's dried outproperly, we will pull out
insulation, replace that,replace the sheetrock and bring

(04:24):
the house back to the conditionit was before the damage
occurred.
And, like I said, we're youradvocate.
They're, every step of the way,working with the insurance
company to make sure that youget restored back to the state
that your house was in beforethe damage occurred.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
So, jeff, what are the first steps homeowners
should take right after stormdamage occurs?

Speaker 3 (04:45):
The first thing they should do is call their
insurance company and get theprocess started.
In filing a claim, theinsurance company is going to
want to see the damage hasoccurred.
So I recommend, if it'sinterior damage, take pictures.
Honestly, I don't recommend forhomeowners trying to clean up
the mess themselves because,remember, the larger the claim

(05:06):
is, the more money the insuranceis going to recover for you.
I know that sounds kind ofbackwards, but you know I mean
the less damage there is, theless money you're going to get
on your claim.
So it really kind of depends onwhat your objectives are.
And I will tell you one thingpeople need to keep in mind is,
let's say, your dishwasher leaks.
Okay, the insurance company isnot going to pay to remodel your

(05:28):
kitchen.
They're going to pay to repairthe damage.
That's done.
You know the insurance companydoesn't care if your lower
cabinets match your uppercabinets, which that part can be
very frustrating on things likethat.
So again, that's where we tryto get as much damage covered as
possible so that we can bringit back to a state where you're
happy with it.

(05:48):
But yeah, the first thing youshould do is call your insurance
company and file a claim.
Next thing you should do iscall me and we will make sure to
get somebody out there to startthe remediation process, which,
and depending on the claim,could be me and my team, or it
could be someone that I referout.
But yeah, that's the first step.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
Now, what is your initial property inspection?

Speaker 3 (06:12):
we'll first of all try to find out where the damage
is coming in from.
We remediate that.
Put a tarp on the roof shut off, whatever water shut off valve
needs to be shut off, you know,just find out where the water is
coming in and get that solved.
That's the first thing thatwe're going to do and then
typically we will, you know,we'll walk through and get a
general assessment of whatdamage is.

(06:33):
But it's important to get theinsurance adjuster out there as
soon as possible and to makesure that we're all on the same
page as far as what damage is,so that we can make sure that
when we do start the rebuildingprocess that those items are
going to be covered.
You know we don't want to go inand start ordering replacement

(06:53):
cabinets if the insurancecompany is not planning on
paying for those, and theprocess is called a supplement
process.
So the insurance company willcome forward with their initial
things that they're going tocover and then anything after
that point is called asupplement, which we have to
file paperwork with theinsurance company and negotiate
back and forth with them to getthem to cover other items.

(07:14):
And most people don't want tobe out of pocket to cover those
items, not knowing if theirinsurance company is going to
reimburse them or not.
That's why the sooner weconnect with the insurance
company, then the sooner we canget those items covered.
For example, if we do theinitial walk through with the
adjuster, we can point outthings that he's not seeing, and

(07:35):
then we don't have to gothrough the supplement process
later if those items areincluded immediately up front.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
Is there a story you would like to share with our
listeners here today about atime when you advocated for a
client and things turned out waybetter than they expected?

Speaker 3 (07:51):
Oh, absolutely so.
I mean I've got tons of them.
So I have one recently where itwas a leaky dishwasher in a
kitchen and let's see, they hadtile floors in the kitchen and
in the breakfast area they hadhardwood floors and the
insurance company initially camein and wanted to pay I want to
say $37,000 on the claim.
They did not want to pay forthe upper cabinets, they wanted

(08:14):
to have unmatching lowercabinets in there.
This one I did not get involveduntil after the remediation
company had been there.
It was actually a little scary.
So if the kitchen is out ofbusiness, if you can't do
anything in your kitchen,everything's disconnected,
everything's gone.
The insurance company should beat a minimum giving you a daily

(08:34):
per diem for meals and, ideally, should be paying for you to be
in a hotel or an Airbnb.
This particular one had a ponywall, which is a short wall, and
that pony wall was supporting agranite countertop.
The insurance company took thecabinet out that was supporting
this on the back of this ponywall, took the cabinet out.

(08:56):
So you had a small pony wallsupporting a granite countertop
that was about 200 pounds justteetering on it, being held up
with two by fours.
When I got there, it hadalready fallen over.
The whole wall had fallen over,the slab of granite had fallen
over, and this homeowner hadtoddlers in the house.
Imagine if one of thosetoddlers had tried to pull up a

(09:16):
chair, like they usually do, tohave their breakfast there, and
this countertop had fallen onthat child.
You know, sometimes theinsurance companies and the
remediation companies, they'renot going to do what's in your
best interest.
I mean, this is an entirekitchen of granite countertops
being held up, floating on twoby fours.
It was ridiculous.
So we came in, we took pictures, showed where the granite was
cracked that we had, showed thatthere was water damage on the

(09:38):
hardwood floors in the breakfastarea, as well as the tile
floors.
Long story short, we wound upgetting enough from the
insurance company to not onlyreplace the countertops that
they weren't going to replace,also replace the upper cabinets
that they weren't planning onreplacing, and we replaced all
of the flooring in the entiredownstairs of the house.
Wow, we got that claim fromlike $37,000.

(10:03):
We got that claim up to almost$80,000.
So they got a brand new kitchenuppers, lowers, countertops,
everything.
We actually redesigned thekitchen and instead of having a
peninsula, we put in an islandin the middle and we got all new
flooring and the entiredownstairs of the house.
So that's where having anadvocate on your side
negotiating with the insurancecompany can work to your benefit

(10:25):
.

Speaker 2 (10:26):
Wow, thanks for that important insight, jeff.
Always appreciate the way youbring clarity to high stress
topics, and we'll catch you nexttime with more ways to level up
your living space.

Speaker 3 (10:39):
Thank you, sophia, great to be here.

Speaker 1 (10:44):
That's a wrap for this episode of Remodel
Contracting Podcast.
Ready to kick that 90s kitchento the curb?
For a free in-home consultation, call 469-831-5620 or visit
remodelcontractingnet.
Expect more, because your homedeserves better and, honestly,

(11:05):
so do you.