BUILDER/BUSINESS OF THE MONTH - MAY 2011

Greg Onasch
Restorations, Inc.
Insurance Repair Specialists

Have you ever wondered who takes care of all the flooded basements, burned out homes and other equally horrible problems that occur on a regular basis in our area? Well, read on and you’ll find out who tackles a large majority of these disasters…

Question: What does being an “insurance repair specialist” mean…what does Restorations, Inc. do?

Greg: We get assignments directly from insurance companies or from the people themselves who have had damage done to their property. We will send someone out to assess the damages then prepare an estimate to send to the insurance company. They, in turn, will either approve it or send an adjustor to look it over. Once we have an agreed upon price and the project is completed, we will get what is called a “satisfaction certificate”; we’ll receive payment from the insurance company and the home or business owner will have their property back again.

Q: How do companies, like Rivershores, get involved in this type of work?

Greg: We are a general contractor so we are able to go through the project, figure out what needs to be done and then call in the different experts that we have contracted with to fix the things they specialize in. For instance, if there’s hardwood floor damage, we always call Rivershores because we know they will do a great job and, because of their dustless sanding system, they don’t leave a mess. We have our own cleaning service who will come in and clean up right away before we start fixing the damage, but we don’t want the extra cost to bring them back again because of a bunch of dust left by a sander, so we appreciate Rivershores leaving their work area nice and clean.

Q: What kinds of damage do you deal with?

Greg: Pretty much everything: wind, hail, water, fire, ice, vehicle…anything. We will actually pack up furniture, appliances and all the household goods that get damaged in fires, floods and so on, take them back to our offices where they are dried out, cleaned up and restored. We then return everything to the home or business once the damage there is repaired. If the goods are not salvageable, we let the owner know and will dispose of them if that’s what they want.

Q: So the insurance companies contact you directly in most cases?

Greg: We are the “preferred contractors” for many insurance companies…it’s called a direct repair program; we participate with most of the big insurance firms around: State Farm, Citizens, The Hartford, Safeco, Nationwide, etc. To be a preferred contractor entails some extremely stringent requirements…you need to be in business for a certain number of years, they look over your financials, we have to have background checks on all our employees. We also have to be certified in mold, lead, water and restoration to be considered.

Q: How many years has Restorations been in business?

Greg: We’ve been in business over 40 years; we’re a second-generation business. A couple, the Newbergs, started it in 1968 and now their daughter, Elizabeth Holmes, is the company president. We have been a highly rated business in this area…two years in a row we were runners up for Best Small Business of the Year. And, nationally, we are in the top 100 out of over 2200 direct repair contractors.

Q: The work you do sounds like the old adage, “It’s a dirty job but somebody has to do it” type of situation.

Greg: Yes, it is a multi-million dollar industry. There are a lot of companies that do this kind of work. And, it can be extremely dirty, especially when we deal with sewage overflow in basements and such. It’s a heart-breaking tragedy many times when someone loses everything to a flood or a fire. We do our best to go in and salvage as much personal property as possible; we’ve even been able to save precious family photos and heirlooms at times. People are extremely surprised and grateful for what we’re able to do for them and also extremely happy they’ve kept up on their homeowner’s insurance!

Another thing about this job is that it’s always varied. One day we could be in a multi-million dollar house that’s had water damage from a broken water main and the next in a pole-barn filled with equipment that caught on fire. It’s extremely varied…never boring! The people who work for us love the challenge of doing something different every day. We have crews that specialize in different things. For instance, yesterday we had a call where a tree fell down across the driveway trapping a homeowner’s vehicle and crushing his fence. We’ve already been there, taken pictures and have sent a quote to the insurance company. We’re cutting up the tree, repairing the fence, and, because the car was insured, that will be fixed also. In a day, the property will be minus a tree but it won’t look like anything bad happened there.

Q: Speaking of your employees, how many do you have?

