Kerosene Heater mishap
- Thread starter mwe3302
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smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
That'd be your contents coverage then. Same as anything not mounted to your building that servpro cleans. 2 different portions of your policy...separate limitations too. I hope your adjuster is an independent agent. Mine is the person who pushed me to do my repairs myself.
smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
You gotta understand that both my dad and I ONLY worked weekends at that time, and the damage was very extensive in my fire. The soot was the main thing...it went everywhere. It was inside the walls on the batts of insulation.
That being said, I also had contractors telling me they could just "clean the drywall". I don't think so. I gutted the entire house and replaced everything....except the bathtub and shower, split brick floor in kitchen/dining room (I did have it refinished though), and the central air unit, but I had cleaned and tested. Instead of going back with what was there, I was allowed the freedom to upgrade as I saw fit. Everything was new and upgraded...my wife chose the flooring, paint, granite counter tops, cabinets, etc...she wanted (within reason).
Having experienced what I did...if I ever go through something like this again, I will most certainly try to take it on myself if I am able. It was hard but it was well worth it. It helped me build a better life for my family in the end.
FYI...I had just divorced my wife and gotten remarried (got custody of my kids)...it was a very turbulent time in my life. The hardest thing I've ever done.
smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
Thanks, but like I said....it worked out in the end. Everything is much better now, than it was back then...including my finances.
I see no benefit to an independent adjuster .. depending on the insurance company and the loss I would not work with one. I don't think this will mater in your case with the level of loss.
Independent does not refer to the ability to be "independent". They are sub-contractors.
Independent does not refer to the ability to be "independent". They are sub-contractors.
smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
That may be true because I don't think his claim will be very high. And if that were the case, I'd rather just take care of it myself than go through the ins co. Not worth being blacklisted by homeowners ins co's for years.
In a situation like this he has to go through his insurance. The risk of unseen damage is too great. People have claims all the time ... not sure what you speak of regarding "blacklisted"
To keep costs in check I have very high deductibles .. I would want my company involved in this.
To keep costs in check I have very high deductibles .. I would want my company involved in this.
smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
Perhaps you should read my posts prior to this and get caught up. I have personal experience on the consumer end of things from a house fire I had 01/2013.
smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
Wow. What typically happens after you file a large claim is, they either jack up your rates, or non renew (drop) you, or both. Both happened to me. It's near impossible to get a decent rate at the same coverage. I pay more now than I used to and for less coverage. My house and 2 of my cars were damaged, but they were not nearly total losses at all. My cars were repaired in less than 2 weeks.
smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
15% loss of what?
Not trying to be disrespectful, but can you post some pics so I can see just how bad the damage is. Ive never seen soot damage before (without a major fire) and Im curious.
Personally I wouldnt let servepro anywhere near my home. My buddy had a water line in his attic pop last winter and his house was a total loss. They had to strip it down to bare studs and rewire, replumb the entire thing. Servepro came out, ran dehumidifiers for a week, lightly sprayed some mixture onto the studs and rolled out. They invoiced his insurance for $20,000 dollars. The insurance company refused to pay because the moisture level was still too high inside the home and they did not authorize the magic spray ($5000). Servepro took a lien out against his home within a month. I dont know how much they ended up settling for but it was a huge burden on my buddy for some time.
The way I understood it is they are a franchise with independent owners. The one is my area must be a scumbag. I cant imagine they all operate this way or they wouldnt be in business. Then again I cant imagine a franchise owner keeping his franchise by running his operation that way. Just keep an eye on them and dont get rolled over.
Personally I wouldnt let servepro anywhere near my home. My buddy had a water line in his attic pop last winter and his house was a total loss. They had to strip it down to bare studs and rewire, replumb the entire thing. Servepro came out, ran dehumidifiers for a week, lightly sprayed some mixture onto the studs and rolled out. They invoiced his insurance for $20,000 dollars. The insurance company refused to pay because the moisture level was still too high inside the home and they did not authorize the magic spray ($5000). Servepro took a lien out against his home within a month. I dont know how much they ended up settling for but it was a huge burden on my buddy for some time.
The way I understood it is they are a franchise with independent owners. The one is my area must be a scumbag. I cant imagine they all operate this way or they wouldnt be in business. Then again I cant imagine a franchise owner keeping his franchise by running his operation that way. Just keep an eye on them and dont get rolled over.
smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
Wow! I did not have a very pleasant experience with them either...as well as the clothing restoration company. They respond so quickly right after a fire and try to grab everything they can possibly get their hands on to claim. I interfered and tried to limit them but failed to keep them from taking some stuff to clean. The clothing company took my kids old tattered underwear, play toy belts for dolls, and old play back packs that had holes in them. And charged me to clean them. I was not too happy about it. We negotiated down some from what they wanted after the fact, but I still feel that it was too much, and the owner of the company was pretty offended that I thought that. I did not appreciate his attitude after that either.
