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Burned down houses are outdoors…

3,975 Views | 29 Replies | Last: 57 min ago by HillCountry15
bam02
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9:20a, 3/17/26
AG
I wasn't quite sure which board would be best for this question but I know this one has lots of wisdom and lots of traffic.

We lost our house in SA to a fire in January. In the chaos of that first day we contacted a restoration company that was out of Houston (probably a poor decision but it was a friend of a friend and we weren't sure what to do). All we had them do was put up a fence around the property but then the next day the city of SA gave us an order to demo The structure within 96 hours. In a bit of a panic we asked that contractor if they could do it and they said yes. They sent me a rough order of magnitude and it estimated $45k for demo and haul away. I agreed and they got it done.

Wafted they were done we opted to have the slab demolished and hauled away but this time our builder had his demo guy do it. He did the entire job for $8500.

I then got the invoice from the restoration company for the structure demo and it came to $72k. I was shocked.

I guess I have no recourse but it seems way out of line based on what the slab demo cost us. I know they're different jobs but it seemed like same ballpark of work and materials.

Any advice? Insurance will only take care of about $35k of all this demo work. I know I need to pay them but just want to make sure I'm getting completely scammed.
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MouthBQ98
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9:32a, 3/17/26
AG
It's a bit late but I would have had insurance involved in this from up front regarding quotes for work minus deductible. All the parties need to understand what the cost and budget are.

I wouldn't have worried about the city: you can tie them up in red tape in their own bureaucracy easily enough to get the time you need.
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Gunny456
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In reply to bam02 • 9:33a, 3/17/26
AG
Sorry for your loss and trauma of the fire. We had a lightning strike/ fire on our house three years ago. Due to quick response of our FD they saved the house…
This seems really high. Our church just demolished a standing two story 2800sq. house that had a full basement.
We paid just at $22,000 for knocking it down, hauling it all off and having the basement completed filled in and packed in 12" increment to specs for construction.
Hauled in topsoil and re sod.
Maybe I'm comparing apples to oranges but my goodness.
TAMU Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences

Boat racing is like a beautiful woman.......expensive, high maintenance, but well worth the fun!
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Milwaukees Best Light
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9:41a, 3/17/26
AG
Tell them your insurance only covers 30k and you only have 5k left after contracting the building. See if he will take 35k and walk away. Cash flow is king and he knows it.
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bam02
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In reply to Milwaukees Best Light • 10:16a, 3/17/26
AG
Thanks. That's probably the best advice. I already pushed back and asked for explanations as to why it was so far beyond the original estimate. Their daily charge seems exorbitant in hindsight.
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ttha_aggie_09
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In reply to Milwaukees Best Light • 10:22a, 3/17/26
AG
Milwaukees Best Light said:
Tell them your insurance only covers 30k and you only have 5k left after contracting the building. See if he will take 35k and walk away. Cash flow is king and he knows it.
100% this

This guy sounds like he inflated the crap out of the invoice knowing he would have to deal with insurance. Let him fight that battle and take their BS shenanigans elsewhere.
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O.G.
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10:34a, 3/17/26
I've seen post fire houses, back in 2011 in Plantersville, it is devastating & I'm sorry for what you went through. Gotta be rough.

Serious question though.

By chance did you have a gun safe in the house & if so, how did it hold up?

Its crazy what survives a fire, and what doesnt.
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bam02
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In reply to O.G. • 10:50a, 3/17/26
AG
I was dreading this inevitable OB question. Nope. All long guns were in a locked closet and they all were destroyed.

Only thing that makes me feel better is that I don't think anything but a super high fire-rated safe would have saved them. This area burned crazy hot for well over an hour.
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Jason_Roofer
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11:06a, 3/17/26
Did you sign a contract prior to demo? If so, what did it say? I obviously work with insurance all the time for much smaller things but a 40-100k roof isn't uncommon. My point is that it's MY job to make sure my customer understands the cost and if it's insurance then I insist on seeing the document and exactly what is and is not covered. If a customer refuses and I cannot see the document I will not proceed. If I can review it and the insurance is short, it's up to me to fix that. If you have ANY documentation of the contractor giving you a price, then I would absolutely hold that over their head and go full bore on that. If they want more, they need a change order and they need to clear it with insurance. Not you.

