Is this restoration quote fair?
You can judge a restoration estimate without knowing the trade. A sound one counts things: square feet of wet floor, dehumidifiers and air movers, drying days, sheets of drywall coming out. A loose one says "water mitigation" and a number. Fixr's national span for an ordinary water job is $1,200 to $5,000, which gives you a rough frame for what you are holding.
On this page
Read the scope before the total
Lay the estimate next to the moisture map (the sketch with readings marked on it) and go line by line.
- Area. If a dishwasher leaked into a galley kitchen and the estimate bills 900 square feet, ask which rooms the readings show as wet.
- Machines times days. Each dehumidifier and air mover is usually a daily charge. The count should fit the size of the wet area, and the end date should come from readings, which you get to see.
- Water category. Fixr gives $3.75 to $4.25 per square foot for clean water, $4.10 to $6.50 for gray and $7 to $7.50 for black. A burst supply line billed at the black rate needs an explanation, such as days of sitting or a run through the crawl space.
- Tear-out. Each item removed (baseboard, drywall to two feet, vanity, carpet pad) should have a reason it couldn't be dried where it is.
- Rebuild. Find out whether putting it back is in this estimate, priced separately, or left for another contractor.
Line items that tend to grow
- Antimicrobial spray on rooms the moisture map shows as dry.
- Dehumidifiers still on the bill several days after the last wet reading.
- A contents pack-out for a small clean-water leak in one room.
- Mold containment on a leak someone caught the same morning.
- Daily "monitoring" charges with no daily readings attached.
Every one of these has a legitimate use. On your job, ask to see the reading or photo that justified it.
The paperwork
The first form a crew hands you is usually a work authorization, and a plain one just lets them start. Some versions add an assignment of benefits, or a direction for your insurer to pay the company. Those can move you out of the middle of your own claim. Ask the person holding the clipboard to show you exactly which paragraph covers payment. Reading two pages takes five minutes, and the dehumidifiers can run while you do it.
After a Nooksack flood or a windstorm, some contractors go door to door. If you sign at home with one of them, the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule generally lets you cancel a sale of $25 or more within three days. Look the company up on the Washington L&I contractor registry before any money changes hands.
- The scope and price on paper before any work. It should list what comes out, what stays to be dried or cleaned, and the expected number of days.
- Meter readings and photos on day one and the last day. That record is what shows an adjuster the house actually got dry.
- Time to read before signing. Any form, and especially one that mentions your insurance, can wait while you read it.
- An active Washington L&I contractor registration. L&I's lookup page lets you confirm it from your phone.
A second set of eyes
Once the emergency drying is done, getting a second estimate on the rebuild is ordinary practice, and no reasonable company is offended by it. Send us the first scope with your ZIP, and another local company can price the same list of work.
Questions Whatcom County homeowners ask
Should I pay a deposit for restoration work?
Emergency drying is often billed after the fact, or to your insurer if you authorize it. Rebuild contracts commonly ask for a deposit. The FTC's home improvement scam guidance treats a big cash payment up front as a warning sign, particularly from a company that knocked on your door.
Can my insurer make me use its restoration company?
In most cases, no; the choice of restoration company is usually yours. Get your insurer's position in writing if you pick a company outside its network. Read the company's forms closely too, especially anything assigning benefits or routing payment to them.
Who decides when the drying is done?
The meter, not the calendar. Get the first-day readings, each day's readings, and the dry target, which is usually a reading from the same material in an unaffected room. Once the wet areas match it, the equipment can leave.