STAY AWAY--SHODDY, INCOMPLETE WORK AT PREMIUM PRICES! House still holding moisture 30 days after…read morecompletion, and NO accountability. The disaster after the disaster.
After Hurricane Helene hit and flooded our home, my wife and I were in need of pro remediation fast. To their credit, Master Restoration was the first to call us back. Having gotten their name on recommendation, seeing their positive reviews, and verifying they were licensed and insured, we decided to hire them. Although their price was extremely high compared to competitors, we believed we would be getting thorough, premium service by a respected, established local company. How wrong we were.
Right out of the gate, we were blindsided by their refusal to remove our glued-down engineered wood flooring. Apparently they only include easy-to-remove laminates and floating tile. No price adjustment to their flat rate was offered as compensation, leaving us to seek out another vendor for that, at additional expense. Once the contract was signed, we also discovered our main contact wouldn't return calls or texts unless prompted by his superiors, forcing us to repeatedly contact the main office to inquire about the schedule and project status. On two occasions, he did assure me that permits for the work were being secured through the city on our behalf.
Next, we realized each phase of the project was apparently being farmed-out to unknown subcontractors, who performed substandard work without adequate supervision or any follow-up inspections by the company. They would show-up at our home without notice, forcing us to reschedule them at more appropriate times. No HEPA air scrubber was used during the process. They did the four-foot drywall cutout, but we later noticed some insulation was still left in place, as well as inconsistency with door and window frame removal. Kitchen cabinetry wasn't handled properly, with floor-to-ceiling sections cut in half, rather than removed at the crown. The plumber they hired didn't even have a part to cap the water line when disconnecting the fridge!
The so-called "sanitization" phase would be laughable if it weren't so abysmal. Instead of checking to make sure the house water main was turned on, the team attempted to use a dribble of water from an open interior pipe to mop the floors. When that failed, they asked me if they could use the black contaminated water from our storm-damaged swimming pool! I refused, of course, and then they finally checked the water main and turned it on. Even with fresh water, the clean-up was nothing more than pushing a dirty mop around without any cleansers, resulting in cloudy, soiled floors still caked with drywall dust.
Then came the "dry-out" phase--shamefully lacking in industry-standard protocol. One dehumidifier was brought in to cover 2500 sq ft, along with a handful of air movers. They were left in-place for five days, which we were led to believe would be more than adequate. Apparently not. When the team returned, they appeared to take a couple of moisture readings, which seemed to be below the 15% mark, as required. I watched as one team member fumbled with a moisture meter, pushing buttons until the reading looked good. I have since learned he may have been "fooling the meter", by choosing hardwood mode instead of the appropriate soft wood mode for the beams. Thirty days out, readings reveal the moisture is still far from gone, remaining saturated between 28-36% in certain places, leaving us at risk.
Lastly, we were promised by contract a complete post-remediation report with photos to be furnished to FEMA and our insurance carrier. To date, we have not received the report, and Master Restoration has failed to respond to our queries about its status, as well as the status of the city permits or the PRV mold report required per their license. Now we are faced with the unpleasant prospect of paying EVEN MORE MONEY to another, more reputable company to complete the work. Do yourself a favor, and PASS ON MASTER RESTORATION!