Greg: That depends…usually about 20 on average, but being a contractor, we do have subs we use, too. We have carpenters, our own cleaning crew and others experienced in many trades. Even the subs we work with have to be background checked before we will use them to preserve our “preferred contractor” status. We take that very seriously and are very careful who we use. We have been around the longest of any direct repair service contractor in this area, and we want to continue being the one people trust the most. We can do anything and everything needed…we may not do it ourselves in house but will handle anything that needs cleaning or restoring. We use professional cleaning services for electronics that are damaged by water, for photos with smoke or water damage…if it’s repairable, we’ll do it ourselves or find someone who can. The average person wouldn’t know who to call to get some things restored so we are able to handle all that for them. We relieve a lot of the stress for someone who’s had their home damaged or destroyed.

Q: What’s the worst job you’ve had to handle?

Greg: A few years back, a sewer line broke in Walker. I had the first three houses next to where the line broke and the sewage had backed up into those basements. That is about as bad as it gets! What a mess! We got our trucks backed in close and pumped that stuff right out of there, followed by a good cleaning, etc. But it was a dirty job! Luckily, that doesn’t happen very often. Now, water in the basement happens a lot! Especially, of course, with the spring thaw. This year, we experienced a lot of ice damage to roofs because it was such a cold winter. Then we deal, not only with the roof, but ceiling tiles, dry wall and flooring, etc.

Q: Is there any job you won’t take?

Greg: I don’t recall any job we didn’t consider…it seems like anything can have some restoration. For instance, I got a call from a business in Holland not so long ago. The building was 70 x 60 foot with a 25-foot ceiling and it was full of equipment. A truck inside had caught on fire and everything was heavily smoke damaged…the place was black with smoke! Also, because of the fire, there was no water or heat and it was winter. So we had to use a million and a half BTU heater, bring water in, steam clean everything and we were able to complete that very challenging job in three months…the time frame we had promised.

Q: That sounds incredibly difficult! Any other jobs lately that were unusually tough?

Greg: We recently rebuilt a burned out home in Ada that was in the flood zone and, because of newer flood zone rules, we now had to build it one foot above the 100-year flood plane. Parts of it are 15 feet in the air! We built it on a platform over 7 cement pylons that we had drilled down 47 feet deep. We just finished that one…it took a long time to get all the permits since the codes have changed so much since it was originally built, but once the platform was created, the house was done in three months.

As far as challenging, I would say it becomes quite difficult if a storm hits and there’s a lot of damage in many locations. Then our staff gets stretched and we need to call in the troops for many different jobs. Some months of the year can get quite hectic, also. In the winter, we have more fire damage because of faulty heaters and such. In the spring, of course, we’re dealing with more ice and water damage.

Q: Why would someone choose Restorations, Inc. to build his or her home over another builder?

Greg: Besides the fact that we are a licensed builder, we are building a lot of homes, probably more than many builders because new construction is slow right now. And, we specialize in insurance repair, so that home, for instance, burned down and insurance will pay to have it rebuilt…we are their preferred contractor. That’s how this works.

Q: So as it pertains to Rivershores, do you buy the hardwood from them and install the floors, or do they come in and do the installation?

Greg: Here’s how it usually goes: A dishwasher leaks and the flooring around it gets wet and buckles. Rivershores will come in and replace the flooring. But the flooring will often be hard to match, due to the natural aging of the wood, so they will refinish the whole floor to make it all match. We will work with them by moving all the appliances and furniture and making the repairs on other things that may have been damaged such as the basement ceiling if the water has seeped through. When Rivershores is finished, we would come in and paint the baseboards and shoe, repair any drywall, and other repairs needed due to the water damage. We’ve worked with Joel, at Rivershores, for quite a few years now…we know and trust them.

Q: What if something happens at night? Can people get a hold of you after hours?

Greg: Fires, floods and other disasters don’t keep to any timeline so neither do we. You can call our service line any time, day or night, and we will have a crew out to assess your emergency. If you need your windows boarded up, we’ll do that. If you have a flood in your basement, we’ll come with our “pumper” truck. Keep us in mind…we will do pretty much anything to save or restore your property and belongings.

Greg Onasch, Restorations, Inc.
Interior (Before)

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Greg Onasch, Restorations, Inc.
Interior (After)

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