Minnesota Water Damage Restoration Contractor

[Kyle Baron]

My Duplex is in danger! Hello Investors, my name is Kyle and I am a Minnesota beginning investor. I purchased my first property in August of last year (08/18/2017) and I have had some water problems with it since. I have water damage that needs restoration as to prevent mold. How can I be sure (if doing my own work) that I am doing the work correctly? How can I be sure that I am using the right drywall, following codes, not missing any water damage (if I miss replacing some water damage then that damage may turn into mold, which is huge problems of course), and what happens if my Homeowner's insurance check doesn't cover the damage?!

I had a thought to contact a local Restoration Contractor to hire to do the work for me, such as to minimize risk, and see what I can't learn from them during the process, rather than screwing up my own first home in doing my own work incorrectly due to lack of experience and knowledge. Would anyone know of any contractors specialized in this field that you wouldn't mind referring me to? Please let me know - Thank you!

[John Woodrich]

There are several contractors that specialize in this.  I have used Ungerman on one project paid by insurance proceeds.  Cost was around $8k for them to essentially gut most of the lower level, remove all sheetrock and insulation, and dry out the lower unit with blowers and a type of humidity vacuum. 

Drywall sucks water so unless you have a moisture meter it can be hard or impossible to tell what is saturated.  I have a GE Protimeter MMS2 which is the same tool used by Ungerman contractors.  The tool works well but they are pretty expensive so purchasing to play around isn't really an option.  I also use an infrared camera I have to detect changes in temp however these are also pretty expensive.

If insurance will cover it I would go that route.  If I told you more information here than you already knew I would suggest you not take this project on your own.  If you don't get all the moisture out you will be wasting a lot of time and money.