Because of exactly this kind of thing, I do not give verbal pricing, ballparks, back of the napkin pricing, etc. If I'm serious about the project and the customer is serious about the project then they deserve a formal contract with a price.

Again, if they so much as texted you a price, run with it.

Sorry you had to deal with this and it sucks. I seriously don't know how some contractors stay in business.
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schmellba99
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11:45a, 3/17/26
AG
1. Did you have a formal quote? (Word of advice - NEVER go with a word of mouth quote. Ever. I"m a contractor and I'll tell you this up front. I don't take word of mouth quotes from subcontractors, owners, vendors, etc. I have no problem discussing the price, but it always is followed up with a written quote stating scope, terms and conditions).

2. Did they notify you at any point during the demo that it would exceed the quoted cost? If there was a written quote defining scope and they knew that costs were going to exceed the quote because of site conditions, etc. and did not notify you and get approval for the additional cost, they did it at risk and that's their own dumbass fault. As a contractor I don't do extra work (some exceptions here and there) without the person paying me knowing what the extra work is, what it will cost and why it costs what it does. Because in 99.999% of situations if I do something outside the scope because I am a good guy, I did it on my dime.

3. Tell them you want an itemized list of all costs associated with the demo so you can review it and verify that the costs are, in fact, legit. If they can't come up with that - sucks to be them. They quoted $45k, you agreed to $45k and they should have been better at communication.

This is also why I will never be involved in anything homebuilding, ever. Hard pass on that type of work.
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Mark Fairchild
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1:08p, 3/17/26
AG
It does you no good, but we are Heartbroken for y'all, I cannot imagine!
Gig'em, Ole Army Class of '70
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Corps_Ag12
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2:42p, 3/17/26
AG
If he gave you a written quote for $45k for demo you owe him $45k. If there was no indication from him that it would be more during the process, tell him to pound sand. If he won't take $45k then tell him to pound sand again.

I doubt he would come after you considering what attorney fees would eat up of the additional $27k he wants.

Sounds like he didn't know what the hell he was doing and winged a number hoping he could make it work and then got burned.
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bam02
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In reply to Mark Fairchild • 3:42p, 3/17/26
AG
Mark Fairchild said:
It does you no good, but we are Heartbroken for y'all, I cannot imagine!


Thank you. We've been overwhelmed by everyone's carrying and generosity.

I've always been overly sentimental about material things and held onto anything anyone had ever given me. That said I am handling losing everything surprisingly well. Definitely gave me some new perspective.
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agracer
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In reply to bam02 • 2:16p, 3/19/26
AG
bam02 said:
Thanks. That's probably the best advice. I already pushed back and asked for explanations as to why it was so far beyond the original estimate. Their daily charge seems exorbitant in hindsight.

Did you get the original estimate in writing?

Tell them to justify the extra costs or as suggested, offer to pay them what your insurance co. will reimburse you + deductible and walk away.

Did you have a signed agreement to do the demo work? If no, seems like the contractors recourse would be fairly limited as you have no contract to do the work (although an e-mail is enforceable as an agreement).
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agracer
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In reply to Corps_Ag12 • 2:19p, 3/19/26
AG
Corps_Ag12 said:
If he gave you a written quote for $45k for demo you owe him $45k. If there was no indication from him that it would be more during the process, tell him to pound sand. If he won't take $45k then tell him to pound sand again.

I doubt he would come after you considering what attorney fees would eat up of the additional $27k he wants.

Sounds like he didn't know what the hell he was doing and winged a number hoping he could make it work and then got burned.

