News & Perspectives
News, case studies, and founder perspectives on restoration estimating.
How I've Made Over $3M Doing Storm Work
The playbook for running a lean storm trip that pays: where to go, when to bring the crew, and when to go home.
Can Wet Carpet Pad Be Saved? The Restoration Call and the Line Items
When wet carpet pad can be dried in place and when it has to come out, by water category, pad type, and subfloor, plus the line items for each path.
Water Damaged Kitchen Cabinets and Insurance: When to Dry in Place vs Tear Out
How to decide whether water damaged kitchen cabinets get dried in place, detached and reset, or torn out, plus the line items and documentation for each path.
Grain Depression: How to Calculate It for a Dehumidifier on a Water Loss
How to calculate dehumidifier grain depression from temperature and RH readings, what low or negative numbers mean, and how the readings affect dehumidifier billing.
How to Determine the Class of Water Damage (Classes 1 to 4)
The IICRC S500 classes of water damage, how to calculate the class from wet surface area, and what each class changes in the estimate.
What Is an Acceptable Moisture Meter Reading on Drywall?
Acceptable drywall moisture readings are set by the dry standard in the building, not by a universal number. How to establish one, why published ranges conflict, and how readings defend equipment days.
What Goes on a Water Mitigation Invoice: Line Items, Documentation, and What Gets Cut
The line items that belong on a water mitigation invoice in the order the work happened, the documentation package a carrier requires to pay it, and the four things third-party auditors flag most often.
How High to Flood Cut Drywall (and How to Bill It)
What height a flood cut should be, why the decision comes from moisture readings instead of a fixed number, and how the 2 foot, 4 foot, and full height cuts each map to a different line item measured in linear feet.
The Line of Sight Rule in Water Damage Claims: How to Estimate Flooring That Cannot Be Matched
What the line of sight rule means on a water damage claim, which states have written matching into law, and how to scope and document continuous flooring so an adjuster pays the full run instead of a patch.
Nobody Knows the Number
In restoration, you don't get paid when the work is done. You get paid when the fight ends. Why we built Wave, from a family that lived it.
Water Damage Drying Log Requirements: What a Drying Log Has to Include
What a water damage drying log must contain to survive carrier review, including the daily readings the IICRC S500 requires, the dry standard that ends the job, and how the log ties back to the equipment line items on the invoice.
How to Write a Category 3 Water Damage Estimate
A step-by-step guide to writing a Category 3 (black water) estimate, including the line items that separate a Cat 3 scope from a Cat 2 and the documentation adjusters need before they approve it.
How Many Air Movers and Dehumidifiers Do You Need for Water Damage?
The IICRC S500 formulas for sizing air movers and dehumidifiers on a water damage job, plus the line items that keep the equipment days from getting cut.
What Franchise Restoration Operators Are Actually Up Against (And What I'm Building)
Working with restoration companies across the country, I keep hearing the same story from franchisees. It is the structure they operate inside, not the brands themselves, that is squeezing them.
We Must Change Everything, Or We Die
The traditional restoration workflow is a death sentence for cashflow. Here is how we can fix it.