1. How do I contact Pleasant Valley Building?
Non-emergency calls/texts that come in after hours will generally be returned the following business day. The 24/7 number is (248) 412-4030 and the office number is (248) 446-2656.
2. What happens after my home is dry?
After the water mitigation is complete, there may be a need for repairs. Pleasant Valley Building (PVB) has an in-house team dedicated to rebuilding homes. 1-800 Water Damage is our sister company, so they notify us that your home needs restoration. Many homes require repair, and we cannot always take on all of them. If we are at capacity, we will refer you to a company that we trust, or you can ask your insurance adjuster for recommendations. We will review the job to see if we have the capacity and/or tradespeople to handle your repairs. If we can, we will call you to schedule an initial inspection.
3. What is a general contractor?
When you begin planning the rebuild, there are different trades hired to do the work, like flooring specialists, plumbers, electricians, and cabinetry specialists. As a general contractor, we hire and schedule the different trades needed to get your home back to the way it was. We have subcontractors and an in-house team who all stand by our values of integrity and doing the right thing when no one is watching.
4. What is the process?
Rebuild requires a post-demo inspection. An estimate needs to be created, submitted for review, and approved by the insurance adjuster. This process can take many weeks depending on the size of the job and how busy the adjuster is with other claims. Right after large weather events, adjusters and trades people can be slammed with work and therefore, turnaround times can be greatly affected. If approved by the adjuster and you the homeowner, we can then start scheduling the repairs. If this is an insurance claim, after the estimate has been approved, your adjuster will generally send out a partial payment less any recoverable depreciation. This is called the actual cash value (ACV) of the policy. The customer will either sign over the ACV check to PVB or deposit the funds and write a check to PVB for this ACV amount. This will allow PVB to purchase materials for the project (flooring, cabinetry, drywall, paint, electrical, or plumbing supplies, etc.) and then pay our workers/subcontractors as they perform the work. Once the project has been completed and the work has been verified by the adjuster, they will generally send the remaining balance of the estimate to you, the homeowner or directly to PVB.
Throughout the process, we may discover that additional unforeseen items need to be added to the estimate. This regularly happens with all general contractors. Generally, we would send a “supplement” back to the insurance adjuster with the additional items that had not been originally accounted for. This will be done prior to the work being performed for that specific task so as not to surprise you, the homeowner, with unexpected costs if it were not covered by your policy.
5. How long will the reconstruction project take?
The length of time for rebuild differs for each job due to the many variables involved. Some factors that may impact the length of the project include the type of damage that was done, the size of your home, the amount of furnishings inside, how many trades are involved, backorder on materials, and items selected. We are collaborating with numerous subcontractors. If we ask you, the homeowner, to pick out flooring within a two-week window and you are a week late, often that will push the project completion out at least a week and sometimes more because we are trying to coordinate multiple trades. If one of our projects gets pushed off, they may already be committed at another project, so a few days delay in selecting flooring, for example, may result in several weeks of delay because of juggling multiple trades, multiple projects, and multiple schedules. PVB’s estimates will be approved by the insurance company before any work will begin. We work hard to keep you informed throughout the entire process.
6. Do I have to use the company my insurance adjuster refers to me?
No, you may choose any restoration company to do the work. Even if it is suggested by your insurance adjuster, it is your choice which company you want to restore your home. If this is an insurance claim, we are all working from the same price book. If you were to select a contractor based on a lower price, likely their price was lower because they forgot to include something in the estimate. This will be added as discussed above in the form of a supplement. The adjuster will make sure that a contractor is not over billing. Your job is to choose the contractor you like and trust the most. The pricing and invoicing will take care of itself.
7. How is the estimate calculated?
We use a software package called Xactimate which has been created by the insurance industry to determine the scope of work accurately. This is based on type, quality and quantity of materials, subcontractors, labor hours, project size, and duration of the project.
8. How do I find out how much my rebuild will cost?
The cost of the rebuild is based on the extent of damage and materials affected. First, we will come to your house to do an inspection, write an estimate, and submit it to your insurance adjuster for approval. Once it is approved, someone from our team will reach out to let you know how much the rebuild will be. Many customers also decide to make additional changes while their house is under construction. You could perform additional work or use better quality products than you previously had in place. For example, you have had Formica counters in your kitchen and the insurance company values them at $2000. However, you would like granite counters and those cost $5000 (material + any additional labor required). You would just pay the difference of $3000.
9. Who should I contact if I have questions or concerns?
Contact our project manager, Rob or our coordinator, Amanda with any questions related to the rebuild estimate. Any scheduling, timeline questions, or material selections, contact our coordinator, Amanda. If you have questions about changes to the project or specific areas of work or are unhappy with any work done by a subcontractor, call our project manager, Rob. We want to ensure the work is completed to your satisfaction, and in accordance with PVB’s standards.
10. Should I file a claim with my insurance company?
Whether you file a claim or not is up to you. Contact your insurance agent to discuss your coverage and any concerns about the size of claims or number of claims and the effect they may have on your premiums.
11. Do I have to be at home all the time?
No, you may provide a key which will be kept in a lock box on the property for access. You can also provide a garage code, or a neighbor/family member can meet us at the job site as well.
12. Will my belongings need to be removed from my house?
Depending on the amount of content in your home, belongings may be kept on location in other adjacent rooms in the home, a garage, or in an onsite storage container. We will generally handle the movement of all contents unless other arrangements have been made. For larger losses and remodel projects, your contents may have to be completely packed out and stored offsite. For belongings left on site, we will take the appropriate measures to cover all items and furnishings during the project.
13. Are you licensed and insured?
Yes, we are a licensed general contracting company, and all employees and subcontractors are fully insured.
- Michigan Builder’s License: 801831573
- Federal EIN: 47-3590674
14. Do you have a Warranty?
Yes, PVB warranties the work that we and our subcontractors perform for 1 year. Material/product warranties are based on what the manufacturer and/or supplier provides. For product/material issues (i.e., any selections you have made; vanities, cabinets, plumbing/electrical fixtures, appliances, etc.), we will only charge for the labor portion of the job (repair/remove/replace) if such product/material has a warranty issue, unless the manufacturer/supplier covers these costs.
Any issues involving the quality of the workmanship will be addressed by PVB. However, we are limited in what we are reasonably responsible for. For example, if we are working on an old farmhouse and the rooms/structure are not square, when we replace drywall, the room/structure will still NOT be square. That is beyond our control.
Houses often “settle,” and some materials can expand and/or contract with the changing weather/temperatures here in Michigan. Occasionally, this can result in cracks in the drywall and “nail pops” that are a result of settling/expanding/contracting. It’s possible that this may occur.
