Nowadays we are quick to complain, but I want to compliment Chicago Water & Fire Restoration (CW&FR) Management how pleased I was with the CWF&R "Teams" that came to my home and turned a crisis into a blessing. On January 3, 2018 I came home, only to find that water was gushing from the ceiling of my utility room, living room, all three bathrooms, the carpet in my entire house was soaked with water. The pipes from my three bathrooms had burst in several places, as the furnace was below the master bathroom it cause my furnace to shut off. My house was a mess and I in a crisis mode. It was also crucial to get someone to repair the furnace immediately, as it was in the middle of winter the temperature had plummeted and the weather was extremely cold. As I needed to get someone as quickly as possible to handle the plumbing to avoid worst problems, Mr. Bobby Rankin from Affordable Plumbing Solutions, Inc. came to my rescue. I was very fortunate that a good friend referred me to Mr. Rankin, excellent plumber (highly recommend) went on and beyond my expectations. He immediately went to my home to take care of the water problem and all required plumbing throughout the reconstruction process. Mr. Rankin referred me to CW&FR. As I never had to deal with such a major catastrophe, CWF&R were a God sent, as I was in a crisis mode and the AAA insurance adjuster was rude and not very helpful. CWF&R immediately responded and sent the Drying Team. Mr. Joe Santiago was the first person I met from CW&FR to assess the damage. Mr. Santiago was very professional, polite and took his time evaluating the damage; and explaining to me how CW&FR works with the insurance adjuster and customer. Mr. Santiago also answered all my questions and returned my calls in a timely manner. After many days the house was dry out, CW&FR sent Mr. James Domiano, Estimator. The following day I received a preliminary estimate for the reconstruction phase. Mr. Domiano was very professional and courteous. During the months that I was out of my home. He kept me informed and return and responded to my email and calls promptly. Water Mitigation Team lead by Mr. Cody Quarles did an exceptional clean-up job. Cody kept me up-to-date on all that was been done. Communication is crucial when you are dealing with a customer like me, as I didn't know what to expect. Moving Team lead by Mr. Wyatt Cornett from American Cleaning & Restoration South were efficient, professional and courteous throughout the move-out and move-in process. Mr. Cornett, Elias, Chris, Mike and Jeannette "thank you" for making the move-out/move-in a smooth transition Reconstruction Team lead by Mr. Phillip Roppo, Project Manager highly exceeding my expectations. I have nothing but the best to say about Mr. Roppo and his team. Mr. Roppo is truly a professional, extremely knowledgeable on all aspect of his trade and efficient. Everything was planned and done in a timely manner, plus he took the time to communicate to me on the work that was completed and to be done - I never had any surprises. Mr. Roppo far exceeded my expectations and won my trust. The reconstruction team did an excellent job. I was very pleased with the quality of the work, especially the hand rail done by Jose Jimenez and Diego, Painters - Isidro Gonzalez and David (helper), Carpenter - Jose Jimenez and Diego (helper), and Carpet - Dan and two gentlemen that installed the carpet (Luna) & Bamboo Floor - Chris (CGL) Finally, Ms Jennifer Kuerba was a delight to talk to. Excellent customer service - always helpful and professional but friendly over the phone - I can tell by the tone of her voice that she has smile on her face. CW&FR Management you truly have a TOP-NOTCH TEAMS, their expertise and professionalism and quality of their jobs made my life in crisis for five months easier to deal with. I would highly recommend Chicago Water & Fire Restoration to my friends and family. read more

I would 11/10 recommend this company and their staff. A few months ago my husband found a rotten spot in the house we just bought. Our first house. What an absolute nightmare. We called a plumber from Precision (Corey M.) and he came out the next morning. He decided to check all the pipes, sinks, other faucets, toilets, etc. He called CWF and explained the situation. He said someone was going to come out to the house that day. Nate came in and assessed both of our bathrooms. Since we only have two.. we would have to get them done one at a time. We were beyond stressed and upset this is house our first house was going so far. Nate walked us through the entire process and didn't leave a single question under answered. The crew came out the next day and gutted and started the drying process (4 days to dry). I was surprised it only took them 2.5hrs to gut the bathroom!!!! They were also very polite and double checked everything with me before they did anything, let me know what they were going to the store for, and frequently updated me and