Servpro was at least more understanding when told them what to clean, what not to and what needed to be more thoroughly cleaned. They saved a lot of dishes and stuff...some of which my wife had got from Israel and can't really be replaced...so I was more thankful towards them. Still a hassle any way you slice it.
What did the adjuster say? Did they accept responsibility for the damage?
The sharks come out whenever insurance money is in the water! The danger in taking responsibility is that you may have more damage then you think. The numbers can escalate quickly.
In my case nothing was touched until I understood and agreed to the adjusters determination. I would not agree to having any fabric cleaned -- they fought me a bit and then agreed.
The sharks come out whenever insurance money is in the water! The danger in taking responsibility is that you may have more damage then you think. The numbers can escalate quickly.
In my case nothing was touched until I understood and agreed to the adjusters determination. I would not agree to having any fabric cleaned -- they fought me a bit and then agreed.
smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
You are right. I guess I was lucky. My adjuster was great.
When I said sharks -- I was talking about all the remediation companies -- board-up services and Contractors ... etc.
I had public adjusters coming to my office and my beach house -- They find you.
Some parts of my claim went as smoothly as anyone could ask ... The building took over two years before we settled.
I'd like to see pics if you have them.
And don't use Servpro. I had a house fire years ago and they were suppose to clean all furniture with special machines to get rid of smoke smell. They brought furniture back and they didn't do anything. One of the workers felt bad and said all they did was put the furniture in storage. And were told to just wipe stuff down as they unloaded.
And don't use Servpro. I had a house fire years ago and they were suppose to clean all furniture with special machines to get rid of smoke smell. They brought furniture back and they didn't do anything. One of the workers felt bad and said all they did was put the furniture in storage. And were told to just wipe stuff down as they unloaded.
yeah that's BS, this is exactly why I am going to take the insurance money and do it my self, the worst part is the ceiling and the garage floor, Serve pro told me how they will be cleaning the floor, high pressure steam. I will just rent a steam cleaner myself and wash it myself, as far as the ceiling they said they would be using soot sponges, I can go to home depot and buy 12 I think I saw for like 25.00, and get a hepa filter which I did already for my shop vac, and do the walls and what ever else I can get out, O'reily sells this stuff called Super clean it is like Purple power and it works great on the greasy soot , I will clean all my tools with that and the Kubota, I called my Kubota dealer and he said he would not worry about it, that the soot in no way could enter the engine, as it it would have to get through the air breather. the adjuster asked me to call the Kubota dealer and ask them about it so I did and that's what I got for an answer.
the heavy soot is gone, I used my air compressor on it this morning after the adjuster came out, it now looks just like smoke damage and the floor and ceiling are the worse, I will post up some pics of the heater and how black the top of the heater is, that is what everything looked like. to be continued.
smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
That's crazy man, but at the same time, yours was a total loss and about 8 times the cost of mine. Mine was finished completely in about 9 months.
smttysmth02gt
Well-known member
Best of luck to you brother. I personally would not take on "cleaning" soot myself. On small stuff I did that and it was a very timely process...there's even some stuff that still is not completely cleaned. All from damn soot. Awful stuff.
I ripped out my drywall, insulation, electrical, flooring, etc...it was down to the studs and rafters/joists....then power washed, aired out, then killz'ed heavily. Then all new stuff put back in.
dodgejunkie
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2014
- Messages
- 198
Where I work we had a warehouse fire that completely destroyed the warehouse. The manufacturing facility attached to it just received smoke and soot damage, but it was pretty extensive. The insurance company sent servpro and servicemaster to "BID" the clean up and remediation.
I told them up front I was in charge of the bidding process, and I wanted to see if their equipment could do the job. Both companies brought out dry ice machines to clean the equipment. After an hour of concentrated dry ice blasting(similar to sand blasting) the machine had not cleaned one (1) foot of soot off of the machinery. I was given a bid of $780K. I told them I'd be in touch either way.
The next day two (2) bus loads of temporary workers were at the property. I asked what was going on, and they were hired to clean up the facility????? I called up servicemaster to tell them I had not accepted any bid, and his workers needed to leave the property immediately.
I go through the bid, and it was 80 remediation "specialist" @ $80.00/hr each plus equipment, supplies, travel, & misc.
I called them up laughing to tell them their services were not wanted. They tried billing us for the bus loads of "specialist", but they got nothing.
I've been in manufacturing for 30+ years, and have dealt with complete loss, to minimal damage from fires. I've never seen a bigger scam than servpro or servicemaster in my professional career. They are what the insurance companies call Approved Service Providers!
