Culpepper Residence

Loss Event: Electrical Fire

Location: St. Joseph, Michigan

Services: Demolition; Water Mitigation; Odor Removal; Structural Repairs; Finish Carpentry; Electrical; HVAC; Plumbing; Painting

The Situation:

The customer had an electrical fire that caused extensive damage to the entire home. The entire main level had severe smoke and soot damage, while the partially finished basement was damaged to near total loss. The customer initially hired another contractor to perform the work, but due to performance issues and the additional living expenses budget, she needed to hire a new contractor.

The customer asked her insurance adjuster for help in having the repairs completed, and he turned to Wolgast, as we are a member of the insurance carrier’s Preferred Contractor Network.

Our Solution:

Wolgast was tasked with coming into a project that was partially underway, starting from scratch, and completing the project before the additional living expenses were depleted.

We came into this project in November, 2015 and had to quickly coordinate the restoration of power and heat to the structure to prevent further damage during the winter months. Once power and heat was restored, we worked with the adjuster to determine an exact scope of damage for the customer, and identify any code upgrades that may be needed to make it livable again. We then coordinated and performed the restoration work including; deodorization of the structure, drywall installation and painting, new flooring, and windows throughout the main level. In the basement, we framed, installed drywall, painted, installed new ceiling tiles and flooring to restore it to pre-loss conditions. We also coordinated the installation of up-to-code electrical, heating/HVAC, and plumbing throughout the home.

The Result:

We used our large loss processes to coordinate and perform the work in a time frame that well exceeds the industry standard.

We met a time frame not typically set for contractors on a project of this scale. We also used our extensive construction, and estimating knowledge to identify and properly price out the code upgrades required for the home while staying within the budget provided by the insurance company. These practices reduced the homeowner’s out-of-pocket costs to only her deductible for the entirety of the project.

Our actual working time frame was around 6 weeks. The project was completed within the budget. The customer stated that she was extremely pleased with our services, we did a lovely job, and her home was even better than before the fire.

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