UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES
About us
Full-Service General Contractor specializing in both Fire and Water Damage Restoration. We provide timely, professional services to restore homes and businesses after any kind of property damage loss.
Business highlights
Emergency services offered
36 years of experience
Services we offer
Animal Invasion, Hail/Ice Damming, Hazardous Material, Impact Damage, Tornado, Vandalism, Water Damage, We provide all services to clean up and restore after Fire/Smoke Damage, and Mold. Remodeling opportunities also welcome.
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Reviews
3.825 Reviews
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 48% | ||
| 16% | ||
| 16% | ||
| 8% | ||
| 12% |
Showing 1-25 of 25 reviews
Valerie C.
Mar 2017
Words cannot be written down how horrible this process was. Please. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT allow this company near your home, your place of business or anything you want fixed. This company is the reason why people do not like contractors and/or getting work done to their house. Here is a minor list of the items that they have failed to do when receiving my insurance claim of water damage back in January 2016: - failed to finish the work even close to the time line: started work in end of February with a promise they would be complete by end of April. The final guy left my house by mid October. - Items were stolen from my household: be it the subcontractors or them, my brand new carpet washer was stolen along with my son's bag of R/C cars. Although reimbursement was made for the carpet washer, I'm sure you wouldn't want anyone in your house with a track record of stolen goods. - Messages threatening to stop work: random messages threatening to stop work. This was a late night 10 o'clock text that just said he would stop work. - Shoddy work: warped floor, splitting wood and baseboards that have already split from the wall. Not to mention not sealing my kitchen sink. The list could go on and on including an altercation between me and the 1st project manager where he yelled and was aggressive during a conversation regarding the flooring. This company has seriously made me shudder at the thought of someone coming I to my house and I waited until I could even stomach writing all of our issues with just one company. Never in my life have I ever been so unsatisfied that it takes me time to write out my frustrations. It also shows you that I am taking my time to write such a long response in hopes that no one goes through the same pain that I went through.
Tauketula W.
Oct 2014
unknown
Juanita P.
Sep 2014
They came out seven days after the time I was expecting them. They broke several items of mine when moving the furniture. They cut the paneling in every room in the basement. They then took 8 of my doors, and said they would treat them for mold and bring them back. They never brought them back. When I spoke with Debbie, they stated that no one from that company would have done that. I am not of all of my doors.
Danielle H.
May 2014
My experience with Universal has been all around awful. Not able to maintain communication. Took 3 weeks from the estimate to even see people working in my house, and when they did the poor communication pushed it back again and again. I spoke with the estimator to communicate what I wanted and I expected a consultation with the contractors... nope they went right to work making decisions without me. They did sloppy drywall and painting and then kept giving me the run around when being promised that they would turn my experience around. The worst is missing work and boarding my dog because they were refinishing my floors, but then tell me "we have to push it back another week" all because they messed up and didn't get the cabinets and appliances out to have the flooring done. I've never had such a frustrating and unprofessional experience.
Chad A.
Mar 2014
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SALLY S.
Sep 2013
They were here within an hour of my call, and immediately went to work tearing everything apart to start the process. The cut holes in the drywall to help with airflow, tested for moisture everywhere, put five very large and powerful blowers. It was amazing to watch how they all worked!
Even on the way into the house they were taping down floor coverings to protect the it from their equipment. They installed all of the drying equipment on a Tuesday and came back on that Friday. When they came on Friday, they immediately went to work testing the entire house for moisture. Upon being satisfied with everything they cleaned up all of their equipment.
The following Monday, the project manager for the restoration portion of the work called back to schedule all that needed to be done. They came in and replaced all of the drywall, repainted the downstairs bathroom, replaced the flooded light fixture, restored all the cieling tiles and installed new carpet pads in the affected areas. They also replaced all of the baseboards and closet doors that been removed during the drying process, reinstalled the carpets, and finally cleaned any messes they may have created. I was amazed that all of this was done in less than two days.
