Water damage. Fire. Smoke. Mold. Storms. Floods. Sewage. Reconstruction. All of it.
If something’s damaged your property right now, stop reading and call 303-816-0068. We’re here. Always. 2 AM, holidays, doesn’t matter.
Your insurance company requires immediate action. Not tomorrow. Not when it’s convenient. Now. I’ve watched too many claims get denied because homeowners waited. “Just a small leak” turns into $40,000 of damage by next week.
I’ve been doing this since the early ’90s. Started with one truck and a will to succeed. Now American Restorations handles everything from a burst pipe in someone’s Lakewood condo to complete rebuilds after those devastating mountain fires you see on the news.
Water Damage (The Sneaky Destroyer)
Water hides. That’s the thing. Fire announces itself—flames, smoke, sirens. Water? Water gets behind your walls, under your floors, up in the attic where nobody’s been since you bought the place 10 years ago. And it just sits there. Growing mold. Rotting wood. Destroying everything quietly.
A common thing seen in the industry is a homeowner notices a water stain on their ceiling. Small one. “I’ll call someone next week.” They don’t. By the time they call, the insulation up there is basically a soggy sponge, drywall falling apart, mold growing everywhere. What should’ve been a $3,000 fix turns into $18,000+.
Here’s what we do: Show up as fast as possible. Extract the water using equipment that can pull thousands of gallons out of carpet, padding, subfloor. Then we dry everything. And I mean everything. Commercial dehumidifiers running 24/7, air movers that sound like a jet engine’s parked in your living room. (Sorry about the noise, but there’s no quiet way to do this right. It sucks, but it’s what has to happen.)
The Reality of Water Damage. Water damage accelerates exponentially, not linearly. In typical Colorado basement conditions, moisture levels can increase 40% in just six hours. That’s measured data, not guesswork.
Mold spores start germinating within 24-48 hours when conditions are right. Temperature above 40°F, humidity above 60%, and an organic food source—drywall, wood, insulation—that’s all mold needs. Remove one of those three factors and you stop the growth.
Wood swells when it absorbs moisture. That swelling creates permanent dimensional changes in structural members. Laminated flooring delaminates. Hardwood cups and crowns. Engineered wood products lose their structural integrity. The longer water sits, the more materials cross from “salvageable” to “must be replaced.”
Water comes from everywhere. Burst pipes when it hits single digits in Conifer. Water heaters that decide 20 years is enough. Washing machine hoses that just split for no reason. Dishwashers leaking slowly for months before you notice the floor’s squishy. Ice makers in fridges cause more damage than they’re worth.
[Learn more about our water damage restoration services →]
What can happen is neighbors go out of state for winter vacation and a pipe bursts while they’re gone. Water runs for days before anyone notices. By the time we arrive the damage is extensive. But proper professional restoration saves structures that seem hopeless. Takes time, but buildings can be saved.
Fire & Smoke (The Aftermath Nobody Expects)
Fires are traumatic, obviously. But what surprises everyone—and I mean everyone—is the smoke damage in rooms where there wasn’t even fire. Smoke travels. Gets into closets three bedrooms away. Inside your HVAC system where it just circulates throughout the house for days. Into every piece of fabric, furniture, clothing.
Then remember all that water the fire department used to put out the fire. You have a lot of water damage as well. Back to previous section on water damage. Then add in the environment. Whatever the weather outside is, it’s likely going to be the same in your house. This is where we work to prevent further damage by securing the building.
Understanding Soot Chemistry
Soot is acidic. The combustion of organic materials creates acidic particulates that etch into surfaces. Glass, metal, painted walls—soot sitting on these surfaces chemically bonds. Within hours, this etching becomes permanent. Within days, it’s irreversible.
Different materials require different cleaning approaches. You can’t clean soot off wood the same way you clean it off metal. Porous surfaces absorb soot particles deep into their structure. Non-porous surfaces hold soot on the surface but allow chemical etching underneath.
The right way to handle fire damage restoration requires methodical attention to every surface. Rush the soot cleaning and you’ll set that damage permanently into the material. Take the time to use proper techniques for each surface type, and you can restore what looks unsalvageable.
We handle debris removal (carefully, because you’d be surprised what can be saved). Soot cleaning using material-appropriate methods. Smoke odor elimination using ozone generators and thermal foggers that neutralize smell at a molecular level. Not covering it up. Actually eliminating it.
What I’ve seen happen is a relatively small kitchen fire where the smoke went through the HVAC system and filled an entire 3,000 square foot house. Homeowner thought airing it out and repainting would work. It didn’t. Because smoke embeds into porous surfaces—drywall, insulation, carpet backing, the wood framing itself.
[Learn more about fire and smoke damage restoration →]
After a fire you’re dealing with insurance adjusters, temporary housing, figuring out what’s salvageable and what’s lost forever. The emotional toll is enormous. Our job is taking the restoration part off your plate so you can focus on everything else.
Mold Remediation (Because Nobody Wants This)
Black mold, Green mold, White mold, Pink Mold. People see any mold and panic.
