Wolgast Restoration Blog Page

Frozen pipes are one of the most common and costliest property damage events during the cold winter months. In fact, a burst pipe can result in tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Fortunately, frozen pipes can be prevented quite easily and inexpensively.

Water freezes when heat in the water is transferred to subfreez­ing air. The best way to keep water in pipes from freezing is to slow or stop this transfer of heat. Ideally, the best way to protect pipes from subfreezing tem­peratures, is by placing them only in heated spaces and out of attics, crawl spaces and outside walls. Unfortunately, this may not be a practical solution for existing homes. In the case of new construction, however, optimal pipe placement can be designed into the building.

Vulnerable pipes in existing homes should be fitted with insulation sleeves or wrapping to slow the heat transfer. It is important not to leave gaps in the insulation that expose the pipe to cold air. Hardware stores and home centers stock a variety of foam rubber and fiberglass sleeves, in various thicknesses.

Cracks and holes in outside walls and foundations near water pipes should be sealed with caulking to keep cold wind away from the pipes. Kitchen and bathroom cabinets can keep warm inside air from reaching pipes under sinks and in adja­cent outside walls. It’s a good idea to keep cabinet doors open during cold spells to let the warm air circulate around the pipes.

Electric heating tapes and cables are also available to run along pipes to keep the water from freezing. These must be used with extreme caution; follow the manufacturer’s instructions careful­ly to avoid the risk of fire, and check to make sure the product conforms to UL 2049. Tapes and cables with a built-in thermo­stat will turn heat on when needed. Tapes without a thermostat have to be plugged in each time heat is needed, and may be forgotten.

Tips to Prevent Frozen Pipes:

• Install a reliable back-up power source to ensure continuous power to the building.
• Insulate all attic penetrations.
• Properly seal all doors and windows. 
• Seal all wall cracks and penetrations, including utility service lines.
• Install insulation and/or heat trace tape with a reliable power source on various wet sprinkler system piping. This includes main lines coming up from underground passing through a wall as well as sprinkler branch lines.
• Place a monitored automatic excess flow switch on the main incoming domestic water line to provide early detection of a broken pipe or valve when the space is unoccupied.
• When away from home for an extended period of time, don’t set the thermostat at too low of a temperature. If you are not sure how low to set the temperature, consider shutting off the main water supply and draining the water system.

Open bathroom or kitchen faucets adjacent to outside walls to allow the water to slowly drip. This won’t necessarily prevent the pipe from freezing, but it will relieve excessive pressure to prevent the pipe from bursting, if it does freeze.

How do Pipes Burst?

Contrary to popular belief, pipes do not typically burst where the ice blockage is located. The expansion of the ice against the wall of the pipe does not cause it to break. Rather, after a complete ice blockage in a pipe occurs, the continued freezing and expansion inside the pipe causes water pressure to increase downstream, between the ice blockage and a closed faucet at the end. This increase in water pressure is what causes the pipe to fail. Usually the pipe bursts where little or no ice has formed. Upstream from the ice blockage the water can always flow back towards its source, so there is no pressure build-up to cause a break. Water has to freeze for ice blockages to occur. Pipes that are adequately insulated along their entire length are usually safe from freezing.

Which Pipes are Susceptible to Freezing?

Generally, homes and structures in northern climates are built with the water pipes located inside the building insulation, which protects the pipes from subfreezing weather. However, ex­tremely cold weather and holes in the building that allow a flow of cold air to come into contact with pipes can lead to freezing and bursting.

Pipes in attics, crawl spaces and outside walls are all vulnerable to freezing, especially if there are cracks or openings that allow cold, outside air to reach the pipes. Research has shown that “wind chill,” can accelerate the freezing process.

Holes in outside walls where television, cable, or phone lines enter can allow cold air to reach pipes. The size of pipes and their composition (e.g., copper or PVC) have some bearing on how fast ice forms, but they are relatively minor factors in pipe bursting compared with the absence of heat, pipe insulation and exposure to subfreezing air.

At What Temperature do Pipes Freeze?

When should you be alert to the danger of freezing pipes? That depends on the climate where you live, but the “temperature alert threshold” is 20 degrees F.

This threshold is based upon research conducted by the Building Research Council at the University of Illinois. Field tests of residential water systems subjected to winter tempera­tures demonstrated that, for un-insulated pipes installed in an unconditioned attic, the onset of freezing occurred when the outside temperature fell to 20 degrees F or below.

