how would you guys price this

[davegillfishing]

this is to answer a question for a customer that thinks she got taken, she didnt want to use her ins company so she paid out of pocket..
i didnt do the flood she called someone out of the phone book...

it was about 377 sqft.
washer hose broke..she assumes it was about 60 gallons of water.
2 rooms
1 bathroom
1 loong hall
she said they had 5 blowers
and 1 dehumidifier
and one from her description air scrubber
they sucked the water...left the blowers for 3 days checked on the flood once in between
re set the carpet and cleaned it
billed her 1874.00$
the call came in on a monday night at 7:30p and she said that 2 trucks and 2 guys were there for about 2.5 hrs.
i dont have too much more info but if you have questions i will try to answer.
thanks
dave

 

[Mikey P]

Sounds like blue book pricing to me.

 

[davegillfishing]

so what is that and how did they do for her? i told her that it didnt really seem that bad to me..were they high or low?

 

[Mikey P]

There is an actual blue book ( xactimate) for step by step pricing for WD work.

I'm betting they were dead on.

 

[dealtimeman]

They are right on price.

 

[kmdineen]

If everything is dry, including the walls and sill plates, then it sounds reasonable. If they only dried and cleaned the carpet she did not get what she paid for.
Have her ask the WD company for a copy of their daily readings for moisture and humidity, that will tell the story, especially if they don't have them.

 

[davegillfishing]

she said that they only came out one time in between the work and the finish..
the walls were not wet from what she said..it was a washer hose that fell off the discharge drain and laid on the ground pumping clean water on the carpet..
i did not think it sounded bad considering the equipment and 2 men on job after hours..but she was wondering and got me wondering..

 

[kmdineen]

she said that they only came out one time in between the work and the finish..
the walls were not wet from what she said..


Did she use her own meters to determine the walls were not wet or did the WD guys show her with their meters? Or did the walls just not look wet?

The point is $1875 is reasonable if the WD company actually dried the structure. Real WD companies have over head like education, quality equipment and insurance that justifies what they charge. A real WD company will have documentation on how the job dried and often show the customer what is wet at the beginning of the job and show it is dry at the end using meters and moisture mapping.

If the company has no documentation of the drying process and did not use meters to determine what was wet and what is dry then she got taken. Too many people see $$$ in WD work and buy used, obsolete equipment, have little or no training and screw up job after job. This is a problem with our industry.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Dave
It doesn't sound bad, we might have been heavier on equipment but we might not have had a third drying day or if we did have a third day, there would have been a sizable reduction in equipment.

The size of the bill is determined by how much contents are in the way for extraction and drying. A lot of manipulation and obstructions will all slow down the drying process.

Apartments and condo's have the same inherent problem, no where to go with the stuff.

2-trucks? That's a little odd, but as long as she wasn't charged extra for the second truck.

It's easy to pick apart a bill after the fact. The truth is, drying is much more of an art than a science. 10-restorers can do it 10-different ways and none of them may necessarily be wrong.
:wink:

 

[davegillfishing]

thanks guys...so it sounds like she didnt use a real professional resto company but also didnt get screwed..
why would the walls be wet if the source of the flood was laying on the ground and the company was called out with in 2 hrs of the flood happening?
just a question for my knowledge..

 

[Scott Rogers]

water rarely sits there it travels and often will travel under the walls the wick up the wood. so just because u can see it doesnt mean it isnt there. and that will often be the source of odor a few days after people think they finished drying.

 

[Desk Jockey]

In a carpet, pad installation the carpet can easily make contact with the drywall as it's tucked in the gully. It doesn't take long for it to wick into the drywall, wetting not only the drywall but insulation on exterior walls.

A few hours would be plenty of time, if left over night it could wick 4-6 inches. :shock:

 

[Hoody]

Considering everything I agree with the comments before me. The only thing you could MAYBE question is the reason for the air scrubber. Considering it was from the washer hose, it could definately be considered a Cat 2 loss. Even at a Cat 1 loss there is still reason to use an air scrubber if the home owner has allergies to mold, or is in poor health. The air scrubber would be used to minimize particulate that could circulate in the air while drying.

The price sounds right. Not to get the restorer in trouble, but your client could push to see the documentation to prove that it is dry. It's her right to know, and if she was feeling froggy she could ask to have/hire an environmental hygenist for third party testing. I've had clients do that even on a simple Cat 1, Class 1 losses. I think they were over reacting but I understood their reasoning.

 

[Desk Jockey]

No air scrubber?


That's it Hootz I'm turning you into the IICRC Police!

p]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqewojda3M0p]

 

[Hoody]

Its a BIG maybe Chavez. I'm sure they have their reasoning.

bite me :mrgreen:

 

[Desk Jockey]

just mess'n with you man!





And leave those requests to your lady...sicko! :mrgreen:

 

[dealtimeman]

i am starting to use air scrubbers on all WD jobs and up till now no adjuster or contractor has complained about it.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Michael the full length of the job? How much a day?

 

[Hoody]

Even at a Cat 1 loss there is still reason to use an air scrubber if the home owner has allergies to mold, or is in poor health. The air scrubber would be used to minimize particulate that could circulate in the air while drying.

i am starting to use air scrubbers on all WD jobs and up till now no adjuster or contractor has complained about it.

Yup me too, well did; whatever. And advise others when they call me for WDR help; to minimize particulate and to keep the "habitat" safe for the home owners. :wink:

 

[Desk Jockey]

I acknowledge their value, but we have found resistance with using them on every job.

We always use them when we have someone who voices a health concern.

We also use them when debris removal could cause collateral dust problems as well as for sewage back flows and other times when we controlling airborne particulate is an issue.

 

[Sticky]

I use an air scrubber on most WDR jobs now too. I just bought the Patriot Air Scrubber by US Products. I rented it out for 44 days on my first job. It does a great job and customers love it. I haven't had an issue with an adjuster yet.