Have you ever looked at a broken appliance and thought to yourself "I bet that can be fixed." If so, you need to make a call to a repairs specialist. Most things can be repaired — you just have to call the right person. There are repair professionals who focus on electronics, others who focus on home components like roofs and gutters, and still others who make repairs to home appliances, exclusively. Help is a phone call away.
Even though someone else is doing the work, however, we do think it's important for you to know a bit about repairs and restoration. That's why we're providing helpful articles on this blog. Fix it to the max — we know you can!
Have you recently experienced a fire in your home? Was the damage contained but you still need someone to fix up your home and put it back into livable condition? While this is something that nobody ever wants to have happened to them, fires are something that can occur at almost any time. As you've no doubt discovered, it only takes one small spark to start a house fire. Since you can't go back in time and prevent the fire from occurring, it's important to know what steps now need to be taken in order to move forward. A few of the most important steps include:
Contact insurance company
This should probably be the first thing you do. If you can't remember who your insurance company is right now or you've lost that information because of the fire, then your mortgage lender should have that information available. Your insurance company will send someone out to assess the fire damage and to start the ball rolling for you to get a settlement check to cover whatever was damaged or destroyed in the fire. The sooner you can get this process started, the faster that work can begin on whatever repairs are going to be needed.
Find accommodations
After a fire, it's important to stay in a hotel for at least a few days. This is something that your insurance company may partially cover. Although your home might look safe, even a relatively small fire could cause hidden damage that might compromise the structural integrity of the home. Do not return to your home until the fire department and/or another relevant authority has assessed the fire damage and given you the okay to return to your home. If you return prematurely, you could risk illness from residual smoke inhalation or inadvertently trigger a collapse. As tempting as it might be to return for some of your belongings, leave them there until you've been told that it's safe to return.
Get estimates
When it comes to fire damage, you don't necessarily have to go with the company that the insurance company recommends. Sometimes, you can get things done for less by hiring a different company or contractor entirely. In many cases, this means that if the repairs cost less than the check that the insurance company sends you, then you get to keep the excess money. While this doesn't always happen when it comes to insurance claims, it is something that more people should be aware of as a possibility.
For more information, reach out to a fire damage repair service in your area.