East Texas Reconstruction

2/3/2020 (Permalink)

East Texas businesses that suffer major property damage can rebuild economically and successfully. But it does involve following a few basic guidelines.

When your business or commercial property suffers damage from fire, water, wind, or other natural causes, your immediate concern should be ways to protect your property from more damage. When a storm is over that doesn’t mean the potential for damage is over. For example, broken windows should be boarded up. Compromised doors should be secured from more weather damage and (if possible) from entry. A damaged roof should be covered with roof tarps.

Be Careful About Entering

At SERVPRO of Longview we always advise business owners to use caution before entering a damaged commercial property. After major damage always get the go ahead to enter from the fire department, police, or other immediate responder in charge. Check for power lines, gas leaks, and structural damage. If any of your electrical equipment is wet, contact an electrician.

You do want to get in as soon as you can so you can prepare loss information for your insurance claims and get estimates of the damages. Take your time examining the property and write down all the damage so you can present a complete list to the insurer.

Need Commercial Business Reconstruction Estimates and Services? Call (903) 283-8100

Once you protect and secure your business or commercial property, professionals at SERVPRO of Longview can begin the restoration process. Many business owners need reconstruction work to get their property back to its preloss condition. Other critical steps business and commercial property owners should take are:

Call your insurance company

Your insurance agent should be among the first people you contact about any commercial property damage. He or she can be extremely helpful. Insurance agents go through the process of dealing with property damage all the time. They’re experts at assessing damage and making sure you do what you need to do to properly file and collect an insurance claim. Each insurance company has certain policies and procedures you want to be certain to follow.

Thoroughly examine the damage and talk to your local building department

After assessing the damage to your business or commercial property, contact your local town building department for information on the required building permits. Permits are always required for any demolition or permanent repairs, reconstruction, roofing, filling, and other types of site development. Regulations vary from Lufkin to Nacogdoches and other towns.

Protect your commercial property and yourself from contractor fraud

Only hire licensed contractors to do repairs on your commercial property. Check with your local building department to ensure the contractor is licensed. If you hire a contractor, don’t pull the permits for them. If the contractor makes this request, it may be an indication that the contractor is not properly licensed.

Take photographs of damage caused by the storm or weather event
Photographs of the after-storm condition of your commercial property can provide proof of damage for insurance and other purposes. Take the photos immediately after the damage and before repair work begins. Keep all your receipts for insurance purposes.

Prepare long before a storm hits

Don’t wait for a fire, flood, storm, or other natural disaster to begin preparing. Take a complete set of photographs of your commercial property in its current condition to serve as “before” pictures. Date those photographs and store them off site. If and when a storm strikes your business, you can take “after” pictures to show the full extent of the damage. 

Need Commercial Business Reconstruction Estimates and Services? Call (903) 283-8100

The professionals at SERVPRO of Longview can simplify the commercial property restoration process by handling both the initial damage mitigation and rebuilding the affected areas of your business property. Having one qualified company for the entire process can save you time and lower your costs.

SERVPRO of Longview provides a full range of commercial building restoration services that will get you back in business and bring your building and property back to full use. This is one reason why SERVPRO uses the line, “Like it never even happened.”