In a heartbeat I would recommend them to anyone else in a similar situation!
Even on the way into the house they were taping down floor coverings to protect the it from their equipment. They installed all of the drying equipment on a Tuesday and came back on that Friday. When they came on Friday, they immediately went to work testing the entire house for moisture. Upon being satisfied with everything they cleaned up all of their equipment.
The following Monday, the project manager for the restoration portion of the work called back to schedule all that needed to be done. They came in and replaced all of the drywall, repainted the downstairs bathroom, replaced the flooded light fixture, restored all the cieling tiles and installed new carpet pads in the affected areas. They also replaced all of the baseboards and closet doors that been removed during the drying process, reinstalled the carpets, and finally cleaned any messes they may have created. I was amazed that all of this was done in less than two days.
In a heartbeat I would recommend them to anyone else in a similar situation!
Kathleen T.
Aug 2012
After a storm dropped a 40-foot spruce tree on our house, we had interior damage that included walls, ceilings, floors and carpets. Good communication throughout the project and we are thrilled with the results!
Response from UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES
"We appreciate your comments, and your business. Thank you!"
JEFF R.
Jun 2012
Universal provided very high quality workmanship. Whenever there were any concerns, these were remedied. The main trouble came from the contractor's inability to work with the insurance adjuster. This was not entirely the contractor's fault, though. We made the decision to eliminate the direct link between the contractor and insurance company out of concerns over who becomes 'the true customer'. The insurance adjuster was quite unreasonable. However, since a company which specializes in insurance claims promotes the idea of effectively working with claims adjusters, this would've been a better experience had it happened to someone prior to us. I'm sure Universal has made changes in the way to anticipate the attitudes of insurance adjusters.To wrap up, Universal provided excellent service and craftsmanship but was lacking in organization when it came to billing and working with the insurance company.Would still highly recommend for quality work.
Response from UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES
"Thank you for the honest feedback!"
Robert S.
Dec 2011
The work was good, acceptable.
Robert B.
Dec 2011
It was a few years ago, but the work was great. After the work was done, I called them because I thought there might be a problem, and they came right out the next day to resolve the issue.
Cheriff M.
Dec 2011
Overall, the experience was okay. I ended up having some problems with them destroying some of my property, but we ended up resolving it.
Jeremi H.
Dec 2011
Overall, the experience wasn’t very good. They completed the job and cleaned up well, however, they installed a sump pump that was way too big for my area. I guess it’s better too big than too small, but the sump pump was rated poorly by Consumer Reports, and it did turn out to be a bad sump pump. We had to change it out. They provided me with one estimate, but ended up giving me two bills. They told me that there was an extra fee because they had to send out a plumber and a restoration team, so basically they charged me two emergency fees, even though the plumber and the restoration team were from the same business. This may be common practice, but I was not made aware of this.
Ian R.
Dec 2011
Overall, the experience was great. We received a referral for Universal Restoration from our neighbor. We had actually moved already out of state, and they took care of everything, finishing the job within a couple of days and even worked with our insurance company. They did a good job and I definitely would recommend them to other people.
Judith S.
Sep 2011
They are excellent and they are an excellent company. They are wonderful. They were good to work with, accommodating, and very responsive and responsible. All of their subcontractors were excellent. I would highly recommend them to anyone.
CORINA A.
Oct 2010
The workers and supervisors were very professional and did a thorough job. When we had a question, the project manager responded quickly. I can't tell where the tree punctured the hole in our bedroom; the wall finisher and painter did an excellent job. The roofers worked in 90 degree heat without complaint. The soffits and gutters look great. Those workers also worked in 93 degree weather outside. The project manager put forth a lot of effort to make sure everything was restored similar to the original materials and spent a lot of time researching until he found the right leaf guard. He was very personable and professional. He always told us when to expect the workers and stopped by frequently to see how the work was progressing.
Laura M.
