Water, floor, and fire can leave your property in a disastrous state without proper restoration. The associated restoration costs can often confuse first-timers. All these damage types have unique costs and factors related to them.
In this guide, we’ll highlight the costs related to water, flood, and fire damage restoration. Along with that, we’ll go over some crucial factors for selecting a restoration service.
Let’s dive right into it.
Cost Guide for Water, Flood, and Fire Damage Restoration
Before we start, it is important to note that these costs are estimates. The actual costs can vary depending on the time and market status.
- Water Damage Restoration Costs
When it comes to restoration costs, water damage restoration is the cheapest on our list. This is mainly because water rarely causes structural-level damage. Along with that, it is easier to rectify than the other restorations on our list.
Restoration costs for water damage are divided into three main categories. Contractors use these categories to simplify the cost for both parties. Moreover, these costs often come within a flat range or negotiable rates. These cost categories are:
- Restoration by Water Type
- Restoration by Service Packages
- Restoration by Location
- Restoration by Water Type
For restoration by water type, there are three subcategories. These categories are based on the nature of water. In some cases, your property might be affected by clean water while in some situations it be damaged by highly contaminated water.
Clean water damage is the cheapest to restore. On average, you’ll have to pay between $2 to $3.5 per square foot. This cost can go up if your furniture is affected by water damage.
Discolored water damage requires extra care steps to restore. This can increase the rate up to $6 per square foot. You’ll have to pay an extra $6 per square foot for flooring restoration especially if it’s hardwood.
Black water is the most expensive type of water damage to restore. With restoration, sanitization, and deodorization, the costs can go up to $9 per square foot. This is mainly because black water has biohazard contamination that poses serious health risks.
- Restoration by Service Packages
The next category for water damage restoration cost comes in the form of service packages. Many contractors use flat rates to eliminate the negotiation aspect of restoration services.
There are different tiers of these service packages. They get progressively costly. However, with each tier, the number of services also increases. There are 4 main tiers of these service packages.
- Tier 1: Costs $100 – $200. Usually acquired for minor leaks from faucets and sinks.
- Tier 2: Costs $300 – $900. You can acquire this package for room-scale restoration.
- Tier 3: Costs $1000 – $3000. This package is designed to restore permeated surfaces including floors, walls, and ceilings.
- Tier 4: Costs $3200 – $50,000. Includes all the other tiers. This package is usually used in case of flooding.
- Restoration by Location
Lastly, water restoration service costs also depend on the location of the damage. Contractors charge different rates based on the area of water damage. This happens because some areas are easier to restore than others.
For example, a wall is the easiest to restore. On the other hand, a ceiling requires extra effort, manpower, and tools to restore its original condition. Here’s a breakdown of these costs.
- Roof restoration: $500 – $1700
- Flooring restoration: $250 – $750
- Drywall restoration: $2 – $3.5 per square foot
- Ceiling restoration: $400 – $2000
- Flood Damage Restoration Costs
While flood damage is by extension water damage, the level of damage is completely different. Thus the restoration techniques also vary significantly. Not only that but contractors also have to use industrial-scale tools to deal with flood damage.
Generally, three levels of flooding can impact your property. In most cases, the flooded areas on your property will require extensive repairs and replacements.
- Minor Flooding. This category can cost you between $2500 to $8000 depending on the condition of the surroundings. Minor flooding may happen from plumbing leaks or roof leaks.
- Moderate Flooding. This type of flooding permeates your floors, walls, furniture, and other wooden components. On average, you’ll have to pay $8 to $20 per square foot.
- Major Flooding. This kind of flooding happens due to extreme rainstorms or a plumbing failure. The restoration cost can range between $25 and $35 per square foot. It includes repairs and replacements for floors and walls.
- Fire Damage Restoration Costs
Restoration of fire damage is arguably the most extensive on our list. This tedious factor elevates the cost of restoration by a substantial margin. Moreover, numerous factors determine the overall cost of fire damage restoration.
- Smoke damage: $150 – $800
- Water damage: $1500 – $3000
- Soot removal: $1200 – $4500
- Duct cleaning: $250 – $600
- Ozone treatment: $300 – $500
- Deodorizing furniture: $700 – $1800
- Damaged component removal: $500 – $900
However, that’s not all. There are other factors that can change the fire damage restoration cost. This is mainly because fire damage isn’t limited to restoration.
Many contractors charge by square footage of your property. This is a form of a service package. Every service related to fire damage restoration is included in the per-square-foot cost.
As the area of your property increases, the cost also hikes proportionally. Let’s have a look.
| Area(Per Square Feet) | Estimated Cost |
| 1000 – 1200 | $4000 – $6500 |
| 2200 – 2600 | $8000 – $10,200 |
| 3000 – 3600 | $12,000 – $17,000 |
| 3800 – 4400 | $18,000 – $24,000 |
Apart from that, fire damage costs also depend on two other factors. The type of fire and the chemical residual removal.
Fires can be caused by numerous reasons. Each classification of fire damages your property differently. Let’s check these types and their associated restoration costs.
| Type of Fire | Restoration Cost |
|---|---|
| Fire from wood and ordinary combustible materials | $8200 – $12,800 |
| Fire from highly flammable liquids like gasoline | $13,000 – $18,500 |
| Fire from electrical circuits, faulty outlets, or appliances | $11,800 – $20,500 |
| Fire from kitchen malfunctions or general negligence | $11,200 – $19,500 |
| Fire from highly combustible metallic materials | $14,000 – $25,000 |
The prices vary on the nature of the fire because contractors have to implement unique techniques. Not only that, they also have to use a wide variety of specialized tools to suppress the effects of fire.
For example, a fire caused by inflammable liquids is much harder to put out in comparison to combustible wood.
Lastly, chemical residual removal can also elevate the price of fire damage restoration. The efforts of firefighters to eliminate a fire can contaminate your home with harmful substances.
Without adequate expertise, these chemicals can impose serious health risks. On average, a chemical removal service can add an extra $4000 to $6000 depending on the spread of residuals.
Factors to Keep in Mind for the Selection of a Restoration Service
In this section, we’ll go over the various factors for the selection of a reliable restoration service. Let’s check them with brief details.
- Track Record: Always check the past restoration projects of a company. A successful record is an indication of expertise and dedication to the craft.
- Equipment/Inventory: Restoration isn’t a strictly manual job. You should always check if your contractor has the right tools for restoration, especially for fire restoration.
- Response Time: Unlike other services, restoration cannot be delayed to a later date. It requires immediate solutions. Your contractor should project quick responsiveness in every manner.
- Pricing: Your contractor should always be willing to negotiate pricing terms with you. Higher flat rates don’t always translate to premium & satisfactory services.
Final Thoughts
This brings us to the finish line of our comprehensive guide on water, flood, and fire damage restoration costs. While the restoration cost of any kind of damage is astronomical, it is necessary. Without restoration services, you will have to do repairs and replacements. In the long run, these repairs cost a lot more in comparison to restoration.
We hope this guide provides you with a reference point for restoration services costs. Let us know if you have any queries regarding any aspect of these costs.
