Fire damage restoration work can be very profitable, while wowing customers with the end result. That said, contractors need effective processes and techniques to rebuild or restore a structure after a fire, and to fully remove the smoke odor for good.

Have you yet found words to even begin to describe life over the last five or six months? I know I haven’t.

I laugh a little to myself when I look back at some of R&R’s final articles of 2019. Several revolved around industry trends and predictions for the year to come. No one could have predicted what actually lay ahead for all of us.

For the last five years, we have dedicated an issue of R&R to celebrating Women in Restoration. This year, we are thrilled to celebrate BELFOR’s technical trainer, Cara Driscoll. You can read more about her journey in the restoration industry here.

In the world of construction, it’s no secret the ladies are outnumbered, but data suggests the tide might be turning, and the restoration industry is included. According to 2019 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 10% of the construction industry workforce was female. 

This year, Jenkins Restorations celebrates 45 years in business. What started as primarily an architecture and general contracting firm in Sterling, VA, has since branched into a full-service restoration contractor with more than 350 employees and 26 locations across the U.S.

As I sat down to write this month’s column, I tried to think back on what the world was like just two months ago, when I wrote my editor’s note for the March issue. That column was on hockey, and embracing change. My guess is the last two months aren’t exactly the kind of change any of us had in mind.

Where do I even start this month?! I am writing this on Monday, March 23, several weeks before the issue will hit your mailbox or inbox. By the time you read this, it is likely the world will have seemed to change all over again amid dealing with the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak.

My 5-year-old has been on skates pretty much from the moment he was born. The moment my husband could get him in skates, he did. In the beginning, of course, Levi couldn’t even stand – and often refused to even try.