Yes. Every restoration project starts with a Free on-site assessment and estimate.
For emergencies, we assess the damage when we arrive and give you a plan and general cost estimate before work begins. For insurance claims, we work directly with your adjuster to develop the estimate so you’re not stuck in the middle trying to translate between a restoration contractor and an insurance company.
Call 303-816-0068 right now if your property has been damaged. The assessment is free. Getting there fast stops damage from getting worse, which keeps costs lower for you and your insurance company.
Your insurance policy requires you to take immediate action to prevent further damage. Waiting to call because you’re not sure what something will cost works against your claim. We come out, assess what’s there, and give you honest numbers before any work starts.
I’ve been doing this for over 30 years. The estimate conversation is one of the most important ones we have with a customer. Getting it right from the start prevents problems throughout the entire job.
What Happens During the Free Assessment
We come to your property and look at everything — not just the obvious damage.
Water damage visible on a ceiling often means there’s more water you can’t see yet. Fire damage in one room means smoke traveled through the structure in ways that aren’t immediately obvious. What I’ve seen happen is a homeowner look at a damaged area and estimate the repair in their head based on what’s visible, then be surprised when the actual scope is significantly larger. The assessment is how we find what’s actually there, not just what’s apparent at first glance.
We use moisture meters, thermal imaging cameras, and other detection equipment during the assessment. These tools find water inside walls, under floors, and in ceiling cavities that visual inspection alone would miss. Finding hidden moisture during the assessment means it goes into the estimate and gets addressed during the job. Hidden moisture discovered mid-job means scope changes, additional cost, and delays. Early detection prevents all of that.
The assessment also establishes a baseline record of pre-existing conditions. Damage that was present before your loss needs to be documented separately from loss-related damage. This protects you in two directions — your claim covers what the loss caused, and pre-existing conditions don’t get misattributed to your loss event. That documentation starts at the free assessment.
What the Estimate Includes
After the assessment, you get a written estimate that breaks down what needs to be done and what it costs.
The estimate covers scope of work by phase — mitigation, remediation, reconstruction — so you can see what each component involves. It includes materials, labor, and equipment. For jobs involving multiple trades or extended timelines, the estimate reflects the full scope rather than just the first phase of work.
A common thing seen in the industry is contractors providing a low initial number to get the job, then adding costs throughout the project as scope inevitably expands. That’s not how we operate. Our assessment is thorough specifically so the estimate reflects the actual job. Surprises still happen — restoration work opens walls and floors and sometimes finds conditions nobody expected — but our estimates start from a complete picture of what’s visible and detectable, not a best-case scenario designed to look competitive.
If the assessment turns up findings that expand scope beyond the initial estimate, we tell you immediately, explain what was found, and get written authorization before proceeding with additional work. You’re never handed a bill for work you didn’t approve.
Working with Insurance on Estimates
For insurance claims, the estimate process involves your adjuster, and we handle that coordination directly.
Insurance adjusters work from estimates that follow specific formats and line-item structures. Most restoration contractors use Xactimate, which is the industry-standard estimating platform that insurance companies recognize and adjusters are trained to work with. Our estimates are built in formats adjusters expect, which reduces friction and back-and-forth during the claim process.
What can happen when a contractor isn’t experienced with insurance work is an estimate that covers the actual scope of the job but isn’t formatted or documented in a way the adjuster can process efficiently. That creates delays, supplement requests, and disputes over line items that slow your claim and your project. We’ve worked with insurance adjusters long enough to know what they need and how to give it to them.
We communicate directly with your adjuster when questions come up about scope or pricing. You don’t have to be the go-between. If the adjuster needs documentation of findings, we provide it. If there’s a dispute about scope — the adjuster thinks less needs to be done than our assessment shows — we advocate for what the damage actually requires based on our findings and IICRC standards. Your home or business gets properly restored, not just adequately patched to whatever number the adjuster initially approved.
Emergency Assessment vs. Standard Estimate
Emergency response and planned restoration have different assessment timelines.
When water is actively flooding your basement or fire damage has left your property exposed, the assessment happens fast. We identify the immediate threat, develop a mitigation plan, give you a general cost range, and start work. The priority in those first hours is stopping active damage. A detailed line-item estimate for reconstruction can wait until mitigation is underway and the full scope of damage is better defined.
For non-emergency situations — a slow leak discovered during renovation, mold found during a home inspection, storm damage assessed after the storm has passed — the assessment is more deliberate. We schedule a time, conduct a thorough inspection, and produce a detailed written estimate before any work is discussed.
Both approaches start with the same thing: we come out, we look at what’s there, and the assessment is free.
Estimates Are Not Commitments to Hire Us
Getting a free estimate doesn’t obligate you to use us.
We provide the assessment and estimate because we want you to make an informed decision. Some customers get estimates from multiple restoration companies before choosing. That’s reasonable, and we’d rather compete on the quality and thoroughness of our estimate than pressure you into a fast decision.
Things that can happen are companies using the urgency of an emergency situation to push customers into signing contracts before they’ve had a chance to think. Emergency situations do require fast decisions about mitigation — water damage gets significantly worse by the hour — but you can authorize emergency mitigation while still taking time to evaluate reconstruction options. We’ll explain clearly what needs to happen immediately, what can wait, and what your options are at each stage.
If you get estimates from multiple companies and have questions about how ours compares, call us. We’ll walk through our numbers and explain our scope. A contractor confident in their estimate welcomes that conversation.
What Affects Restoration Costs
Estimates vary because restoration situations vary. A few factors drive most of the range in what jobs cost.
Extent of damage is the primary driver. A small contained water loss costs less than a loss that saturated multiple rooms, floors, and wall cavities. Fire damage confined to a kitchen costs less than smoke damage that traveled through the entire home. The assessment identifies the actual extent so the estimate reflects reality.
Category of damage affects both scope and cost. Category 1 clean water loss — a supply line break — involves drying and repair. Category 3 sewage or flood water involves contamination protocols, additional PPE, specialized disposal of affected materials, and antimicrobial treatment. The contamination category changes the work required and the cost.
Materials and finishes in the affected areas matter for reconstruction. Restoring custom tile work costs more than replacing standard tile. Matching existing hardwood costs more than installing new laminate. We assess what’s there and what’s needed to restore it properly.
Timeline and access affect costs on commercial jobs in particular. After-hours work, expedited timelines, and difficult access situations add cost. We’re clear about those factors in the estimate so you can make decisions with complete information.
Getting Your Estimate Started
Call 303-816-0068 to schedule your free assessment. We’ll ask some initial questions about what you’re dealing with, determine whether the situation requires emergency response or a scheduled inspection, and get someone out to your property.
Bring any documentation you have — insurance policy information, photos you took when you first discovered the damage, any previous inspection reports for the property. That information helps the assessment go more efficiently and produces a more complete estimate.
After the assessment, we’ll review the estimate with you in detail before any decisions are made. You’ll understand what needs to be done, why, what it costs, and what the process looks like from start to finish.
The estimate is free. The information you get from it is valuable regardless of what you decide to do next.
303-816-0068 — American Restoration — Know What You’re Dealing With Before Any Work Starts