asked if I wanted to come see the process as they went along. We were very confused about how to pick out tile and everything for the remodel.. but Piotr had walked us through how to go about picking out tile and their process and peice a CWF would take care of. There were so many moving parts all the time my husband and I felt extremely overwhelmed. Thankfully Piotr was patient and communicated with us every step of the way. He and the contractor (Luigi) were very flexible and considerate of my schedule (I'm a nightshift worker and it can be very difficult to schedule things and be awake during time I'm usually sleep). They were so quick with the entire project. It only took a couple of weeks longer in total because my husband and I were having a hard time picking tiles, grout, and other stuff out for the remodel. (Kudos to designers because that was one of the most unpleasant experiences to pick out and design a bathroom - we asked CWF multiple times if they could just pick anything out and just do it and they said no lol.) Now we are finally starting on our second bathroom and Nate and his apprentice Kevin came out to reassess the second bathroom (since we needed to use it while the master bathroom was undergoing everything). Nate is so fun to work with. He's professional and he's personable. He also remembered everything about our case from the beginning of June. What a memory! It proves he really cares about his clients and what's best for them. His apprentice Kevin was great, too. He was very invested in learning and had asked to perform the tasks himself to learn hands on skills, and he was interested in creating a strong rapport with us, too. This company, is better than the reviews. It is rare for big companies to have staff who are kind, compassionate, professional, intelligent, and dedicated the way everyone has been through this hair-pulling experience. Hopefully we never have to hire this company again.. but they'll always have our business and they're the first ones we'll send our family and friends to! First photo is from our appraisal. The rot spot (that was paste by the time we found it) is where that dark box thing is. The toilet was also SINKING into the floor. (Get a plumber out with your inspector or have CWF come out and assess your house before you buy! I would only trust Precision and CWF ever again, yes, even over the inspector, relator, and attorney) I don't believe Precision or CWF could be bought off or bribed to look the other way from problems that will destroy your house. We have trust issues from this whole ordeal but Precision Today and CWF has our trust.) Second photo is what the guys found when they pulled out the bottom two feet of the shower and floor. And video is before the plumber came to install the new toilet. Thanks again guys! We'll appreciate ya forever. read more

I do not tend to write reviews. However, due to the cost, time and anguished caused by water damage I feel it's important to grant a review for CWAFR. Foremost, I have never experienced any damage and/or major urgencies in my home except for a clogged sink pipe. This was definitely an eye-opener​ for many reasons (especially when dealing with insurance). During the Polar Vortex in Feb 2019 - my neighbor (who lives above me) pipe exploited causing 99% of the damage to enter my home - water was gushing between the inner and outer layers of the walls, coming out of electric outlets, and thru ceiling lights. Once the water was shut off completely from the building. That same day, we were lucky to find a good plumber available as it seemed like everyone in the city was dealing with damage control. The plumber connected us to CWAFR - a project manager named Mike came out immediately after the weekend to review the damage. (If you are NOT experiencing a POLAR VORTEX situation - I would recommend getting​ 2-3 quotes for the mitigation process from different companies before signing any contracts so you can have a competitive view for your insurance). NOTE - you should get the water out immediately - to prevent mole - so use your best judgment​. Dealing with the insurance aspect was not a good experience - my home had to be requoted 3+ times just to make sure the water mitigation was paid off completely. During that ordeal, Trevor (CWAFR Business Manager) and his team were very gracious with advice and patient with the process. I would highly recommend CWAFR mitigation team as they were very careful with all the details of my home by protecting my furniture and personal items. After 2 1/2 months of deliberation with our Condo insurance (and my personal homeowner​ insurance) with regards to who pays for what, etc. Note, CWAFR does deal directly with your insurance but we started with some of the worst claim professionals who would not speak to CWAFR - after many complaints,​ we finally were transferred to a more responsible claim professional who helped reevaluate all the quotes. Now with regards to the