Water Damage




The following below is the exact definition of the water damage restoration industry from Wikipedia. Please see my comments in blue. The comments are from Jeff Cohn with SI Restoration. Please email me at jeff.cohn@si-restoration.com with any comments


“Water damage restoration is the process of restoring a property back to pre-loss condition after sustaining any level of water damage. While there are currently no government regulations in the United States dictating procedures, two large certifying bodies, the IICRC and the RIA, do recommend standards of care. Most companies use the IICRC procedural standard, which is the S500. It is based on reliable restoration principles, research and practical experience with extensive consultation and information gathered from numerous sources. These include but are not limited to, the scientific community, the international, national and regional trade associations serving the disaster restoration industry, chemical formulators and equipment manufacturers, cleaning and restoration schools, restoration service companies, the insurance industry, allied trades persons and others with specialized experience. The S500 water damage guide is subject to further revision as developments occur in technology, testing and processing procedures.”
Jeff’s comments: In the first paragraph above Wikipedia suggests that the IICRC and the RIA are two certifying bodies that recommend standards of care. Although after 20 years in the water damage industry, I find it hard to understand how the RIA, otherwise knows as ASCR would hold up as a “ quality “ certifying body. RIA is a membership organization that serves it’s members ( sorry to say not a good one ). As a membership organization, I find it difficult to see how they could be unbiassed. To me if Wikipedia is going to offer any organization, it needs to make sure that the organization is unbiased to the public.
In the end , a certifying body should serve all parties ( contractor, customer and community ) the same equal. The IICRC on the other hand in my opinion, is an unbiased organization in reference to certifying contractors and in reference to fair practices. I understand that there are some that feel that the IICRC is bias to certain manufactures and methods, but my article is concerned with the public as a whole which I believe Wikipedia serves.

I recommend the IICRC S500 to all my customers, because the language is straightforward. Any questions on how much or what kind of equipment should be used during a water damage is clearly spelled out. This removes any suspicion ( well almost any suspicion ) when the amount of equipment is used or when certain procedures are done.
 “Loss Assessment and Evaluation
A professional water damage restoration service will document the materials which were affected by the water damage and refer to industry standard pricing guides such as The Blue Book in order to determine the proper value of the residence's materials lost and their service.
Water damage services include the inspection of the affected area(s) with water sensing equipment such as probes and other infrared tools in order to determine the source of the damage, and possible extent of area affected. Restoration services would then be rendered to the residence in order to dry the structure, sanitize any affected or cross contaminated areas, and deodorize all affected areas and materials. After the labor is completed, water damage equipment including, but not limited to, air movers, air scrubbers, dehumidifiers, wood floor drying systems, and sub floor drying equipment is left in the residence. After a period of two to three days are the labor is completed, a reevaluation of the residence is taken to monitor the drying process, and any equipment not further needed is removed as to keep the charges under control.”

Jeff’s comments on the above paragraph: The above paragraph mentions that the Blue book an estimating guide is an example of a pricing guide. Although I agree that the Blue Book is a choice, I don’t know if I would have chosen the Blue Book as a suggestion.
The Bluebook is not the major choice among pricing guides and is known to be 20% higher than their competitor Xacatamate. If I am wrong Bluebook, please let me know.

Xactamate is the most widely used pricing guide in the water damage industry. It is used by most companies and insurance companies and offers pricing that is calculated on an average national. Although I don’t believe that there should only be one source, I do believe that the pricing should be close.

I also believe that all pricing and estimating software should be similar to all software options. WIth the work load that Insurance adjusters have, uniformity is needed to keep production up and adjusters more accurate.

I do like although the Wikipedia description of the water damage industry in the last paragraph. It describes to the public in simple terms and language what happens during the water damage and drying process.
I would like to comment that moisture readings and calculations should have been more addressed in their definition.

If you have more questions on water damage and water damage restoration restoration please click on the word water damage here.