They should. Not all mold is equally dangerous but none of it belongs in your house. And that “spray bleach on it” advice you find online? That’s like using a bandaid on a bullet wound. Doesn’t work. It makes it worse actually because you’re adding more moisture. Bleach bleaches mold clear, it doesn’t kill it.
Why Mold Grows in Colorado
Colorado is usually pretty dry, however, under wet carpets and inside wet walls or in a wet basement it’s now 100% humidity. And if it’s over 40° in your house, that’s the perfect environment to grow mold.
Mold needs three things: moisture, an organic food source (drywall, wood, insulation), and time. Give it 24-48 hours after water damage and you’ve got growth starting. Remove any one of these three requirements and mold can’t establish itself.
Temperature swings between day and night in the mountains create condensation cycles. High elevation means different moisture dynamics than what you’d see in other parts of the country.
We find mold. The visible stuff and the hidden stuff. Thermal imaging cameras show cold spots where moisture’s hiding behind walls—temperature differentials reveal moisture problems invisible to the naked eye. Then containment because mold spores spread like glitter at a kid’s birthday party. Gets everywhere if you’re not careful.
HEPA air filtration running constantly during remediation. These filters capture 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns or larger—that’s smaller than most mold spores. Complete removal of contaminated materials, not cleaning them. Cut them out, bag them, dispose of them properly. Antimicrobial treatment of remaining surfaces.Find and Fix the Source
The most critical step isn’t removing the mold. It’s fixing whatever moisture problem caused the mold in the first place. A tiny roof leak, condensation from poor ventilation, a slow plumbing leak inside a wall—find it and fix it, or the mold returns. Every single time.
[Learn more about our mold remediation services →]
Can’t tell you how many times someone calls saying “I have a little mold in my bathroom.” We get there and find it throughout the walls, in the attic, inside the HVAC ducts. It’s never just “a little mold.”
If you even suspect mold, call us at 303-816-0068. Testing’s relatively cheap. Ignoring it until it’s a massive problem? That’s expensive.
Storm Damage (Colorado Weather Wants to Kill Your Home)
Living in Colorado means your property is constantly under attack from weather. Hailstorms that punch actual holes in roofs. Winds that rip off shingles like they’re post-it notes. Snow loads that cause structural failures. Ice dams backing water up under roofing. Those temperature swings—40 degrees one day, blizzard the next—that stress buildings in ways they weren’t designed to handle.
Emergency Response Priorities
First priority after storm damage: secure the building. Board up broken windows. Tarp damaged roof sections. Prevent additional water intrusion. This isn’t cosmetic—your insurance policy requires you to prevent further damage. Documentation of emergency measures protects your claim.
We repair everything. Roof damage obviously. Broken windows. Structural damage from fallen trees. Water intrusion after storms compromise your building. Wind damage to siding, gutters, basically anything not properly fastened.
Storm damage is usually multiple problems happening simultaneously. Hail breaks windows AND damages your roof, so now rain’s pouring into your attic. Wind tears off part of your roof, exposing insulation that’s soaking up moisture like a sponge. Tree falls through your house into interior rooms. We handle all of it because disasters don’t come one problem at a time.
[Learn more about storm damage repair →]
That 2013 flood changed everything for restoration work in Colorado. We worked 20-hour days for weeks. What I’ve seen is homes that looked completely destroyed turn out to be salvageable with fast response. Also saw situations where people waited three days trying to handle it themselves first, and homes that could’ve been saved weren’t.
Flood Cleanup (This Is Dangerous)
Floodwater isn’t water. It’s bacteria, sewage, chemicals from roads and yards, oil, gasoline, pesticides, animal waste, and pathogens you don’t even want to think about. This will make you sick. This is not—absolutely not—a DIY situation.
Water Damage Categories
Category 1: Clean water from a sanitary source. Burst pipes, supply lines. Still requires professional drying, but the water itself isn’t contaminated.
Category 2: Gray water containing some contamination. Washing machine overflow, dishwasher leaks, toilet overflow without feces. Contains bacteria and microorganisms.
Category 3: Black water that’s grossly contaminated. Sewage, flooding, seawater, rising water from rivers or streams. Contains harmful bacteria, fungi, viruses, and toxic organic substances.
Every flood is Category 3. Every single one.
We treat floods as biohazard situations because that’s what they are. Full protective gear—respirators, waterproof suits, gloves, boots. Hospital-grade disinfectants. Complete removal of anything porous that absorbed floodwater. Extensive air quality restoration because floodwater brings in particles and pathogens that linger even after water’s gone.
[Learn more about flood cleanup services →]
Don’t walk through floodwater without proper protection. Don’t try cleaning it yourself. Don’t assume drying things out makes them safe. Just call us at 303-816-0068 right away.
Sewage Backups (Just Call Us)
Sewage is disgusting and dangerous in equal measures.
Contains bacteria, viruses, parasites that cause serious illness. People call asking “can I clean up this small sewage backup myself?” Answer is always no. Health risks too high. Even small backups contain pathogens regular cleaning products don’t touch.