repair phase. Trust me I was a bit hesitant about having CWAFR to repair my home - I was not sure what to expect as I did not see too many before/after images of modern home layouts on their website. Plus, I was stressed with the insurance process and living in chaos with walls & ceilings completely open - plus damaged hardwood floors upstairs and my engineered wood completely removed downstairs. I was afraid to make a mistake with selecting them for my repairs - because CWAFR contract is very one sided. I really could not afford to change REPAIR companies once the contract was signed. BUT ...At the same time, my logic told me it would make sense to go with CWAFR because they had all the records of the mitigation and understood the madness with our Condo Insurance. To give me peace of mind - (as I must have called them several times with so many questions) -I requested recent images of current projects they finished with condos similar to mine. And they were kind to provide. I went forward with CWAFR. I also received one of their best project managers Joel Moody. My home had a beautiful ending. Joel and his team did an amazing job. I highly recommend Rafael and his crew for painting, trim, and installing your engineered floors. I highly recommend BART for refinishing hardwood floors. Just ask for Joel Moody for your project manager - and you will be in great hands. Thank you CWAFR for your dedication. read more

When my daughter called to tell me there was standing water in my finished basement I was devastated. I was on vacation. Fortunately she was able to call my plumber and he came out immediately. He removed the standing water and assessed the problem. With the storms the sewer had backed up. I needed to act quickly since the water had been there a few days. He highly recommended Chicago Water & Fire Restoration (CWAFR). They were called and came out the next day! Before I was back home my daughter was there so they were able to move furniture, remove the carpeting and lower portion of some walls. By the time I got there 17 fans, a dehumidifier, and an air purifier were all running. They guaranteed a dry basement with no odor or mold after they finished. I have serious allergies so I was concerned about the mold and odor. I'm very happy to say there is no hint of either one! Next I had to decide about restoration. I met with Aaron, a CWAFR Estimator. My insurance company had already provided me with a check for my loss. Aaron tried to keep the costs within budget but I decided to make a few improvements. A contract with all the specifics was prepared with line by line items for each room. I could pick and choose my options. Never again would I have carpeting! I chose vinyl flooring. I filled in a materials approval form and signed the contract. An appointment was set then to meet with my Project Manager, Phil. I met with Phil and he went through everything in our contract. We made a couple of adjustments and were set to begin. As I told him I'd only had one other experience with remodeling and it was not good. It had taken months to complete a small job. He assured me that was not the was CWAFR or he worked. Once they started they would be on the job till completion. Again, I was not disappointed. We basically had 3 teams. The first team removed additional debris and rebuilt the walls and painted. The next team seemed to be the floor specialists. The did a beautiful job laying the vinyl floor. They also painted the floor in the laundry room and furnace room. The final team finished any additional items still incomplete. Phil walked through at least 3 different times and found some things I had missed. These were all completed including the list I had prepared. There was never an excuse for anything. All the workers were here promptly at 8 AM and worked a full day. They were good natured, helpful and honest! An item of considerable value had been forgotten in a desk being removed as trash. The workers could very easily have simply just walked away with it. But, they didn't. At the end of the day it was brought to my attention and greatly appreciated. I was very impressed. Another worker had a very nice voice and sang as he worked. I wish I could remember their names but I can't. I can't think of anything I was told would be done that wasn't. When everything was complete even though everything had been covered there was a tremendous amount of dust from the demolition and drywall. More than usual Phil thought. As a result he provided a cleaning person on the last day. Veronica cleaned everything piece by piece and the floors. What a blessing that was, I was overjoyed as the prospect had looked rather daunting to a senior citizen! Chicago Water & Fire Restoration provided everything they said they would in a very professional, efficient and timely manner. I'm very satisfied and I'd highly recommend them. read more