However, freezing incidents can occur when the tem­perature remains above 20 degrees F for an extended period of time. This is especially true if pipes are exposed to cold, flowing air, as on a windy day, due to cracks in an outside wall or lack of insulation. However, the 20 degrees F “temperature alert threshold” should be applicable in most cases.

Suffering a disaster from a fire, flood or storm can be a traumatic experience for homeowners and their families. More often than not, the emotional trauma is linked to the loss of their personal belongings than it is to the damage to the structure. Usually, the reason for this is that people understand that the walls, ceilings and floors can usually be repaired to their original condition, or better. But sentimental belongings, keepsakes, and photos are often irreplaceable.

At Wolgast Restoration we understand the emotional connection people have with their personal belongings, and we take that very seriously. Our IICRC certified technicians are highly trained in how to recover and care for our customers’ belongings.

No matter the extent of the damage, we treat every recovered item as though it can be saved and restored to its original condition. Even if we find that something is damaged beyond repair, we respect the fact that it still may have a sentimental meaning to the owner, and we let them make the choice whether or not to dispose of it.

We take extreme care during our recovery, packing, storage, and restoration processes. We implement a thorough pack-out and digital inventory system that allows us to track each item to ensure its protection from further damage or loss. We utilize the latest methods in content restoration technology to clean, decontaminate and restore even the most sensitive and delicate items.

Everyone has different tastes in how they choose to decorate their homes and in the things they find attractive, meaningful, or useful. Our technicians take this seriously and make no judgment or comments about your personal belongings or the contents in your home. We are only there to do our job of recovering as many of your items as possible, in the best way possible. To preserve your privacy, we don’t enter any unaffected rooms, closets, or storage areas without permission from you, and only if it is necessary to complete our job.

If a disaster strikes your home, a Wolgast Restoration Lead Technician or Supervisor will meet with you before beginning the process of recovering your belongings. This gives you the opportunity to express your specific wishes and concerns to our technicians so everyone’s expectations are clearly defined, and you get the results you deserve.

One of the biggest concerns in the insurance industry today is “how to create a customer-focused organization”. This question forces insurance companies to take a closer look into their organization to identify where improvements can be made to increase customer satisfaction through better customer service performance.

This process includes looking beyond the organization itself, and delving deeper into the practices of their insurance restoration providers. The reason for this is that if a customer is not satisfied with the work performed by an insurance restoration contractor, it reflects poorly on the insurance company, and they risk loosing that customer to a competitor. And in today’s world of getting an insurance quote in 15 minutes or less, it doesn’t take long for that customer to disappear.

The best way to ensure customer satisfaction and prevent claims disputes is to provide clear, transparent communication between all parties involved in the claims process. In the case of a property damage restoration claim, those parties typically include the insured (policy holder); the insurance agent; the insurance claims adjuster; and the restoration contractor.

The first step in the claims process usually involves the insured contacting the insurance agent to make the damage claim. At this stage of first contact, it is imperative that the insurance agent listens carefully to the insured and asks the right questions. Depending on the nature of the damage, this can be a very traumatic time for the insured, and they may rush through their description of the damage or leave out important details that will determine how the agent responds to their situation. It is also important to project a high degree of compassion and understanding towards the insured’s situation at this time. The insured needs to feel that they are important to you, and you are committed to solving their problem. Reassuring them of this will help calm their nerves and provide a greater sense of comfort.

In an emergency mitigation situation, the restoration contractor should also project a high level of compassion to the insured, and communicate professionally and respectfully what needs to be done to solve their immediate problem. It is their home or business you are trying to salvage, and this is no time to undermine the extent of the damage, or downplay the urgency of the situation. Our most satisfied customers praise us for our outstanding communication and customer service over many other aspects of a restoration project.

But communication doesn’t mean much if you don’t do what you say you will. This is why it is important for the restoration contractor to provide a complete itemized estimate and accurate scope of work, using industry-approved estimating software and processes. This prevents fraudulent practices from coming into play and allows the insurance company to compare and verify costs.

Many restoration contractors are granted projects from Third Party Administrators (TPA). These TPA’s represent a network of insurance restoration contractors and award work based on the reputation, capability, quality, and professionalism of the restoration contractor. The restoration contractor must also adhere to strict standards and practices set forth by the TPAs in order to be awarded work from them. The TPA program requires timely, accurate job status communication from the restoration contractor to the TPA. The system is developed to provide efficient service, on time and on budget, at every stage of the project. If the restoration contractor does not follow the system properly, they can be fined; not awarded future work; or even dismissed from the program altogether. This can tarnish the reputation of the contractor, so there is a high incentive to comply with the system.

