You know you must act fast if you come home and find yourself ankle-deep in water. As you quickly call a reputable water damage restoration company before it's too late, one thought keeps crossing your mind: How much will this cost?
As an IICRC-certified firm with over 50 years of combined experience, we at Restore-It strongly believe that integrity and transparency must become the standard in the water restoration industry. Because of this, we are convinced that educating you, the homeowner, on the range of prices will empower you to make the best decision for your home and your family’s safety.
In this article, we will candidly talk about the costs of water damage restoration. How do we arrive at the prices, and what factors affect the final cost. We would also clarify any other questions you may have. So come with us, and let’s delve into the “whats” and “whys” of estimating the water damage restoration price tag!
How do we (and the restoration industry) determine the price?
At Restore-It, we use a program called Xactimate to estimate how much water mitigation and restoration costs will total. This software is the restoration industry-standard tool for estimating costs in insurance claims. Here is how it's used:
Step 1: The technician will outline the dimensions of the affected rooms, including the height. This is the basis for the cost estimation.
Step 2: They will manually enter each task based on the on-site inspection, which includes a visual examination and moisture readings.
Step 3: Finally, the tasks are adjusted depending on the project's needs.
Most cost estimates for water damage restoration projects are measured by the square foot. Tasks like extracting water, removing carpet, or removing building materials like sheetrock from walls and ceilings are measured this way. However, sometimes the cost can be measured by the linear foot. This is the case with removing baseboards, as the length of the material is the primary measurement used.
Other forms of estimating the cost are based on the room's dimensions. This is particularly useful for "content manipulation" (moving furniture and personal belongings). The program gives us a baseline, but if the amount per room calculated does not match the hours of labor needed, the program can also estimate the cost by the hours required to complete the job.
This process will give the restoration company an initial estimate of the cost and the time needed to finish the project. The program can register every part of the process from the moment you call to inspect your home until the final task is done.
The cost of water damage mitigation and remediation
In a water mitigation and remediation process, the difference between initial estimates and the final price depends on several factors. These include the size of the house, the type of flood (clean water, contaminated water, or grossly contaminated water), the building materials affected, and other factors that can drive up the cost.
the prices can range from a small job to a medium job and a large job. Let’s take a look at the average costs. In a best-case scenario, a small job would start at $3500. Meanwhile, a medium job begins at $12,000. And, a large job, can go from $35,000 to more -this type of job would be for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home that has seen extensive damage.
The price can also increase if the space is bigger or the situation is more complex. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that these prices are during business hours; after business hours, the prices can be slightly higher.
How much does mitigation cost: 3 realistic scenarios
To further explain the cost of a water damage mitigation and remediation project, we created scenarios illustrating the items included in each one to determine the costs. We included flooding in an average-size bedroom, a living room, and a living room flooded with sewage water.
Scenario 1: A flooded bedroom
In this case, there is a 12x12 ft bedroom with a height of 8 ft for a space of 144 sq ft and 48 linear feet (lf). The water is contaminated (known as grey water), making it a category 2 type of flood. The carpet, pad, furniture, and personal belongings were affected, so they need to be removed and the space sanitized. The cost will be structured by the following items (taxes not included):
- Content removal: $104.77
- Water extraction from the carpeted floor (144 sq ft): $123.84
- Tearing out and disposing of wet, non-salvageable carpet (144 sq ft): $99.36
- Tearing out and disposing of wet carpet pad (144 sq ft): $93.6
- Tearing out the baseboard (48 lf): $28.32
- Applying an anti-microbial agent to the floor (144 sq ft): $44.64
- 4 air movers (per 5 days): $606
- 1 dehumidifier (per 5 days): $428.05
- Light HEPA vacuuming (144 sq ft): $76.32
- Emergency service call during business hours: $208.34
- Setting up equipment, taking it down, and monitoring (10 hours): $750.6
- 1 pickup truck load to haul debris, including dumping fees: $167.49
The total cost adds up to $2731.33, not including taxes.
