MEMPHIS GUIDE

Questions to ask a Memphis restoration company

You do not need a ranking site to run a walkthrough. You need a short list and a pen. Ask until the answer is specific to your rooms, then get it on the page they want you to approve.

By Mike M · Sources checked October 6, 2026 · How we write these guides

Source, safety, and what they think the water is

Start with the story you already wrote down. What do they think the source is, and is it stopped? If they cannot say, the rest of the quote is a guess. Ask them to repeat back clean supply, rain through an opening, drainage from outside, or sewage. Correct them if they upgrade or downgrade the water to make the job sound simpler. You are not being difficult. You are keeping the scope honest.

Ask what they will not do today because it is unsafe. A sagging plaster ceiling, a wet panel, and a flooded crawlspace are reasons to pause, not reasons for you to "go first" and show them the damage. If they want you to enter a space you already decided was unsafe, that is information about the company. The shorter credential overview lives on the hiring page. This list is the conversation itself.

Ask who is in charge on site and which training that person actually holds. Industry certificates are a fair question. They are not a city franchise and they are not a plumbing license. Write the name down. If a different crew will return tomorrow, ask whether the same scope still applies.

Rooms, removals, and the crawlspace

Ask them to name every room in the scope, including closets and the ceiling below a bath. "Affected areas" is not a room list. Ask what comes out: carpet pad, baseboard, plaster, insulation, cabinet floors. Ask what stays and gets dried in place. Ask how they will protect stairs and neighboring rooms in a bungalow where plaster dust travels. Point at furniture and papers you will move yourself.

If the house has a crawlspace, ask the question in one sentence: is under-floor work included, and when will you refuse to go under? A cupped oak floor with the crawlspace excluded is an unfinished plan. Read the crawlspace guide so you know what a safe description sounds like before you agree to "we will take a peek." Access, lighting, and standing water belong in that answer.

Ask about contents. What is discarded, what is packed, and where it sits. In a small house the only dry room may be the one they want to fill with furniture. That is a logistics answer, not a courtesy. Get it before the truck blocks the drive.

Ask how they will get equipment in without tearing a plaster opening you did not discuss. Narrow bungalow stairs, a finished oak landing, and a single front door are normal in these neighborhoods. A crew that has only worked in open slab houses may not mention floor protection until the compressor is already in the hall. Ask what they lay down, who moves it for the night, and whether the door can still close. If the answer is a shrug, write "protection not described" on the scope and ask for a line.

Equipment, readings, and when the job ends

Ask which equipment they expect to set and whether dehumidification is part of the plan or an extra they might mention later. Ask who returns to check it, including on a weekend if the leak happened on a Friday. Ask what they do if the power trips. An unattended fan that is off is not drying your plaster.

Ask how moisture will be measured, in which materials, and what result ends the equipment rental. "Until it is dry" is not a result. You do not need to know the meter brand. You need a stop condition you can recognize. Daily charges and after-hours fees should be lines on the page, not a surprise. The cost-factor guide explains why those lines exist without inventing dollar amounts. Compare stop conditions, not just the first-day total.

Ask what "done" does not include. Painting, new flooring, a rebuilt cabinet, and a roof patch are often later trades. If they are in this quote, the rooms and the allowances should say so. If they are out, you need to know you are buying a dry building, not a finished one.

Other trades, insurance, and the signature

Ask which licensed plumber repairs a failed supply or drain, and whether that person is inside this price. Ask the same for a roofer if an opening is still open. Drying under an open roof wastes the day. Ask who pulls any permit if the work goes beyond drying. The permit notes explain why the city or county office for your address has to confirm that, and why a contractor's "never" is not always the rule.

Ask what they will photograph and whether you get copies. Ask what they need from you before they remove materials, especially if you plan to talk to an insurer. They are not your adjuster. You can still want the tear-out timed so you are not throwing away the evidence the carrier asked to see. Keep your own photos either way.

Before you sign, read the water category, the room list, crawlspace in or out, the stop condition for drying, the exclusions, and the insurance certificate. If a blank is still blank, do not let a hallway conversation fill it later. No star rating replaces that page. This site does not rank companies or choose who answers a referral call.

If two companies walked the same afternoon, compare their pages side by side the same night, while you still remember who said the crawlspace was wet. Highlight any room one of them skipped. Call back the company that skipped it and ask whether the omission was a choice or an oversight. A corrected page is fine. A verbal "oh, we meant to include that" is how the invoice grows after the furniture is in the yard. Keep both versions.