CWAFR did an excellent job drying out, reconstructing and then restoring our downstairs bathroom. The water damage occurred inside the wall from a leak of the upstairs bathroom. We called CWAFR ( referred to us by a previous very satisfied customer) on the day we discovered water all over our tile. From beginning to end, we were helped with clear instructions on how to proceed from CWAFR. First a plumber was needed to stop the leak. Then CWAFR did everything else. The project manager, Brandon, was very helpful in every aspect of the restoration phase. Please see additional review below. Once the bathroom was gutted, dried and now ready for reconstruction and restoration, Brandon sent out his "A team" to do the work. Isidro and Edel worked skillfully and tirelessly for 5 days. Isidro was very skilled in placing tiles, both around tub and the flooring. Edel did measuring and cutting and other very essential tasks, as replacing wall board, primer coat and painting. Isidro kept me up to date on the work and offered his own suggestions when different decisions arose. Both Isidro and Edel were friendly, courteous and readily answered all questions and concerns to complete what is now a fabulous looking bathroom. Many thanks to all at CWAFR who were involved, but a special thanks to Brandon, Isidro and Edel. Additional review: In addition to the other professional and responsive CWAFR staff that were involved in our bathroom restoration project, I attribute it's successful completion to our project manager, Brandon Mackey. At our initial meeting, Brandon's demeanor was professional but blended with a warm personal touch of understanding and patience. He answered our questions, understood our concerns and assured us of his active involvement throughout the project. Brandon was true to his word. Communicating with Brandon took on all forms--texts, phone calls and emails. He was very responsive, he offered recommendations, he followed up when our work crew's schedule was unexpectedly interrupted due to severe weather, and kept us apprised of project phases and unanticipated problems needing resolution. Brandon was especially understanding and accommodating to our family's personal situation for which we are very grateful. Brandon's willingness to work closely with us is underscored by his patience and his 10+ years of project and construction experience. I repeatedly thanked and appreciated Brandon's cooperative nature and commitment throughout our restoration project. Thank you, again, Brandon for being an exceptional project manager!! read more

I don't believe I have ever posted a review, good or bad. However, I will today regarding Chicago Water and Fire Restoration. We used this company after a water pipe break (at my mother's house) due to the frigid weather in January. The first clue things may not go so well came from our insurance adjuster. When I mentioned we had chosen CWF as our restoration company, his immediate look was of concern. When I asked for more information he declined, but clearly was suggesting "buyer beware!" During the mitigation clean up, after CWF torn out the damaged drywall, it took several more days to get the fans in place. Understandably, it was after a major storm so we did not make an issue. However, when the fans were available, they gerrymandered 30 plus fans with duck tape and extension cords all over my mother's floor (causing a major fall risk) instead of bringing in a professional electrician to tap into the main circuit box. During the reconstruction, the sub contractors CWF hired were inconsistent and unreliable. Most days they left early (by 3:30pm) and other days only one worker showed up, significantly adding more days to the repair process than anticipated. When I spoke to Dave, our CWF project manager....nice enough guy, he wouldn't (or couldn't) get their subs to work consistently until after I demanded a schedule in writing. I also spoke to Jennifer (a manager). Again, nice enough but told me she would have Trevor, her boss, call me back. Today, three days later, Trevor (I think one of the owners) called back. He didn't seem overly concerned about the delays and at best came across indifferent. No apologies, just oh At this point it does not matter. The final repairs are scheduled to be complete in two days and we will be done with Chicago Water and Fire. However, for others who may be in search of a restoration company in the future.....ahhhhhh...keep searching! K. Little Today (3/27), Chicago Water and Fire completed the final repairs in my mother's home. After a bumpy start, now at completion, I can say everything is done....Perfectly! Our Project Manager (Dave) and his boss (Jason) walked all the affected areas with us to make sure everything was completed to our fullest satisfaction. Just as important, they LISTENED! Excellent customer service today! Thank you! K. Little read more

