Restoration company (rental, insurance, movers)

[mojo101]

If I ask a company to perform some work -tearing down the drywall in my garage,cleaning the air,apply micro whatever chemical,reinstall drywall and paint drywall.
They have so far tore down the drywall,clean the air and submitted an invoice with proof to my insurer,they will not proceed any further until they hear from my insurer.
Can I tell them I dont need them to apply chemicals,install new drywall and paint drywall and just pay them for what they have completed so far,would they agree?

[resonator]

Ask them, there's nothing secret about their reasons, they may be following some particular EPA or city code recommendations or rules.



Some wild guess maybe's:
It may be the required process for them to get paid by the insurer. Your insurance policy itself may be at risk of being cancelled if you have mold coverage and do not follow their mitigation / inspection procedure.



You can probably pay them out of your pocket and tell them bye unless some toxic mold rule applies.


There maybe something you agreed to in the contract for the restoration work.

[mojo101]

The restoration company is based in California,I have the right to cancel the order within 3 days but I did not.
I have no mold coverage,my insurer told me it is a separate endorsement which I do not have,which is fine,it turns out that the 48 hours air cleaning and leaving the garage open to sunlight afterwards,and having someone went up to the attic and spray yesterday ,found no mold,but he sprayed it with bleach any way.
I dont know if they will cancel my policy,plenty of homeowners have problems after winter storm,and their cases are much worse than mine,their losses are in 5 figures!
The workers who knocked down the drywall in my garage told me they have seen worse,much worse cases where not only mold but termites ,and the ceiling was ripped open.
I will try to go to my insurer website and see what is the status?
thanks for your reply

[a_guerrajr]

Just went through this.
Did you hire a remodel company or a mitigation company or one that does both.

For the mitigation piece, they should remove the affected items and aid in preventing any further damage.
Mine came in, cut holes, cut out sheet rock, setup fans, dehumidifiers, etc etc. They asked for 2K security deposit for their equipment. Which is BS, they just want some type of money to pay their employees. Once finished, they sent their invoice to the insurance co and then they cut a check to them and I had them refund my deposit.

If the company you hired is doing a full repair, then they are basically going to want to see some funds on the table.
Pretty typically even with anyone you hire.

[mojo101]

My situation is different than yours-
first my agent filed claims for me,then a project co-ordinator from Michagan called me to assess the damages,then a local desk claims lady and a field claims guy were assigned to my case.
Before the field guy shows up,I have to submit pictures and signed invoice from different handy,plumber /company on their estimates of fixing garage ,den ,garage door opener,water softener,water pipes.
then the field adjuster arrived and surveyed the situation,pretty much agreed to what these assorted handYmen/plumber and I got a check from State farm.a small sum was withheld until I showed proof work has been accomplished either by picture or receipt .(I have a $3400 deductible)
But there is a clause which said if there are extra damages or estimates is too low,I have up to a year to amend or add more claims.
It all started with broken water pipes in the attic,and my plumber rerouted and plugged the hole ,when he came back to remove the old copper pipe and replaced it with new PCB one,it turns out the old pipe which is 9 feet long has 4 holes,not one and since a 9-10 ft pipe spanned across the attic,with 4 burst holes,water is pretty much all over the attic floor .
and we found another copper pipe inside the garage side wall has a hole as well,but no big deal,the pipe is only 3 feet long and no water was spilled.
So I submitted this 3 feet burst pipe claim to STatefarm and they cut me a check of $250.
In the mean time,all the stains in the garage ceiling and side walls seem to get worse,so I decide to go online and found a restoration company INSTEAD of relying on handymen,the site passed me 3 companies,only one called me,
They came and made me sign a paper and told me they will deal direct with STatefarm,whatever State farm does not pay,I will have to.
All the time I WAS dealing with the rep,he refused to give me an estimate of how much it would cost.
Then a crew of 3 men arrived to knock out all the sheet rock of the ceiling and both side walls,I saw there are mold spots and some are still wet.
they told me my case is much better than others they have seen,some even have termites.
The next day,the rep came with 2 fans and a cleaner and told me to keep it running for 48 hours.
After 48 hours,I look at the filter and found it was covered with dark soots ,the contract said any machine left on premise will be charged by day,whether it is used or not.
so 2 days,later I called to have them removed these machines.
Then I called the lady at Statefarm,she said the company submitted an invoice of $7500 dollars,charges include $185 emergency service call which is not true,I did not call them,they call me.
knocking down the sheetrock,taking away the debris and having an electrician plus 3 crew men come to $1400
the the machine rental is$1000-they called it dehumifier and 2 air movers.
Rest of the charges which they will complete as soon as they hear from Statefarm will make up the rest of the $7500 .

