Fires, floods and other natural disasters can take their toll on the infrastructure of a home, potentially resulting in lingering damage. Some of the most serious damage can show up in the kitchen, where cabinetry and kitchen flooring may be significantly marred by water or by accumulated soot.

These assets can often be salvaged, restored to a like-new condition, but doing so may require the help of a specialist. For restoration and remediation professionals, it’s important to have a robust network of trusted third-party vendors who can be counted on for delicate tasks like kitchen or floor restoration, ultimately providing greater satisfaction to the homeowner while ensuring projects are completed on a timely basis.

Assessing the Damage

One reason you want to bring in a team of trusted specialists is that they can provide a higher level of accuracy and thoroughness when assessing the damage done—ensuring that the restoration work is comprehensive.

Assessing damage done to cabinets and flooring can be uniquely challenging. For example, when the home has been subjected to flooding, water may linger in invisible and unexpected places, sometimes penetrating deep into the wood or lurking in hidden spaces behind the cabinets. Even when surfaces appear dry, there could be a latent risk of structural damage, mold or mildew. It requires a trained eye to identify these perils.

Specialists in cabinet restoration can be especially helpful when evaluating waterlogged wood. The materials used to construct cabinets can often be vulnerable to warping or degeneration and, in some cases, cannot be salvaged. A good vendor will be able to provide an informed opinion about whether restoration or replacement is most prudent.

Similarly, subject matter experts can be invaluable when taking stock of fire damage. Smoke and soot can tarnish surfaces and often look quite bad, yet these issues can often be remediated. By contrast, extreme heat may warp wood or melt adhesives—issues that may not be immediately apparent but could require extensive work.

Controlling Costs, Aligning with Insurance

By working with a trusted vendor network that can more promptly and accurately assess cabinet and floor damage, restoration companies can offer many benefits to the customers they serve, including cost control. 

Vendors with specialized expertise can often provide cost-effective ways to rehabilitate a home and its contents, sometimes offering creative suggestions that would otherwise go overlooked. For example, in terms of cabinets, repainting and revitalizing the exteriors can sometimes make cabinets look just like new—without incurring the more significant expenses associated with full cabinet replacement.

And that’s just one way in which specialized partners can keep costs in check to the benefit of homeowners paying out of pocket, those with a high deductible or those up against insurance caps. A reliable vendor network can also ensure:

• Industry-standard estimating tools
• Standardized pricing models
• Full invoice audits

Meanwhile, trusted vendors can also promote fuller alignment with any insurance companies that may be involved. Fastidious documentation can help support and justify claims, while compliance with industry standards establishes the work as fully legitimate and necessary.

Keeping Customers Happy

More than anything else, restoration companies should cultivate trusted vendor networks as a way to ensure customer satisfaction.

Vendors who specialize in rehabilitating cabinets, floors or other household structures should have a healthy emphasis on promptness, communication and quality of work—all of which provide homeowners with a friction-free process and a final result they feel good about.

Consider:

• By having a network of reliable vendors to enlist, restoration companies can mobilize quickly, ensuring homeowners get the attention they need as promptly as possible. There’s no delay needed while the restoration company scouts and vets potential partners.
• Vendors who’ve been selected for specialized work are more likely to uphold industry standards, which can minimize the likelihood of callbacks or rework. 
• A company that specializes in cabinets or flooring is more likely to have niche expertise, ensuring they know how to work with different types of materials and designs.
• When restoration companies enlist vendors they know will stand behind their work, they are better able to offer their customers meaningful warranties and guarantees.

Following a calamitous fire or flood, homeowners just want to get their space back to normal as quickly, as seamlessly and as cost-effectively as possible. Restoration and remediation companies can play a decisive role here—particularly when they have proven partners ready to support exemplary work.