The best chemical I've found to clean ANYTHING, and I mean anything is Spartan chemical sc200. This stuff cleans oils, dirt, soot, concrete stains, etc. It cleans tires without scrubbing to like new. Greasy engines don't stand a chance.
It's not without dangers though. You leave it on paint too long it's going to damage it. You use it on shiny aluminum, it will dull the **** out of it.
Works wonders on stainless. You can dilute it to use on anything.
http://www.spartanchemical.com/products/product/220004
I told them up front I was in charge of the bidding process, and I wanted to see if their equipment could do the job. Both companies brought out dry ice machines to clean the equipment. After an hour of concentrated dry ice blasting(similar to sand blasting) the machine had not cleaned one (1) foot of soot off of the machinery. I was given a bid of $780K. I told them I'd be in touch either way.
The next day two (2) bus loads of temporary workers were at the property. I asked what was going on, and they were hired to clean up the facility????? I called up servicemaster to tell them I had not accepted any bid, and his workers needed to leave the property immediately.
I go through the bid, and it was 80 remediation "specialist" @ $80.00/hr each plus equipment, supplies, travel, & misc.
I called them up laughing to tell them their services were not wanted. They tried billing us for the bus loads of "specialist", but they got nothing.
I've been in manufacturing for 30+ years, and have dealt with complete loss, to minimal damage from fires. I've never seen a bigger scam than servpro or servicemaster in my professional career. They are what the insurance companies call Approved Service Providers!
The best chemical I've found to clean ANYTHING, and I mean anything is Spartan chemical sc200. This stuff cleans oils, dirt, soot, concrete stains, etc. It cleans tires without scrubbing to like new. Greasy engines don't stand a chance.
It's not without dangers though. You leave it on paint too long it's going to damage it. You use it on shiny aluminum, it will dull the **** out of it.
Works wonders on stainless. You can dilute it to use on anything.
http://www.spartanchemical.com/products/product/220004
ty for the tip, well that is 2 people on here that have given bad reviews to servePro, I will deffinitly be not going with them, as you can see in the pictures, the soot damage is minimal, at first look when it had happened , and I wish I had taken pictures for you guys, it isn't as bad as it looks and I know I can clean this .
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
Not that I'm any type of an expert, but I suggest not trying to wipe or sweep that if you can avoid it. It will smear it all over and make it that much harder to get off. A soot vac or shop vac with a REALLY good filter is your friend.
Well, the lighter side of it is, the soot really helps locate those pesky cobwebs...
Sorry to see your bad luck!
Tommy
Well, the lighter side of it is, the soot really helps locate those pesky cobwebs...
Sorry to see your bad luck!
Tommy
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Many of the national "disaster cleanup" companies are franchises. On a larger loss with smoke and water the faster they can get get everything out and cleaned up the less additional damage is done.
Normally they dry clean as much as possible with soot erasers -- getting things wet allows the soot and smell to sink in. A fuel fire produces different particles.
Normally they dry clean as much as possible with soot erasers -- getting things wet allows the soot and smell to sink in. A fuel fire produces different particles.
dodgejunkie
Well-known member
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- Nov 7, 2014
- Messages
- 198
I was going to say it probably looked a lot worse at first, but you've gotten the bulk of it already.
I've known people to hire those companies, just out of pocket, and had great success. When insurance is involved it's like the other poster said "sharks in the water smelling blood"!
Insurance companies are pretty pathetic anymore also. I had 6K worth of hail damage to a lease vehicle. The adjuster was not happy I went with the approved HONDA body shop for repairs. He went and took the car without permission to his paintless dent repair guy. Voided his companies policies, and by the time it was done, it cost the insurance company an additional 13K in repairs because Honda would not accept the work.
Come to find out this adjuster was an at will adjuster who got a flat rate plus commission for directing work to be done at his approved service provider.
Pay attention to the fine print.
Always have to ask if they are consultants (independent) or employees of the insurance company. If they are not direct employees they most likely will not know what is in your policy. I ran into this time and time again.
dodgejunkie
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2014
- Messages
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I asked the insurance company and at the time they said it would be one of their people. Probably due to the insane volume they had to hire out independent adjusters to complete the claims. But yeah I learned my lesson.
so I am probably not going to be using this heater again , can I get some recommendations on what you all think I should try, I was going to go with this one:
http://www.usstove.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=968
or:
http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/heater-supplies.shtml#flex
I like that you can hang it and its out of the way, I currently have 3 100 pound LP tanks right behind the garage so could easily tap into them.
http://www.usstove.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=968
or:
http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/heater-supplies.shtml#flex
I like that you can hang it and its out of the way, I currently have 3 100 pound LP tanks right behind the garage so could easily tap into them.