Statefarm does not like that invoice so they asked to see pictures.
They claimed in many cases,it is not necessary t o remove all the sheetrock or floor or whatever but if you call a restoration co ,they will suggest so.
They submitted the pictures and now waiting to hear from Statefarm before they can proceed to air the attic and install sheetrock and paint the garage.
I argued with Statefarm that the garage is part of the house and there are electrical items like sprinkler control unit,garage door opener and other wires hanging from the attic that a handyman or plumber does not know,a plumber is not an electrician and a handyman is not a plumber,i need someone or some company which knows more .
I gave her an example,the plumber/handyman thinks they have to take down the garage door opener when they removing the ceiling drywall,but the garage door opener is not nailed to the drywall,it is nailed to the wood frame above,and all they have to do is to rip off the sheetrock around it,if they take down the garage door opener which is long and heavy,do they know how to put them back up?
I am still waiting,I lave the garage door open during the way and let the sun and air dry out whatever is up the attic and good neighbor of mine went to the attic which is pretty much open and sprayed bleach and water solution,he said he saw no mold.
I think these restoration company does take advantage of homeowners in time like this.
Thank you for letting me rant

[mojo101]

If the company you hired is doing a full repair, then they are basically going to want to see some funds on the table.
Pretty typically even with anyone you hire.
------------
They did not ask for a deposit,they completed half of the work and then sent STatefarm an invoice for the entire project,like they said whatever Statefarm does not pay,I will have to pay.
You know they can always slap a lien on the house !
the ones who asked for money up front is the plumber when he goes to Home Depot to buy pipes and plugs .

[mojo101]

did you see the invoice they sent to your insurance company?
looking at the invoice,it does make sense though,getting an opinion of an electrician before knocking down everything in the garage,and wearing masks and hauling away debris.
But I dont think that cleaner and 2 fans for 2 days is worth $1k,and they are left unattended ,I am the one who is keeping an eye on it and paying for 48 hours usage of electricity,there is not much dirt on the filter of the cleaner,only dark soots

[kreeyax]

At the end of the day, you only pay your deductible and the insurance company pays all of these companies for the repairs. Either they pay the companies directly, or you pay the companies and they reimburse you. You should be made whole and only be out your deductible. It sounds like maybe you are trying to make some money off this by maybe taking shortcuts or trying to get someone to do the work for less than the insurance is compensating you?

Get the work done and provide all the receipts to the insurance company for reimbursement, if you have to. Take pictures of everything. Like you said, you have a year or so to claim expenses related to this loss.

[mojo101]

not so,insurance co has its own rates ,the field adjuster took in measurement of the room.garage and condition of the damage,plug into the company computer,based on location ,comes up with a $$.
if the going rate of a plumber is say $50.hour and the plumber wants $95,it is not going to pay $95.
if I insist on using that plumber,then I will have to pay the extra .
will post once I hear from Statefarm,they are reviewing the pictures

[mojo101]

It sounds like maybe you are trying to make some money off this by maybe taking shortcuts or trying to get someone to do the work for less than the insurance is compensating you?
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before they sent the field claims adjuster to my house,I have to show pictures and quotes from those who will provide the repair,they must be signed for .
when the field claims adjuster arrives,he will examine the subject of each claim and note extent of the damage,goback to the home office,plug in all that information and comes up with the $$.
There is no money to be made here,given the damage of winter storm,most plumbers,handymen,painters are hard to find,most are not even coming to the phone,I am lucky to find my plumber recommended by my neighbor