Restoration questions, answered

Start from what you are trying to decide

About this site and how it is paid for

What happens after I submit a restoration enquiry?

We read the loss type, the zip code and anything you noted, then follow up about next steps. Company matching is still being built, so this is not an emergency dispatch line. You should hear from us about your question and, where we can, about connecting you with restoration companies that serve your area. Your details are not sold, and no contractor receives them unless you agree.

Is there a charge to request restoration help?

No. Submitting the form is free and does not commit you to a restoration company, a scope or a start date. You decide whether to talk to anyone and whether to hire.

Is HyreRestore a restoration company?

No. We do not dry, remediate, demolish or rebuild anything, we hold no equipment and no technician works for us. We are an independent information resource and a platform intended to connect homeowners with local restoration companies. We are also not an insurer, not a public adjuster and not a law firm.

How does HyreRestore make money, and does it affect the advice?

We expect to be paid by restoration companies for introducing homeowners to them; you are never charged and nothing here is gated. The risk in that model is that revenue starts shaping the guidance, and the only honest test is whether the site publishes commercially inconvenient things. It does: we tell people they are generally not required to use the mitigation company for the rebuild, we publish no average prices, and we rate no companies.

Do you verify the companies you might introduce me to?

Partially, and the list is short. Licence status is checked against state licensing boards and company identity comes from public records. IICRC certification verified with the certifying body, insurance certificates confirmed with the carrier, and homeowner reviews under a published policy are not done yet. Being listed somewhere is not verification and we will not present it as any.

Why are there no reviews or ratings on this site?

Because a rating reaches people at their most vulnerable and on the day they are least able to check it. We have no verified review programme, and publishing unverified reviews in the meantime would be worse than publishing none, because readers would treat them as verification. We publish how to judge a company yourself instead.

The restoration process

What should I do first after water damage?

Make the property safe, stop the water at the source, then document everything with photographs and video before anything is moved. Notify your insurer and ask what the policy requires of you. Emergency drying can begin straight away under a limited authorisation — it is the full contract, not the mitigation, that can wait until you have read it.

How long does drying take?

It is measured rather than scheduled. Equipment runs until moisture readings in the affected materials reach a goal set from unaffected materials in the same building. Several days is common for a contained loss; assemblies that trapped water take longer. If nobody can show you a reading, nobody can tell you how long it will take.

Can I clean up mould myself?

Small areas of surface growth on hard materials are often within reach of a homeowner using proper precautions. Larger areas, anything in HVAC systems, and anything following contaminated water are not. Some states licence mould assessment and remediation separately and restrict one firm from doing both — check yours before hiring.

Will smoke odour come back?

It can, if the source was not removed. Soot penetrates porous materials and travels through cavities and ductwork far beyond visible damage, so odour treatment that only addresses surfaces tends to be temporary. Ask what is being removed rather than what is being sprayed.

What is the difference between mitigation and reconstruction?

Mitigation is the emergency phase — extraction, demolition of unsalvageable material, containment and drying — priced mostly on equipment, labour and days on site. Reconstruction is the building work that puts the property back, priced like any other construction job. They are separate scopes, frequently separate companies, and asking for them as two written documents makes both far easier to check.

How dry is dry?

Dry is a number, not a feeling. The drying goal is set from readings taken in unaffected materials of the same type elsewhere in the building, and the job ends when the affected materials reach it — not when the calendar says so or when the equipment is wanted on another job. Without a stated goal, "dry" is an opinion held by whoever owns the dehumidifiers.

What if damage is found after work has already started?

It is normal. Water travels through cavities and under floors, and fire damage hides behind finishes, so hidden damage routinely surfaces once material is removed. The additional work is submitted to the insurer as a supplement with documentation. A supplement is not a red flag in itself; a supplement with no photographs or readings behind it is.

Can I stay in the property during restoration?

It depends on the loss and on what is being disturbed. Contained drying in one room is very different from mould remediation under negative pressure or a sewage loss, and fire-damaged structures may not be safe to occupy at all. Ask the company what areas will be under containment, what is running overnight, and whether the answer changes for anybody in the household with a respiratory condition. If you cannot stay, check whether your policy includes additional living expenses.

Insurance and claims

Will my insurance cover it?

It depends on the peril and your policy. Sudden accidental discharge — a burst supply line, for example — is commonly covered, while gradual leaks and general wear often are not. Flood is usually excluded from standard homeowners policies and covered separately. Your deductible, and whether you hold replacement cost or actual cash value, decide what actually reaches you.