When you’re dealing with a property restoration project, it is difficult to know just what you might encounter as the job progresses. Because you are working on damaged property, rather than building from scratch, there is often hidden damage that reveals itself during the course of performing repairs. This is another critical time when communication is key. The restoration contractor needs to notify the insured and the insurance company and provide a supplemental estimate to cover the additional work. No one likes surprise costs after a job has been completed.

The final step in providing transparent communication during an insurance restoration project is to conduct a punch list, or walk through, with the customer to go over the work that was performed; review the quality of workmanship; and identify any corrections that need to be made. This is an integral component for ensuring customer satisfaction. Once the customer sees that the work has been done to their satisfaction, their concerns are put to rest and they can continue on with life as usual, or better.

Large loss insurance claims that require the services of both an insurance restoration company and a general contractor can be a nightmare for many insurance agents and adjusters, as well as their claimants. This is primarily due to lapses in coordination, cooperation, and communication between the two companies and the insurer.

When there is a breakdown in these areas, the whole project suffers, causing significant delays, frustration, and extra costs. These issues all add up to an unsatisfied customer.

At Wolgast Restoration, we eliminate these issues through the implementation of our “Total Package Approach” to customer satisfaction. This integrated system combines the expertise of our property restoration and professional construction divisions to coordinate, facilitate, and schedule the project to expedite the claims process.

Our Total Package Approach provides:

• Immediate response to loss

• Courteous, compassionate service

• Timely, accurate estimates

• Transparent project status

• Precise scope of work

• Knowledgeable consulting

• Excellent value

• Phased reconstruction process

• Reliable scheduling

• Quality workmanship

• Guaranteed completion date

Our systemized approach ensures consistent, quality, and timely communication throughout the restoration and reconstruction project, eliminating delays, mistakes, and cost overruns. A restoration project supervisor and a reconstruction project supervisor are assigned to each job site with the sole mission to provide open communication channels between both divisions, subcontractors, suppliers, and the customer.

When you have a restoration company and a general contractor on the same team; every aspect of a large loss restoration project, from assessment, to reconstruction, to the final punch list, runs fluidly through the system from one task to the next.

Contact us today to learn more about how our “Total Package Approach” is the fastest way to close insurance restoration and reconstruction claims.

Experiencing property loss due to a flood, fire or other disaster can be a very stressful and confusing event for the building owner. For that reason alone, it is very important that you choose a qualified restoration contractor who can answer any questions you have about the restoration process, to help alleviate your concerns. The project manager should listen closely to you and offer an open line of communication to guide you through the entire restoration process, without making you feel uncomfortable. This will ensure the project runs smoothly and gets completed on time, and to your satisfaction.

Certified restoration contractors are required to meet a strict set of standards, dictated by insurance companies and industry organizations to restore property to its pre-loss condition. If a restoration project is done improperly, it can result in mold growth or other toxic hazards that can cause serious health issues for the occupants.

Before choosing a restoration contractor, research your options carefully and take these four tips into consideration:

Tip #1: Do Not Choose a Friend or Family Member in the Construction Business

We’ve all heard the horror stories about someone who hired their handy brother-in-law with construction experience to put a new roof on their home, and it turned out to be a disaster. It is never a good idea to try to save money and cut corners by hiring a friend or family member to make building repairs that are beyond their skill level. This usually harms the relationship and costs more time and money in the long run.

Tip #2: Do Not Choose the Contractor Who Built Your Home or Building

General contractors and construction companies who mostly build new construction do not have adequate insurance restoration experience. They lack the equipment, experience and certified training required to perform water mitigation, smoke odor removal, content restorative cleaning, deodorizing and handling techniques. Also, they may not understand the proper methods for reconstruction and repairs under these unique conditions, not to mention how to identify and deal with the hazardous materials and dangerous structural conditions, after a disaster.

Tip #3: Do Not Choose a Contractor Who Has Little, or No Experience Working With Insurance Companies

As the insurance policy holder, it is your responsibility to disclose any loss to the insurance company and provide the necessary documentation required to process the claim. You will need an estimate from a restoration company that meets the strict insurance company requirements, created using specific estimating software. If the estimate format does not meet the insurance company standards, it may be rejected.