Could the contractor not place a lien on his property for the fee?
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BearJew13
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In reply to agracer • 3:03p, 3/19/26
AG
Yes, but it would likely be an improper lien.
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shalackin
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3:12p, 3/19/26
AG
What is the name of teh company? A lot of things come down to what you sign. But even then there are limitations to what people can charge. Did they have an answer to your question as to why the price jumped? We have demo'd quite a few entire homes after fires and other losses. Never came near that cost. Unfortunately, the restoration industry has many people that see insurance as an opportunity to gouge.
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harge57
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7:22a, 3/20/26
AG
This sucks. Unfortunately after my whole street flooded I was exposed to story after story like this where "restoration" companies were basically praying on people's situations. They all seemed like crooks.
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bam02
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In reply to harge57 • 8:05a, 3/20/26
AG
Yeah we had the first one approach us at 4am as the house was still burning and my kids were in the car crying.

I think we had 9 come to the house throughout that morning.
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bam02
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8:09a, 3/20/26
AG
Here was the explanation I got when I questioned the surprise total…


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shalackin
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8:40a, 3/20/26
AG
Why do you say insurance is only paying 35K? Do they have a specific provision in your policy that states a limit on demo?

It probably won't matter in the long run, as they should be paying out policy limit as a total loss either way. It matters more to you.
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bam02
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8:50a, 3/20/26
AG
They already paid out the policy limit for the structure and then we still have to deal with the contents claim (a daunting task!). The 35k was specifically for demo and debris removal. Just trying to be careful with costs as this is gonna be a long expensive rebuild.
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Corps_Ag12
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8:57a, 3/20/26
AG
I think before you post anymore you should speak to an attorney skilled in contract law.

I hope you have a copy of what you signed with the contractor because whatever that says (in conjunction with state law) will rule.
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ENG
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In reply to bam02 • 9:12a, 3/20/26
AG
Maybe different industries have different thresholds. +75/-50 is not a ROM, it is a guess. It should not have been too difficult to land on a cost more accurate than that. I know it is a weird situation but your guy does not know how to estimate a job.
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Milwaukees Best Light
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10:03a, 3/20/26
AG
My Aggie math has it at about 40k. That is quite different than the 72k in the op. What am I missing?
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shalackin
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10:16a, 3/20/26
AG
All of us are speculating without knowing all the details. Many times, companies in our industry work without a sense of urgency so that bills go up because they are used to insurance being their golden goose. when it is a max out claim, that changes as it is your money to rebuild with.

make sure you are also getting all our policy riders paid out that are on top of the policy max, if you have any. ALE, Contents, etc.....
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Jason_Roofer
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In reply to agracer • 10:21a, 3/20/26
agracer said:
Corps_Ag12 said:
If he gave you a written quote for $45k for demo you owe him $45k. If there was no indication from him that it would be more during the process, tell him to pound sand. If he won't take $45k then tell him to pound sand again.

I doubt he would come after you considering what attorney fees would eat up of the additional $27k he wants.

Sounds like he didn't know what the hell he was doing and winged a number hoping he could make it work and then got burned.

Could the contractor not place a lien on his property for the fee?

Not really. It's not that easy. You have to have a lot of things in order for it to be legit. Executed legitimate contracts are just one major piece. You can't just Michael Scott it "I DECLARE A LIEN!"...
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Corps_Ag12
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4:36p
AG
Any updates on this front?
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Prince_Ahmed
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In reply to Milwaukees Best Light • 5:03p
Milwaukees Best Light said:
My Aggie math has it at about 40k. That is quite different than the 72k in the op. What am I missing?

Bless your heart.

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HillCountry15
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In reply to Prince_Ahmed • 7:10p
Prince_Ahmed said:
Milwaukees Best Light said:
My Aggie math has it at about 40k. That is quite different than the 72k in the op. What am I missing?

Bless your heart.

to be fair, he did say "Aggie math"
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