May 2010
See above. I'd make sure to find out who will be on site and who will be subcontracted. Hopefully you'd luck out and get the guy we had who was always a quick phone call away when he had to leave on other projects. He'd pop back again to answer questions to make sure stuff was done right. They also did another project and had to re-do something and they did so right away.
Nicholas B.
Jul 2009
They have been excellent. Our insurance covered all the costs. I have been very impressed with their responsiveness and with their suggestions about things that needed to be done. The insurance company contacted this person from their company who came out and did the estimate of what needed to be done. He had a very thorough 14 or 15 page report which had all the details about what needed to be done. They assigned a couple of guys to do the work. They worked quickly and they worked very well. They were very knowledgeable and expert in what they were doing. I was very impressed. We have already talked about couple of other projects with them.
Response from UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES
"Thank you! We appreciate the report, and your business."
Heather L.
Aug 2008
I thought that the paint job was sloppy. By their own admission they didn't sand or prepare the surfaces prior to painting. They said they don't do that for insurance work, though this portion of the work was supplimental (paid out of pocket) were only willing to correct the mismatched paint but not the surface imperfections. The tile work was awful. The grout is uneven between the tiles and the tiles are wavy and some chipped. The pea trap under the sink (which shows) was installed off center so they had to add an unsightly bit of pipe to extend it over. They accidentally removed some customized trim we had in the wall they moved, I told the GC to put it back the way it was and he insisted that it was impossible. I thought he just didn't know how to do it but when I scheduled a follow up meeting with my husband and an architect, the GC suddenly began volunteering possible solutions. If he had been willing to do that with me the first time, my husband wouldn't have had to miss half a day of work and we wouldn't have had to pay an architect for his time. *****PRIMARY CLAIM: We wanted to have new doors put into the wall we had them move. The doorways were supposed to remain unfinished until the doors arrived so as to ensure a proper fit before finishing. Once the doors arrived, they FINISHED THE HEADER 4" TOO HIGH FOR THE DOORS, BECAUSE THE CONTRACTORS FAILED TO MEASURE THE HEIGHT OF THE DOORS. THEY BLAMED ME SAYING I SHOULD HAVE TOLD THEM TO MEASURE THE HEIGHT... THE DOORS WERE SITTING RIGHT THERE IN THE SAME ROOM. They said they'd redo it but for a charge. I just don't even want them back to fix their work. They want the rest of their money, but I have to hire a decent contractor to fix their work, so far I've paid half of what I owe them. ***** To their credit they replaced my furnace after destroying it by running it without a filter in the new return during sanding, but only after living in our unit for about a month without being able to run the heat -because my son has chronic reactive bronchitis. This is a fact which I constantly repeated from the start but to no avail. They came out supposedly to "clean" and check my furnace several times, but when I looked inside, it remained completely coated in untouched dust. They finally agreed to replace it because it simply wasn't worth their time to clean it. The whole thing took from September to March. We admittedly caused a few delays totaling in maybe 3 weeks. But the main issue was that crews were not organized in a timely fashion. Our home would sit empty for weeks at a time, or only have one contractor working at a time, due to lack of planning. I do not have the time or the temperament to call and scream at a contractor every single day to scare them into planning ahead. I hired professionals to ensure better than DIY quality and certainly not to have to babysit.
