Reinstatement & Insurance Works
When the worst has already happened, you need a builder who has done this before.
Nobody plans a rescue. A pipe fails, a fire is put out, a wall starts moving — and suddenly you are standing in your own house wondering who to ring. We put homes and premises back together after fire, flood, escape of water and structural movement: making safe first, drying properly, then rebuilding room by room until it is yours again.
Reinstatement is different from a planned build in one crucial way — the scope is set by the damage, not by a design. So the sequence matters more than the speed. We stop things getting worse, we find and fix the cause before anything is closed up, and only then do we rebuild. Plastering under a roof or a pipe that will fail again is money spent twice.
Where an insurer is involved, our detailed, itemised quotes earn their keep. A loss adjuster can see exactly what is being replaced and why, line by line — the same document you would get from us on any build — and everything is photographed and dated as it comes out and goes back in. To be clear about roles: you or your loss assessor deal with the claim, and we get on with the works alongside your adjuster. We are the builder, not the claims handler.
The other half of the job is the part nobody quotes for. A leak is not a project anyone chose. People are tired, insurers are slow, and there are strangers in every room. So the habits matter more here than anywhere: one point of contact rather than a rotating cast, a start time you can set your watch by, dust sealed away from the rooms still in use, and someone who answers the phone when the question is small.
What's included
- Emergency make-safe: isolating services, dropping unsafe ceilings, sheeting up
- Strip-out of saturated or fire-damaged fabric, with everything photographed
- Controlled drying — dehumidifiers and air movers, closed up only on moisture readings
- Structural repair: joist ends, wall plates, crack stitching, beam replacement
- Fixing the cause first — roofing, plumbing or drainage
- Full rebuild: first and second fix, plaster, kitchens, bathrooms, decoration
- Itemised documentation throughout, written for a loss adjuster to read
- Phasing that keeps you living in the house wherever it is safe to
No menu price — the scope is set by the damage. We quote the same way as any build: detailed and itemised, after we have opened up and seen what happened.
You get a detailed, itemised quote — every line written down, so you can see exactly what you are paying for. The price only changes if you agree the change first.
How it runs
From first visit to sign-off.
- 01
The phone call
same day
Short and practical. Is the water off? Are the electrics safe? Is anything sagging? Have you photographed it before anyone touches it — because your insurer will ask.
- 02
Make safe
first days
We get round there and walk the property with you. Isolate the source, remove what is dangerous, sheet up, and work out which rooms can stay usable.
- 03
Dry and scope
2–6 weeks
Drying runs for weeks, not days. While it does, we open up, establish the true extent and write the itemised scope your adjuster needs.
- 04
Rebuild
varies
Cause fixed first, then structure, then room by room — so there is always somewhere finished to sleep and somewhere clean to eat.
- 05
Handover
final week
Certificates, guarantee paperwork and a walk-round. The house should feel like nothing happened.
A booking deposit of around 10% once you are in the diary — never a large sum up front. After that we invoice against valuations of the work carried out.
Evidence
Recent work and the words it earned.
“We were recommended Dan and Craig by Concept Claims Solutions who dealt with a claim for us after a dishwasher leak flooded our downstairs. We took the opportunity to do some remodelling and adding bifolds — not easy in a three-storey timber frame building. From our first contact to the end of the…”
“Amazing from start to finish! We found Dan and Craig after a massive leak from our attic so the whole house needed work! They were attentive, professional, helpful and kind, even when I was having a meltdown! Their work was excellent and they were a pleasure to deal with — nothing was too much…”
Asked and answered
The questions this page usually raises.
Do you deal with my insurance company?
Not on your behalf — that is the honest answer, and the right one. Handling a claim is a regulated activity; we are builders. What we do is work alongside your loss adjuster and give you an itemised scope and quote written so an adjuster can read it line by line, photograph everything as it comes out and goes back in, and answer the adjuster's technical questions directly. Most of our clients handle the claim themselves, and some appoint their own loss assessor.
Can you start before the claim is settled?
Emergency make-safe work usually needs to happen immediately — insurers expect you to prevent further damage, and waiting makes everything worse. We can make safe and start drying straight away, then agree the reinstatement scope once the adjuster has been. We will always tell you which is which.
How long does drying take?
Longer than people expect — typically several weeks with dehumidifiers and air movers running. We do not close anything up until moisture readings say the structure is dry, because sealing damp into a wall or floor causes a second problem a year later.
Can we stay in the house?
Often yes, and we phase the work around it — there is always somewhere finished to sleep and somewhere clean to eat. Where the damage or the drying makes that unsafe or miserable, we will say so plainly rather than push on.
What does reinstatement cost?
There is no menu price, because the scope is set by the damage rather than a design. We quote it exactly like any other job — detailed and itemised, after we have opened up and seen what the water or fire actually did. The price only changes if you agree the change first.
Do you take on commercial reinstatement?
Yes — premises, blocks and landlord properties as well as private homes, phased around trading or tenancies where we can.
Talk to us about your reinstatement works.
A visit costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We'll look at what your house can take, give you straight answers, and tell you plainly if the numbers don't stack up.
- You tell us the ideaThree quick questions — no essay required.
- We call within a working dayA real conversation about what your house can take.
- A visit, then an itemised quoteEvery line written down, and only if you want one.
- On site
- Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm
- Office calls
- until 6pm weekdays
- We reply
- within one working day