Scenario 2: A flooded living room
For this scenario, we have a living room measuring 15x20 ft with a height of 8 ft for a space of 300 sq ft and 70 lf. The water is category 2, meaning grey water or contaminated. Some building materials, like drywall, were affected and need to be removed, as well as the baseboards. For this scenario, the flooring is not carpeted. The price is determined as follows (taxes not included):
- Content removal: $209.53
- Water extraction from hard surface floor (300 sq ft): $249
- Tearing out the baseboard (70 lf): $41.3
- Tearing out trim and disposal (70 lf): $91.7
- Tearing out wet drywall, cleanup, and disposal (300 sq ft): $339
- Applying an anti-microbial agent to the floor (300 sq ft): $93
- 5 air movers (per 5 days): $1060.5
- 1 dehumidifier (per 5 days): $557.3
- Light HEPA vacuuming (300 sq ft): $159
- Emergency service call during business hours: $208.34
- Setting up equipment, taking it down, and monitoring (10 hours): $750.6
- 3 pickup truck loads to haul debris, including dumping fees: $502.47
Adding up all the tasks, the amount goes up to $4261.74, not including taxes.
Scenario 3: A flooded living room with sewage water
Now, we have a living room with the exact measurements as the last one (15x20 ft with a height of 8 ft for a space of 300 sq ft and 70 lf), but the source of the flood is black water and is grossly contaminated, making it a category 3 type of flood. Also, the floor is carpeted. Let's take a look a how this affects the costs (taxes not included):
- Content removal: $209.53
- Water extraction from hard carpeted floor (300 sq ft): $411
- Tearing out and disposing of non-salvageable carpet (300 sq ft): $375
- Tearing out and disposing of wet carpet pad (300 sq ft): $282
- Tearing out and disposing of the baseboard (70 lf): $74.9
- Tearing out and disposing of wet drywall and cleanup (140 sq ft): $224
- Applying an anti-microbial agent to more than the floor (440 sq ft): $136.4
- 7 air movers (per 5 days): $1060.5
- 1 dehumidifier (per 5 days): $557.3
- Light HEPA vacuuming (300 sq ft): $159
- Emergency service call during business hours: $208.34
- Setting up equipment, taking it down, and monitoring (10 hours): $750.6
- 9 equipment decontamination charge: $417.06
- 3 pickup truck loads to haul debris, including dumping fees: $502.47
All these items amount to $5368.1, not including taxes, which is around $1000 more than the previous job.
How much does water damage restoration cost?
If water mitigation is all about stopping and preventing water damage, restoration is all about leaving everything just as before the incident happened. Because a project like this involves rebuilding after mitigation and remediation are done, the prices don’t vary regardless of the type of flood. We have created a scenario to explain better both the cost and the extent of the tasks that are done in a water damage restoration project.
Scenario: Complete room restoration
For this scenario, we are taking a 12x12 room that is 8 feet high and will need repairs. Let’s take a look at how much this process will cost (taxes not included):
- 1 negative air fan/air scrubber (per 5 days): $77.55
- Masking more than the ceiling (per 432 sq ft): $142.56
- Replacing ½” drywall (per 144 sq ft): $276.48
- Texturing the drywall (per 144 sq ft): $109.44
- 1 coat of seal/primer + 2 coats of paint for the ceiling (per 144 sq ft): $241.92
- Replacing 3¼” crown (per 48 lf): $207.84
- 2 coats of paint for crown molding (per 48 lf): $96.96
- Replacing 3¼” baseboard (per 48 lf): $169.44
- 2 coats of paint for the baseboard (per 48 lf): $93.6
- Final cleaning (per 144 sq ft): $44.64
For this project, the total cost goes up to $1770.63, not including taxes.
Remember that depending on the extent of the damage to your house, this type of job can easily add up to several thousand dollars, making it usually more expensive than water mitigation or remediation. Because of this, the lack of urgency compared to the previous processes, and the extended timeline (restoration can take days, weeks, and even months), it’s not uncommon for this type of project to be delayed according to the customer’s needs.
We hope that by now, you will have a clearer understanding of how this process costs, where the costs come from, and what specific items are checked in the estimate. Although the prices presented here may vary depending on your particular case, we expect you to feel empowered enough to make decisions like budgeting to avoid financial strain or ensuring you receive adequate compensation for your insurance claims.
Now that you have all the information you need regarding the cost of a water damage restoration project, you should contact us for a more specific quote. Here at Restore-It, we will immediately send a technician to begin the process of making your house feel like its brand new!
