TL;DR:
Working with your insurance on your behalf: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Communication on site: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Flexibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Project handoff to project manager: ⭐⭐
We have worked with M.A. Restoration for two projects now.
The first project was triggered by a rupture in our main drain line in our basement in the fall of 2021, not one month after our first child was born . They were recommended by our insurance claims representative, and they handled all of the communication out our insurance. In addition to the restoration, we also had them board up and plastering the walls and ceiling to create a simple habitable space for an office.
This project was relatively straightforward, and it went very smoothly. Their facilitation of the insurance part of the process was invaluable. (We had independently sought a proposal from another contractor, who came in at a higher price point AND was not interested in tackling this part of the project.)
Once M.A. Restoration and the insurance company agreed on how to make us whole, we set a start date for the project. They were very good about communicating when people would be in to work; what the next steps were; and what, if any, I needed to do to help move things along.
The second project was precipitated (ha) by water leaking into the garage, directly below our bathroom. The investigation of the source of the leak and the restoration was covered by insurance. We determined the leak was caused by a crack in our tub and shower combo unit. Based on the price estimate for addressing only the affected parts of the bathroom, we decided to “upgrade” to a full bathroom renovation, and we signed the contract committing to the project in spring of 2024.
As anyone who has done a bathroom renovation knows, there were a lot of decisions to be made in terms of design, storage, etc. My husband and I took a LONG time to make our decisions AND we had things come up that deprioritized this project, and M.A. Restoration was very patient during this gap in communication from our end.
We resumed the project in December of 2024. By that time, my husband and I had picked out materials, etc., and had a designer render our bathroom so we could be confident in our choices. We circled back with our contact, who was an estimator, and clarified what things we would be buying, and what things M.A. Restoration would be buying and storing for us on our behalf.
Once the items I ordered arrived, we set a start date for the renovation. Things initially went very well.
As we got closer to completion, it became evident that M.A. Restoration had *not* bought the items that the estimator had agreed to, so I had to purchase them at the last minute. This caused a bit of a delay as we waited for things to arrive. This was incredibly frustrating. Nothing in the email chain with the estimator had gotten forwarded to the project manager. I started communicating with the project manager more directly, and he helped us navigate the last parts of the project.
Over all, we’re happy with how the job was handled. They handled our design requests just fine, and walked us through a few decisions we hadn’t thought of. The communication gap we had was a learning experience — I know now that by then I should have looped in the project manager at that time. Despite the bumps in the road for the second project, I’m sure we’ll be working with them again: they’re competitively priced; they’re easy to talk to; they respond in a timely in a timely manner; and they’re flexible. And no doubt, something else will come up with this old house.