Tip #4: Do Not Choose a Cleaning Service

Carpet cleaning and house cleaning services are great for everyday, small-scale cleaning jobs. But when it comes to flooding, fire, and smoke damage, they don’t have the technical capabilities or knowledge to remove high levels of moisture that infiltrates the floors and walls, causing dangerous mold to accumulate in a matter of days. Smoke damage also goes far beyond the soot that is left on walls, ceilings and furniture. If not cleaned and deodorized properly, it can leave behind microscopic toxins and fine particulates that can be hazardous to the health of the occupants.

Years of experience and extensive training are required to be a certified restoration contractor, and obviously, there are many good reasons for that.

It’s been raining all day, for three days and you come home to find water has made its way into your basement.  Typically, you’d start to move everything off the floor that could be damaged and anything that could possibly be salvaged, start baling water and call your insurance agent.  Your agent, who you’ve been with since you bought your house 15 years ago, tells you your homeowners policy doesn’t have flood coverage.  But you have homeowners insurance; isn’t that what it’s for?

You’re paying for insurance to cover your home, so why wouldn’t you assume if your home floods, it’s covered?  This situation happens much more often than we’d like to think.   Just ask your local insurance agent.  All too often when new homeowners insurance policies are being written, homeowners aren’t thinking about disasters actually happening.  Some say, “When I purchased my house, the previous owners said they never had water in the basement,” or maybe you were a bit more proactive and double-checked your address wasn’t in a high-risk flood zone.  So skipping on flood coverage doesn’t seem like a big deal on the bright and sunny day you’re getting this new policy.  Now, your insurance agent more than likely told you what your policy covers and doesn’t cover when writing it, but, with this economy today, people are seeking insurance policies with the cheapest option in mind.  And the inexpensive ones don’t include a separate flood policy in addition to your homeowners insurance.  You always have to ask for an additional policy to cover flood damage.

It’s awful to hear about a flood in someone’s home, and worse yet to find out they don’t have flood coverage in their insurance policy.  I’m sure anyone who learned this lesson the hard way, will tell you to reconsider paying extra for the coverage.  Since I own a home in a high risk flood zone, I have to carry flood insurance, but for those whose mortgage company doesn’t require it, here are some facts that might make you think twice:

• Everyone theoretically lives in a flood zone

• Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage

• Just an inch of water can cause costly damage to your property

• If you live in a moderate-to-low risk area and are eligible for the Preferred Risk Policy, your flood insurance premium may be as low as $129 a year, including coverage for your property's contents

Those stats, and more, can be found at www.floodsmart.gov, the official website for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), specifically designated for flood information by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).   Check out that website to learn more about flooding & flood risks, you can even look up your address and what flood zone you’re in and tips for preparation & recovery.

Beware that flood insurance can be a little tricky too, so make sure you know what you’re paying for.  Some only cover the building, only the contents OR the policy can cover both.  Flood Insurance deductibles can be much higher also.  When looking into any policy, always make sure you know what is and is NOT covered.  Leaving what is covered to assumption can lead to a disaster in itself!  So stop reading this blog and find your policy to see if you’re covered before it starts raining again. 

If you listen, you hear complaints all the time from friends and family about customer service when buying goods and services:

•  “I received a great product, but the people were not friendly, I’m not sure if I would use them again”

• “the prices are great but I can’t stand to wait for help or check out”

• “I can’t believe they only have one cashier on this busy day”

• “they did a great job with the construction, but never cleaned up their mess”

• “they just walked through my home on my clean carpet with their muddy boots”

• “I do a lot of business here, why aren’t they treating me with more respect”

Everyone has a story to tell about customer service or the lack there of, and I can say that if the customer service was bad, the odds are good they won’t use that business again.  Based on our experiences, we at Wolgast Restoration have established a comprehensive strategy to keep our customers happy and I’d like to share our thoughts with you as a business owner.

In most cases, consumers have lots of choices and they can punish poor service with their wallets.  As business people, we can’t afford to disappoint our customers and, therefore, should go out of our way on each and every job to ensure the best possible outcome.  As a result, it’s very important that we all get customer service right every time someone uses our service or purchases products.  It may only take one bad moment to lose five or more potential customers by that one person talking to their network of contacts about their dissatisfaction. 

Furthermore, as an employee-owned company, each of us at Wolgast prides ourselves on our work and knows a happy customer is a repeat customer.  A company that makes an effort each and every time to provide great customer service shouldn’t have to be concerned about losing customers to poor reviews, especially when they maintain quality in their products and services.  Even when working with a hard to please client, if you fully apply your customer service strategy, then you know you’ve done everything you could.

