The first thing to do, after ensuring everyone’s safe, is to make sure that you have taken steps to prevent additional damage. Skyscraper has a professional relationship with Gold Star Restoration, their team can help mitigate the damages and provide an expert perspective to allow your broker to guide you in this stressful time.

You will need to contact your agent for details about your policy and coverage in order to make an educated decision before calling in a claim.

The first step is to extract all water from the affected area(s). Once all water is removed, our restorers use state-of-the-art equipment their IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification) to dry up any residual water and moisture to help combat the potential for mold growth. The timeframe for this step is never concrete, as it really depends on the extent of the water on-site.

Once the restoration process starts, Gold Star will remove, clean, and/or treat affected areas in your property. Generally, this takes two or five days, though it might take longer if there is significant damage. The second portion includes rebuilding to pre-loss conditions and fluctuates depending on the extent of the damage. We’ve performed restorations in which the second phase lasted a few days and others where it lasted for weeks, but we’ll be sure to communicate with you.

Water damage can cause all sorts of problems, such as deterioration and mold. Water can cause wood too well, rot, and sweat, as well as damage your walls and sheetrock, which can create prime conditions for mold and mildew to develop as these fungi enjoy damp, dark places. Water can also ruin furniture, carpets, and rugs incredibly easily and should be dealt with promptly. Remember that water damage can grow in severity quickly, which can cause more damage to your home. Therefore, it’s important to deal with water damage right away.

This obviously depends on the size and scope of your loss, but it can range from 10 – 20 days for small kitchen fires to 4-6 months for larger events. We ask for your patience at the beginning of the process while the loss is evaluated by various interested parties. Quite often, fire scenes are locked down by local authorities until they have completed their investigation and documentation. Your insurance company will also want to see the damage first-hand, and sometimes they have their own separate investigation to determine causation and review your policy to determine coverage. Finally, it is often required for our initial estimates to be reviewed and approved by your insurance company prior to work commencing (although we will push to get initial steps approved ASAP). Once we get the green light we will go over our work plan with you and provide you with target dates for each major step in the restoration.

Rather than simply reacting to disaster situations, most risk managers prefer taking proactive measures to establish a relationship with an experienced national restoration company. Enroll in our Emergency Response Plan, and your business or property management company receives the benefit of Gold Star’s years of experience to reduce the impact of any natural or man-made disaster. Your business receives the backing of a leader in water and fire damage response ready to get your business back in working order when disaster strikes. Using our Emergency Response Plan greatly reduces disruption to your business after any water or fire damage at your location.