Guides / Choosing a company

• Questions to Ask a Restoration Contractor Before You Hire

  Ask whether the quote separates mitigation from reconstruction, whether the contractor holds an active Michigan license for any rebuild work, and whether pricing and scope are provided in writing before work begins. These three questions expose most of the gaps that turn into disputes later.

• Licensed vs. Unlicensed Restoration Work in Michigan

  Michigan requires a Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor license, issued by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), for anyone who repairs, alters, adds to, or improves a residential structure for compensation. This licensing requirement, under Article 24 of the state's Occupational Code (Public Act 299 of 1980), applies to reconstruction work following restoration jobs, not necessarily to every step of a restoration project.

• Red Flags When Hiring After a Disaster

  Pressure to sign a contract immediately, a request for full payment upfront, and an inability or refusal to provide a verifiable Michigan license number are the three clearest warning signs when hiring a restoration contractor after a storm, fire, or water event. Disasters create urgency, and urgency is exactly what a bad actor relies on.

• IICRC Certification: What It Means and Doesn't Mean

  IICRC certification indicates that a technician or firm has been trained on the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification's standards for their category of work, such as the ANSI/IICRC S500 standard for water damage restoration. It does not verify state contractor licensing, insurance coverage, business practices, or pricing, which are separate things you still need to check yourself.

• How Restoration Companies Get Paid by Insurance (and Why It Matters to You)

  Restoration companies are typically paid either directly by your insurer through an assignment of benefits, or by you after you've been reimbursed by your insurer, and the payment structure you agree to affects your leverage if a dispute comes up. Understanding which model you're in before work starts avoids confusion about who owes what to whom.

• How to Choose a Restoration Company for a Sink Leak

  Ask a sink-leak restoration company whether it tests the cabinet floor and the floor below for moisture before quoting, whether it names the water category it found, and whether the written estimate lists the cabinet, the subfloor, and any ceiling below as separate line items. A company that skips straight to a flat price without those readings is guessing at your scope.

• Choosing a Restoration Company for a Tub or Pan Leak

  A bathtub overflow and a shower pan leak end up in the same place, a wet floor assembly and often a stained ceiling below, but they need different proof for your insurer and different questions on the hiring call. Ask which one the company thinks you have before you ask anything about price.

• Choosing a Restoration Company After a Sump Pump Fails

  Ask whether the company separates the pump repair from the water damage work on paper, and whether they document moisture readings for a water backup insurance claim, which runs under its own lower limit and needs different paperwork than a standard homeowners claim. A company that treats this like an ordinary flooded basement is missing the claim-side detail that decides what gets paid.

• Choosing a Restoration Company for an Upstairs Unit Leak

  A leak from the unit above you usually touches two units, two insurance policies, and sometimes an HOA master policy, so the company you hire needs to document which unit the water came from, dry both sides of the shared floor-ceiling cavity, and write an estimate that splits the work by unit and by payer, not one lump number.

• Choosing a Restoration Company for a Fridge Line Leak

  A refrigerator water line leak is almost always Category 1 clean water, but it hides behind the unit and under the floor for weeks before anyone sees it, so the company you hire needs to prove it checked past the visible wet spot before it writes a scope. Ask for moisture readings under the fridge, behind the cabinet toe kick, and on the ceiling below before you sign anything.

• How to Choose a Restoration Company for a Toilet Overflow

  Ask which water category applies before anything else: water that never touched the bowl is treated differently from water that came over the rim or backed up through the drain. A company that answers that question on the phone, in writing, before an estimate, is the one worth hiring.

• Choosing a Company for an AC or Furnace Water Leak

  Ask whether the company checks for a clogged condensate line, a failed pump, or a missing float switch before it quotes any drying work, because an AC or furnace leak is almost always clean water with a narrow, fixable cause. A company that skips straight to demolition without that check, or that cannot explain why the leak happened, is the one to skip.