Proper Sewage Remediation Protocol
The crew wears full protective gear—respirators rated for biological hazards, waterproof suits, multiple layers of gloves, boots that get disposed of after the job. We remove contaminated water immediately using equipment dedicated solely to sewage work. Dispose of materials that can’t be saved—and that’s most porous materials that contacted sewage.
Disinfection isn’t just spraying something and wiping it down. It’s applying EPA-registered antimicrobial solutions at proper concentrations, maintaining required contact time, ensuring complete coverage of all affected surfaces. Then we verify with ATP testing that bacterial counts are back to safe levels.
Some stuff just can’t be saved after sewage exposure. Carpet? Gone. Soaked drywall? Cut it out. Anything porous? Out. Not worth health risk.
[Learn more about sewage backup cleanup →]
It’s expensive. It’s invasive. But getting sick from sewage exposure is worse and more expensive long-term.
Reconstruction (We Rebuild)
Sometimes restoration means rebuilding from scratch.
The Restoration-to-Reconstruction Transition
There’s a point in every severe damage situation where restoration crosses into reconstruction. That transition requires different skills, different equipment, different expertise. We handle both because we’re restoration specialists who also do reconstruction, not general contractors dabbling in restoration.
We understand how buildings fail during disasters. Water doesn’t just damage drywall—it compromises structural members, electrical systems, plumbing. Fire doesn’t just burn surfaces—it weakens structural integrity, damages mechanical systems. We know what needs replacement versus what’s salvageable. We know how to work with insurance companies getting claims approved, which is half the battle.
Complete rebuilds when necessary. New framing, drywall, flooring, everything. We work with architects and engineers on complex projects. Handle permits, inspections. Coordinate electricians, plumbers.
A typical thing that happens is water damage destroys a kitchen and family room. We extract water, dry structure thoroughly, remove damaged materials, rebuild. New drywall, flooring, maybe cabinets if yours can’t be saved. We coordinate all trades. Handle building department. Daily progress updates.
[Learn more about reconstruction services →]
Reconstruction takes time. But we push projects through as fast as safely possible because you want your life back.
Homes and Businesses (We Do Both)
Residential: Single-family, townhouses, condos, apartments. If you live there, we restore it.
You’re living in middle of disaster. Kids, pets, daily life still happening. Emotionally attached to belongings. We respect that. Professional crews, containment barriers, protect areas we’re not working in, communicate daily.
Mountain homes are tricky—log construction needs different treatment than standard framing. High elevation means extreme weather. Vacation homes sit empty where damage goes unnoticed for weeks. We’ve worked in Conifer, Evergreen, Bailey, Pine, and throughout the mountains for decades. We know these buildings.
Commercial: Offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses, medical facilities, schools, churches, multi-family.
Business interruption costs money every day. We get urgency. Work nights and weekends minimizing disruption. Isolate affected areas so parts of business stay open. Coordinate with your operations because getting you back serving customers is priority.
Commercial documentation is complex. Detailed reports, photos, moisture readings, work logs. We communicate directly with insurance adjusters. We understand commercial building codes, OSHA requirements.
Why You Should Call Right Now
Calls are Free, Delays are expensive.
Speed saves money. Expertise saves headaches. Trust saves stress.
Speed: Water damage worsens every hour. Mold grows within 24-48 hours. Fire residue harder to clean longer it sits. Storm damage exposes property to more weather, theft. Faster we start, more we save.
Expertise: Thirty years. IICRC Master Certifications—fewer than 4% of restoration professionals achieve Master level. We hold three. We know what works, what doesn’t. Won’t waste time or money on ineffective methods.
Trust: You’re dealing with disaster already. Need company that shows up when promised, does what they say, communicates honestly. We treat your property like our own because reputation depends on every job.
Insurance policy requires fast action preventing further damage. Legal speak for “act immediately.” Wait and damage worsens? Insurance companies look for reasons denying claims. Calling us immediately protects property and coverage.
Where We Work
We’re based in Pine, Colorado, which puts us right in the heart of the mountain communities we serve. We respond as fast as possible to Lakewood, Pine, Conifer, Evergreen, Bailey, Morrison, Golden, and mountain areas throughout Jefferson and Park Counties. We’ll go as far as Littleton when needed.
We know Colorado weather intimately. We know Colorado building methods. We know Colorado building codes. Mountain construction is different, and we’ve been working in these communities for decades.
We also work nationwide for commercial clients and insurance companies. Multiple properties in different states? We coordinate restoration across locations.
Do This Now
Damage happening now? Stop reading, call: 303-816-0068.
Researching future reference? Save our number now. Disasters don’t happen during business hours. They happen at 2 AM Sunday, during holidays, when you’re out of town. Having our number ready means acting fast when seconds count.
We answer 24/7/365. Real person answers, not voicemail. Quick questions about situation, send crew as fast as possible if needed.
Don’t wait. Don’t try cleaning yourself first. Don’t assume not bad enough for professionals. Just call. Assessment free. We’ll give honest advice even if that means telling you don’t need us yet.
People who call immediately almost always have better outcomes than people who wait. That’s thirty years of experience talking.
Emergency Contact:303-816-0068 — American Restoration — Here 24/7