Personally, I would always choose to do business with companies that have GREAT customer service over another.  People tend to go where they’re comfortable and treated well.

Wolgast Restoration and Wolgast Corporation can give you the best customer service.  Not only do we have well trained personnel, outstanding quality of service and a great safety record, we care!

 

If you’ve been unfortunate to witness what a tornado can do to a school, you know it’s the most awful thing in the world.  As a parent, sibling, aunt, uncle or grandparent you assume that your loved one is safe each day they’re at school.  Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that when bad weather hits it will pass over a school with no damage.  We’re coming into the stormy season:  Is your District prepared?

We’re pretty lucky in Michigan since we don’t need much concern for hurricanes and major flooding.  Of course, floods do happen, but not as much as a chance for straight line winds or tornadoes in Michigan.  In fact, the average number of Tornado’s touching down in Michigan is 15-21 per year.  That number was down in 2012, but history shows there really isn’t a predictor out there to say if 2013 will have more or less activity.  Michigan’s tornado season starts in April and runs through August (but has seen tornados outside these months).  Our peak season is May, June and July, thankfully, when classes aren’t typically in session.

Do you know what would be the first thing you would or should do, once the children and staff are safe and sheltered?  Facing any damage to your buildings would be easier and on target if you teamed with a professional and experienced restoration company like Wolgast Restoration.  By developing a relationship and strategy before you have an emergency would ensure the most effective, strategic, efficient way to make the decisions your District will face. 

Once you develop a Disaster Response Plan, which Wolgast Restoration can assist you with, it must be in place and managed at all times.  Some situations require immediate critical response, so having these documents ready is important for cost containment and proposed techniques in advance of implementation.  Time is always critical when a disaster strikes and having an agreed-upon course of action will alleviate potential problems.  Resources could already be in place to meet most of the demands of the situation, such as; knowledge and contact information of officials (fire marshal, school board, local building inspectors, etc.). 

Wolgast Restoration is familiar with how schools operate and insurance claims, and would work well with your insurance adjuster.  With the team formed (Wolgast Restoration, Superintendent, the District’s facilities and operations staff, local government officials, school board members, etc.), the level of communication established and all detailed documents in place YOU ARE NOW READY to handle a disaster should it happen. 

BE PREPARED AND LET WOLGAST RESTORATION HELP YOU.

Making sure you and your family are properly prepared for a natural disaster, such as severe weather, lightening storm, flood, or a fire in your home, is a great way to assure that you’re able to “weather the storm” and safely evacuate your home.  FEMA has a website designed to assist you in preparing a Family Emergency Plan:  www.disasterassistance.gov, which guides you and your family to safely and quickly evacuate your home in an emergency.

The first step is to put together an escape route (www.ready.gov/make-a-plan) from your home and make sure to practice this frequently so everyone is familiar with it.  Create a floor plan of your home, making sure to show escape routes from each room; and keep a copy of this floor plan in each room at your children’s eye level.  If you have upper floors, make sure each room has an escape ladder and everyone knows how to use it.   

The second step is to plan where you and your family will meet after evacuating your home.  Part of preparing the Family Emergency Plan is to decide on a location BEFORE disaster strikes.  You may want to discuss having an alternate meeting location if the first location is not available. 

The third step is:  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.  Practicing your escape plan is vital to making sure that everyone does indeed get out of the home safely and quickly.  It’s recommended that you should practice once per month so everyone is familiar with the plan and knows exactly what they need to do and how to do it.

The fourth step in to prepare an Emergency Kit of supplies and decide where you’re going to keep it.  Having more than one kit and keeping them in different locations will also help if you’re unable to reach one of them.  You’ll also need to decide what to put in your Emergency Kits.  You’ll want to anticipate what you may need for different situations and pack the kit accordingly.  In addition to the more common items, such as flashlights, food, water, blankets, clothing, games/books, you may want to consider the following items to add in case of a longer stay away from your home:

• Moist towelettes
• garbage bags
• can openers for canned foods
• whistle to signal for help
• battery-powered radio
• tools
• prescription medications & eye wear
• infant food
• diapers
• pet food
• money
• paper plates
• napkins & silverware
• sleeping bags
• heavy coats

Preparing for emergencies and disasters BEFORE they happen will likely help your family to stay calmer during a hectic time.  Just keep in mind that you MUST practice with your family once you have your Family Emergency Plan created.  Disasters could happen at any time.  Being prepared is the best way to ensure your family’s safety when it does.

 

At Wolgast Restoration, when mayhem strikes, we strike back!