How to find and hire reliable contractors after property damage
New homeowners dealing with property damage often struggle to figure out who to call and whether they are expected to coordinate the repairs themselves. This uncertainty leaves them unsure of how to find trusted help or whether remediation contractors are artificially inflating charges for insurance.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Sharing coverage information with remediation contractors so they can coordinate estimates directly with the insurance adjuster.Did this help you?
- 2Calling an electrician first to assess the damage, coordinate with the utility company to cut power, and recommend a carpenter for the trim.Did this help you?
- 3Filing formal complaints with regulatory agenciesDid this help you?
- 4Filing a claim with home insurance and letting them handle pursuit and repairsDid this help you?
- 5Hiring a lawyerDid this help you?
- 6Asking online communities or forums for guidance on who to hireDid this help you?
- 7Guessing based on the location of the damageDid this help you?
- 8Getting recommendations from friends or neighborsDid this help you?
- 9Getting 3-5 local bids to compare scopes and pricingDid this help you?
- 10Verifying business registration through state department of consumer protectionDid this help you?
- 11Asking for recent references and jobs completed at least a year agoDid this help you?
- 12Hiring a forensic electrical engineer to perform failure analysis and write a reportDid this help you?
- 13Piecing the assessments out to multiple specialized vendors (e.g., electricians, HVAC companies, fire alarm companies)Did this help you?
- 14Cataloging absolutely every item exposed to the event and putting it all on the insurance claimDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The problem now is the restoration. Rescue Air sent someone to assess the damage, but we haven’t received an estimate, timeline or any follow-up regarding repairs.”source ↗
“We have repeatedly tried to resolve this directly, including escalating the issue to the owner, Josh Campbell, but haven’t received a response.”source ↗
“Found this the other day, I have no idea where to start ….”source ↗
“I'm a new homeowner (ranch house in the New England area) and am trying to determine who to actually call for this issue.”source ↗
“Is this all something I should expect to coordinate myself? I'd rather pay someone to take care of it, but I'm also not sure how to find them.”source ↗
“Now I’m being asked to provide an independent contractor to assess essentially every small electronic that was plugged in to deem if it needs to be on the list for replacement.”source ↗
“With our throwaway tech society, I’m struggling to think of who I can reach out to that won’t just tell me to throw it all away when it finally fails?”source ↗
“This post is to half confirm my own suspicions that this individual does not exist.”source ↗
“No MSP, unfortunately my own testimony doesn’t help me in this case.”source ↗
“Had a sprinkler head freeze and explode right in the middle of an academic computer lab... *everything* with a wire in it and so much as a hint of a surface water spot was catalogued and put on the claim.”source ↗
“My question is how do I pick the right contractor or certified roofer.”source ↗
“There are so many around and I’m dealing with the skyshield roofing right now who only been in business for two years.”source ↗
“I don’t know if I trust them. I am a single woman and afraid of being taking advantage of.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 36How to get a contractor to fix damage they caused
- 79How to find reliable contractors who actually show up
- 3What order do I hire contractors for roof and siding repairs?
- 3How to tell if unlicensed electrical work is dangerous
- 5How to find plumbers who repair equipment instead of replacing it
- 2Why is it so hard to get contractor quotes?