Response from UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES
"Universal Restoration Services utilizes Xactimate estimating software, which uses "line item" estimating. The estimate called for painting of the walls. This does not cover repairs to existing defects of the wall surfaces, most of which were the result of poor drywall finishing from a previous contractor. The homeowners "assumed" that this was part of a normal painting process, which it is not. The imperfections referred to are areas where a repair was performed, and is visibly smoother than the unaffected areas, which are rougher in texture, due to many coats of paint applied over a long period of time. In reference to the location of the plumbing, the rough-ins were completed pertinent to the existing plumbing in the building, an exact location was never specified by the homeowner. It should also be noted that the sink design was changed from a pedestal to a wall mount after rough-ins were completed. In reference to the bathroom floor tile, the tile supplied by the homeowner comes in 12" x 12" sheets with pattern-matched edges, making the gap between the tiles pre-set. The "wavy" appearance she is referring to is the tile following the contour of the floor. This condition is more apparent due to the small size of the individual tiles, which are 3/4" dots. Regarding the "customized" trim, at no point in the estimating process was this technique discussed with us. This is another example of the homeowners "assuming" we knew of their wishes. This did not come to our attention until after the hardwood floors were installed. It was at that point that the architect was brought in, so we could all arrive at a solution to this issue. Regarding the Primary claim concerning the sliding doors. The homeowners had previously contracted with another contractor to install the doors. The rough opening had already been completed before we became involved. We then contracted with the homeowners to move the entire wall section approximately 2 feet to its present location, taking extra time to ensure that the rough openings and tracks in the floor were exactly duplicated, since the doors had already been ordered. We had no involvement with the calculations that were used by their contractor when the opening was framed. The doors were not on site until 90%% of the drywall was installed and finished. We would not have had any reason or opportunity to check the accuracy of this opening. The homeowner requested that we finish the header before the doors were installed to avoid possible damage to the doors themselves. In response to her claims regarding "poor planning" on our part, we would admit that there were days when there was no activity on site. However, on numerous occasions, the homeowners made changes to the scope of work, requiring us at times to cancel previously scheduled work, along with having to reinvolve our estimator to properly note and price these changes. The fact that the homeowners did not always promptly return or answer calls and email correspondence only added to these delays. When the homeowners did move back into the unit, our access was greatly diminished, due to having to work around her schedule. Lastly, in addressing the furnace cleaning, while it was unfortunate that the furnace became contaminated, we went to great lengths to attempt to clean the furnace, which any contractor would do as a first measure. Neither we, nor the homeowner, could attest to the condition of a 7-year old furnace prior to the loss, especially considering the fact the other construction activity was in process prior to our involvement. But, due to her son's health issues, we did eventually replace the furnace. Not because it was not "worth our time" to clean it, but because it was not worth spending the same amount of money to dismantle a furnace that was nearer to the end of its useful life, than it would cost to replace it with a new furnace with a new warranty. - Bill Geiersbach, Senior Project Manager."
CARL Z.
Oct 2007
Universal Restoration Services sent four workers to do this clean up job. They weren't what I would call highly skilled, but they got the work done. They acted as expected. I thought they did a good job. They were very prompt and I found them to be pleasant and cooperative. I have no complaints.
KATHY C.
Nov 2006
They were efficient in getting us the bid. They were prompt and the work was done as proposed. The workers were very neat, and cleaned up after themselves every day. We were very, very pleased with the work
RENEE C.
Jul 2004
THEY WERE VERY PROFESSIONAL, BUT THEY DIDN'T COMMUNICATE WITH ME VERY WELL.
MAUREEN C.
May 2003
THEY WERE WONDERFUL!!!!!!!! THEY BEGAN IN AUGUST AND WERE FINISHED BEFORE THANKSGIVING! THEY WERE VERY EASY TO WORK WITH & THEY DID QUALITY WORK. THEY ALSO WERE VERY CONSIDERATE. THEY SPOKE WITH OUR INSURANCE AGENCY AND ARRANGE FOR US TO BE PUT UP IN A HOTEL WHILE SOME OF THE WORK WAS COMPLETED. I WOULD DEFINITELY USE THEM AGAIN!
Richard W.
Aug 2001
unknown
Homeowner
Aug 2001
unknown
Homeowner
Aug 2001
unknown
Licensing
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FAQ
UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES is currently rated 3.8 overall out of 5.
UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES accepts the following forms of payment: CreditCard
No, UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES does not offer free project estimates.
No, UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.
No, UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES does not offer a senior discount.
Yes, UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES offers emergency services.
No, UNIVERSAL RESTORATION SERVICES does not offer warranties.