After discovering sewage (resulting from a soft clog) in our basement on a Friday morning, our plumber recommended we contact Chicago Water & Fire Restoration (CWF) for clean-up services once the clog was removed. Within an hour of our call, Ryan Majewski, a project manager with CWF, arrived at our house, assessed the damage, and had a crew out to our home by early afternoon for clean-up. Ryan was excellent to work with. He patiently explained the steps CWF would take to remediate our problem and coordinated with our plumber to obtain information related to the sewage issue. This was necessary so Ryan could submit a claim to our insurance company which we didn't think was covered by insurance. Ryan explained that our problem was a soft clog in our main sewer line which led to what is technically known as a "fill-up" in our basement, a covered expense, not a "back-up" that is not covered. Ryan worked with us to immediately submit our insurance claim and worked directly with our agent for all required claim documentation. Extensive before and after pictures were taken showing the problem and the work completed by Chicago Water & Fire Restoration. Ryan's quick and thorough actions and insurance knowledge were the bright spot in a foul and gross situation. The clean-up crew, led by Mike, quickly separated 30 years of accumulation, bagging and removing the sewage-ruined items and stacking rescued items out of the way. The actual clean-up began by eliminating the sewage and cleaning and disinfecting all affected areas. Then, giant-sized dehumidifiers and fans were brought in and left continuously running for 24 hours for four days to dry out the space to eliminate bacteria or mold from forming. When the drying equipment was removed, the basement floor looked like nothing had happened. We are very grateful to Ryan and the Chicago Water & Fire crew for their swift actions and outstanding work in mitigating the horrible sewage situation we experienced. We highly recommend Chicago Water & Fire Restoration for your restoration needs. They are responsive, knowledgeable, and caring and provide an excellent end product. Five stars!!! read more

We had an absolutely wonderful experience with Chicago Water & Fire Restoration and would absolutely recommend them to anyone in need of water/fire remediation services. We discovered an issue in our bedroom over the weekend, called Chicago Water & Fire on Saturday night, and Mike came out first thing on Sunday morning to assess the damage. We called another company before coming across Chicago Water & Fire Restoration, and they said they would not be able to send someone out until Thursday or Friday at the earliest. Chicago Water and Fire Restoration's sense of urgency was incredibly important to us, as I am pregnant and due with our baby in one week, so we wanted to mitigate our issue as soon as possible. Mike was very thorough and explained the issue and mitigation process to us in great detail. Once deciding to move forward with them, we had several questions/concerns with the process and Mike helped put our minds at ease and took detailed notes for the crew to ensure our concerns were addressed. Chris and Mike, who did the mitigation were great, and we received a follow up call from the office the next day asking if we had any questions/concerns about what had been done. I had asked them to do a few additional things when they came back to pick up their equipment and Mike was super accommodating and took and reviewed these notes with me before the crew came back out. When Greg and Daniel came out yesterday afternoon to pick up the equipment, I could not be more impressed with their level of service. They called before they came and were right on time, they reviewed everything that I had discussed with Mike earlier, and addressed everything in a very efficient manner. They were very hard working, but did everything with smiles on their faces. Greg and Daniel exceeded my expectations for sure! I was so impressed. Overall, it has been such a wonderful experience, despite the stressful situation that we have been in because of the damage to our unit and the timing of everything. I would definitely recommend and use Chicago Water and Fire Restoration in the future! read more

I wanted to write a review to say thank you for the ambassadors of your company who I encountered today. My Saturday began with a post-midnight feeling of helplessness and panic as I wandered through over two inches of water in my basement, muttering, "Oh no. What happened?" I called several companies, but you were the first to call back. Capps also responded and recommended your services. Your employee Mr. Wendt arrived within the 90 minute allotted window--which was almost 4:00 a.m. at that point. Mr. Wendt brought competence and efficiency to the situation and replaced that feeling of "Oh no. What happened?" to one of "We are in good hands." He walked me though his estimate and checked for comprehension multiple times, even reviewing our insurance policy to see if we were covered for a sump pump failure. He lined up a crew to arrive later that same day. The crew