What is an assignment of benefits, and should I sign one?

It transfers your right to the insurance payout to the contractor, who then bills and negotiates with your insurer directly. It is legal in most places and can be convenient, but it hands over control of a claim on your property, and several states have legislated to restrict it after widespread abuse. Read it carefully, check whether what you are being handed is actually just a work authorisation, and do not sign anything on a doorstep.

Should I throw damaged things away?

Not until the claim is scoped. Photograph everything, keep an inventory, and hold damaged items until the adjuster has seen them or released you to dispose of them. Disposing of evidence early is one of the most common causes of a reduced settlement.

Does filing a restoration claim raise my premium?

It can, and it is not a question anyone can answer for your policy from the outside. Claim history is one of the things insurers price on, and small claims close to the deductible are the ones most often not worth filing. Work out the likely cost, subtract your deductible, and take the answer seriously before you report a small loss — our should-I-file tool runs that arithmetic and still refuses to tell you to file.

Is flood damage covered by my homeowners policy?

Standard homeowners policies generally exclude flood, which is written separately and commonly through the National Flood Insurance Program. Water arriving from outside and water arriving from a failed pipe are different perils with different paperwork, and which one caused your loss is one of the first things an adjuster will establish.

What is the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value?

Replacement cost pays what it costs to replace the item or the material today; actual cash value deducts depreciation for age and wear. On an RCV policy the first cheque is commonly the depreciated amount, with the recoverable depreciation released once the work is done and evidenced. Which one you hold is on your declarations page, and it changes what actually reaches you more than almost anything else in the claim.

Do I have to accept the adjuster’s scope?

The adjuster writes what the policy will pay for; your contractor writes what the job requires. Where the two differ, the difference is negotiated with documentation — photographs, readings, line items — rather than simply absorbed by you. A written record kept from day one is what makes that conversation short.

Choosing a restoration company

Do I have to use the company my insurer recommends?

Generally no. Insurers maintain preferred vendor programmes, and those companies are often perfectly good, but in most cases you choose who works on your property. Your insurer decides what it will pay, not who holds the tools.

Is the company that dries my house the one that rebuilds it?

Sometimes, and you are usually not obliged to accept that. Mitigation and reconstruction are separate scopes with separate pricing. The rebuild is the part where you have time to compare bids, so it is worth using it.

What does a good drying log look like?

Dated readings of moisture content in specific materials at specific locations, taken daily, alongside temperature and relative humidity, with the drying goal stated. A record of which equipment was placed where. It should be given to you, not just held on file.

Someone knocked on my door offering to handle everything. Should I use them?

Be slow. Door-knocking after a storm is not illegal and not always a scam, but it selects for crews that follow weather rather than crews that live locally, and the paperwork offered on a doorstep is the paperwork worth reading most carefully. Nothing needs signing at a door, and anything that transfers your claim does not need signing at all.

How many quotes should I get?

For emergency mitigation, often one — you cannot shop while water spreads, and limited emergency work can begin under a limited authorisation. For reconstruction, more than one, because that phase is a normal building job with normal time to compare. The useful comparison is not price against price but scope against scope: two documents describing different work cannot be compared at all.

The enquiry form

Is the enquiry form an emergency line?

No, and it is not a dispatch service. Company matching is still being built, so if your property is actively flooding or unsafe, contact a local restoration company and your insurer now. If you are past that point, tell us the loss and the zip code and a person will read it and reply.

Who receives my details when I submit the form?

We do. Your details are not sold, not listed and not routed to a panel of contractors, and no restoration company receives them until you have agreed to it. Submitting the form is not a work authorisation and commits you to nothing. If you want what you sent deleted, ask and we will delete it.

Will you sell my enquiry to several companies at once?

No. We do not resell an enquiry to as many companies as will pay for it, which is exactly the practice that produces the ten-calls-in-an-hour experience homeowners describe. Our published lead quality standard sets that out as a commitment you can hold us to, not just something the partner side is told.

Still looking for something?

• The ten restoration services — from water damage and flood to storm damage and contents.
• The claims hub — including working with an adjuster.
• How we vet — what is checked, and the three things that are not.
• How HyreRestore works and our lead quality standard.
• The calculators — free, ungated, built on your figures rather than national ones.
• Contact us — including an honest list of what we cannot help with. Anything missing here can go to hello@hyrerestore.com.