Bixby homeowner Scott faced disaster when a failed water heater flooded his house just two days before a scheduled family trip to Florida.
Burggraf Disaster Restoration helped him navigate the complex process of cleanup, insurance, and restoration with “quality craftsmanship” and “detailed communications.”
“I never felt like I didn’t know what was going on or what the plan was. It always felt very controlled to me,” Scott said. “I would recommend them to anyone.”
Can you please introduce yourself?
I’m Scott VanderGriff. I live in Bixby, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa.
What are your favorite places in Bixby?
I’m a big fan of Scott’s Hamburgers in downtown Bixby and Honeysuckle Chocolatier.
The process of drying out.
Let’s talk about your home. Can you tell me what happened?
I had a water heater failure that discharged water into my home. There was damage done in three separate rooms and I reached out to them to help with the restoration.
What were you thinking or feeling in that moment when you reached out to them?
Panic. When you come to realize the scope of the damage that we had it was a great comfort to work with the folks at Burggraf because you were just sure, like right from the very beginning, that these were professionals.
They knew what they were doing. They helped me navigate the insurance process, which has its own complexities.
On top of the concern you have about the visible and invisible potential damage to your home, there’s always that bit of uncertainty associated with dealing with insurance. They alleviated all of that.
Fully repaired.
How was this problem impacting your life?
Well, it just so happened that I had met Robert Williams, who runs the operations for Burggraf here in town, a couple of weeks prior to the event occurring.
And two days after we identified the problem, my nephew was getting married in Florida, and we had plans to go. We didn’t know if we’d be able to. It was a really important moment for our broader family and we certainly wanted to be there.
If I hadn’t met Robert and had that faith and confidence in him, it would’ve had an impact on our ability to be part of this really significant moment in my nephew’s life.
Then you have the process which was going to require us to be out of our home for extended periods of time. And the team at Burggraf worked with us around that, so that we could time up those work efforts with some travel that we already had planned, so we didn’t have to pack up and go live in a rental home.
All the people they brought in to do work here were incredibly knowledgeable, incredibly professional, very respectful. It just helped us to navigate this process, that they were able to bring that sort of professional flexibility to our situation.
They tried to make it as easy for us as possible as we’re navigating through the reconstruction of several things in different rooms in our home.
What was their plan for the restoration in your home?
We had to replace a section of our hardwood floor which had gotten damaged. And because of the water that came in underneath the floor, it required them to resurface or refinish all the wood on the first floor. About two-thirds of the first floor of our home is hardwood, so that was a big effort in multiple rooms of the house.
We had to replace the tile in our kitchen and dining area, because that had also gotten water damaged. They had to pull up a section of it and then we learned that they no longer made the tile that we had, so that was a big effort.
And then the third room that was impacted was a guest master bedroom on the first floor. That required them to pull up the carpet, get all the wet padding out and dry it all out and spray it, and all that kind of stuff.
There was some damage to walls and they had to refinish the walls, repaint the walls and all that kind of stuff. They had to rebuild a cabinet that had gotten damaged as well, which they did a great job rebuilding in their shop. Those are the main things.
How did they help you achieve success?
First of all was helping me to understand that I was working with people who knew what they were doing and that their primary concern was addressing my problems.
They helped me navigate the insurance. They worked with me on all aspects of all the reconstruction work as it related to selecting the tile and consulting with me on the various steps involved in the restoration.
And then again, accommodating my schedule so that they could schedule work during times when I would already be gone.There were times when we needed to be out of the house in order for them to do the work they needed to do.
Why was this important to you and how were you feeling after the restoration was done?
This is important to any homeowner, right? This is the single biggest asset most people own. You love your home, you’re worried about your home.
The quality of the craftsmanship, the details of the communications: I never felt like I didn’t know what was going on or what the plan was. It always felt very controlled to me, even though it was a long, complicated process, to get it all done.
How did they help you avoid failure?
Their people were very knowledgeable, very professional. All of the subcontractors that they brought in were craftsmen. They were true craftsmen.
And they just were great at communicating, great at explaining because I had lots of questions, because this isn’t my area of expertise.
Their patience with me and answering all my questions, is what helped to guarantee the successful outcome in my opinion.
I would confidently recommend Burggraf to anyone.
Clean Up Water Damage Fast
When you need water damage cleaned up fast and cleaned up right, give Burggraf a call. We’ll get you back on your feet.