that arrived, Greg and Jose, continued to build upon Mr. Wendt's solid handling of the situation. Greg, similar to Mr. Wendt, established competence and efficiency early on and then offered multiple updates along the way. He and Jose worked tirelessly for approximately 5 straight hours. The crew was professional, efficient, and amicable. While my family is disheartened to see our beloved basement underwater and to tap into our nest egg for the repairs, the way your company--from dispatcher to Mr. Wendt's formal estimate work to Greg and Jose's crew work--made a bad situation much better. Now that work and expertise does not come cheap. Price tag made my eyes bug out like in the cartoons and if you happen to have an exclusion for sump pump failure in homeowners insurance (like I did but have since changed), you might have that same "Oh no! What happened?" feeling taking a look at your bank account. Such is the price of flooding a basement. All the same, thank you for having such solid employees available in the middle of the night and congrats for having hired, trained, and retained them. read more

I recently bought a house in Geneva. The house was built in 1988 and I thought the only thing I was going to have to do was update it. Boy was I wrong! After a major rain storm, the water came through (underneath) my patio door and flooded my finished basement. A plumber was supposed to come out and when he called to let me know he was on his way, I cried about the water that was in my basement. He gave me the name and number of Chicago Water & Fire. Thank God he did. From the beginning, I felt that I had somebody on my side. Mike was in charge of the water mitigation. Not only was he incredibly knowledgeable, he was forceful and on my side. Then there was Will, who was in charge of the construction estimate. He did a very good job, however I didn't have much interaction with him. Then came Kevin, the project manager. Wonderful, caring, kind, Kevin! He was very calm in the middle of my crisis and managed to calm me down. He was truly wonderful. If there was ever a problem, he was there to figure out a solution. The crews that came out were incredibly respectful and knowledgeable as well. Most notably was Casey and David. They were the crew that came out and did the basement wall and paint. David could not be kinder! David suggested that I paint my trim white before the floor went in. Although, that was a horrible pain, in the end I'm so happy that it was painted. All the work looks amazing! Jennifer in the office was very nice and warm to deal with as well. She always managed to put a smile on my face. I'm very grateful that I had Chicago Water & Fire on my side. Right from the beginning they won my trust. As a single mother who works as a nurse, I know nothing about construction. I was so impressed with all the workers that I came through my front door. I never felt uncomfortable being alone with anyone from this company. I feel like I received the best workers they have! THANK YOU CHICAGO WATER AND FIRE!!!! read more

Chicago Water and Fire has certainly made the best of a bad situation. Our townhouse had a leak in the master bath (2nd floor) that went unnoticed for only about 5 minutes, but it was too late! The water went straight through the family room and adjacent powder room ceiling, and spilled onto the direct vent gas fireplace and overhead lighting. Then onto the AquaGuard water resistant floor. The floor did a great job of holding the water, but it moved to the outside edges and under the flooring and proceeded to continue down on more level and through the garage ceiling. Just devastating! Then I called Brett with Chicago Water & Fire to assist with mitigating the damage. Brett was just great in the way everything was explained, the damage assessment, and what steps were next. They started the mitigation and demolition on December 27th and Juan (crew chief) and his crew did a fabulous job. They had to take out floors, ceilings, and walls...and they were in and out in one (1) day! The industrial HEPA filters, fans and heaters left behind to clear the air and remove the moisture were impressive but very loud. We left the property and moved into an airbnb until the equipment had completed its cycle. Our State Farm rep came by to review the demolition and agreed that we needed to remove some additional walls and flooring in the master bath. So Brett was back quickly to do a final review and sent a team to remove this debris. This team included Kaylin and Raul who did a super job of removing the remnants of the shower and the tub. We are now in the process of using the restoration side of CWF and so far this process has gone very smoothly! We have never had a home owners insurance claim in 40 years, but with the help of CWF Mitigation and CWF Restoration we are on our way to getting our home put back together. Bottom Line! If this happens to you, call the experts at CWF and ask for Brett! read more