At R&R, we LOVE to share restoration success stories! In the case study below, we spoke with Tim Rozansky, owner of PDQ Restoration in New Jersey. When it comes to getting a job done quickly AND correctly, Tim's team has it nailed!

Tell us a little bit about your company!

PDQ Restoration was founded more than seven years ago, and recently bought our own building in Boonton, NJ. We have six full time plus 10 part time employees as we need them. We don’t do any rebuild, but specialize in fire, smoke and water emergency mitigation under tight deadlines. Approximately 25% of our business is commercial and the rest is residential.

We heard you recently tackled an interesting, and time-sensitive loss at a wedding venue. Give us the details! Was this a client you’ve worked with in the past or already had a relationship with?

We were recommended by another restoration company because they knew we specialized in smoke damage and could handle it in a timely fashion.

How did you land/sell the job?

That was easy, we asked them “What is their end game?” and they told us they had three weddings scheduled for that weekend. After walking the entire job we told them we would be able to meet that deadline.

When did the loss happen – and how soon after were you called in?

It happened on a Wednesday – Halloween in fact - around 11 a.m. We were called in immediately and walked right past some national franchises and was greeted by the manager. Thirty minutes later, the plan was in place and we were starting the job at 2 p.m! The first wedding was Friday at 6 p.m. plus they had a restaurant buffet in another room – so it all had to be done by then.

How many people did you have working the loss?

We had brought in additional help and had 12-15 employees cleaning around the clock so we could meet the promised deadline.

What was the scope of work?

We had various challenges to work with. We had more than 150,000 sq/ft of affected areas that needed to be deodorized and cleaned before the weddings! The fire occurred in one of their banquet rooms and there was a ton of water in it as well. The entire place had a strong odor. We immediately contained the source area to help prevent the odor from spreading and to wait for the “all clear” from the cause of origin inspectors.

We reached out to the insurance carrier, told them our plan and they were very happy to hear how fast we could do this job.

We then immediately called Tom at Odorox and had 35 hydroxyl generators delivered within three hours plus six of our own to help mitigate the odor. We also placed air scrubbers throughout the building as well.

The soot damage was light and we were able to clean the hundreds of chairs in place along with all of the other contents. The hydroxyls were able to deodorize the enormous window treatments in place rather then send them out to be deodorized, which was a huge selling point.

What kind of equipment did you use for the remediation process? Did you have all the equipment did you need, did you rent some?

We used air movers and dehus for the water loss, plus 41 hydroxyl generators, and a bunch of air scrubbers.

Did the business stay open during restoration? Or if not, were they able to open back up sooner thanks to some of your processes?

They were closed the day of the loss, Wednesday, but were able to give tours and book parties on Thursday and by Friday the majority of the building was back up and running. We asked them what rooms they needed first and worked out the plan from there. One of the keys to this job was the constant communication that our team was able to give the facility manager.

What was the most difficult part of this job, and how did you overcome it?

Very tough, tough deadline with lots of square feet.

What was the biggest victory from this job?

Hearing how happy the owners were and that we saved the weddings and none of the brides or their guests mentioned anything about soot or odor. We understand the loss of income and reputation for a business is very important and always try to meet impossible deadlines to help minimize their losses.

Anything else you’d like to share?

We also just finished a similar job where someone threw a cigarette in the mulch outside a commercial office building. The fire mainly affected the outside of the building, but soot and a strong odor went throughout the inside of building. Again, Odorox delivered 35 hydroxyls within three hours, plus the six we owned. The fire occurred on Friday and we had until Monday morning to complete the job. We worked around the clock and had some very happy customers on Monday.

About 50% of our business is smoke damage and we used hydroxyls on all losses with an odor. If you don’t use them, you should!