June 15, 2019

Upgrading after property damage in Bay Village

Posted In: Construction in Avon, Ohio

When a storm or fire strikes, it’s an opportunity for aging in place improvements

It may be quite difficult to experience storm or fire damage to your home, but such calamities may have a silver lining. They could offer an opportunity for upgrading after property damage in Bay Village, or other communities, to aging in place solutions.

Wind damage, falling tree limbs or heavy rain top the list of events that may cause damage in Northeast Ohio. Other areas may be more prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes and flooding, and special insurance is required for those areas.

A kitchen fire is unfortunate, but it gives you time to think how you can make a better kitchen, with aging in place solutions.

Whatever the cause, rebuilding or repairing the damage to your home is a top priority. Homeowner’s insurance should cover restoring the property to its former condition, depending on your policy and coverage limits. The renovation work may include new colors and finishes, carpet or floor treatments, furniture, and even appliances—all depending on factors of availability to match the existing ones.

Your insurance adjuster is the best source for this information and how a project may work if you wish to improve the home. Not all insurance policies are alike.

This is a fitting time to improve your home with aging in place solutions, even if they are not needed at the moment. Surveys report that most homeowners want to remain in their homes as they age, and modifications and improvements can benefit this goal. Coordinating the modifications with other repairs cuts down on the noise, dust, clutter and inconvenience of two or more separate projects.

If for example, a healthy tree fell in a wind storm, crashed through the roof and severely damaged the bathroom. Property insurance likely would cover repairs, it would be timely to add more spacious universal design attributes to the bathroom—a wider doorway, walk-in shower, accessible fixtures and so on.

Plan to spend additional money to pay for what the insurance does not cover. There are some programs that will provide financial aid to seniors for aging in place projects. Medicare may pay for a walk-in tub under certain circumstances, such as a physician’s directive that it is a medical necessity. However, the payment is on a reimbursement basis after it has been approved by Medicare.

If you receive an insurance settlement, it’s a good idea to make sure your insurance company first pays you, not a contractor. Then you will have funds for the contractor and be in a position to negotiate the extra work and hire the contractor to add the aging in place solutions.

In cases involving more than $10,000 in damage, a settlement check may carry both your name and the mortgage holder’s name. Most likely this was written into the mortgage agreement and homeowner’s insurance policy. A prompt call to the mortgage holder can help avoid delays in getting the check signed by the mortgage servicer.

Back to your aging in place project: There are several scenarios in which unforeseen calamities can damage all or parts of your home, and there are many advantages a professional contractor can bring at the construction level. Repairing severe storm damage is not a do-it-yourself project; nor would you want to do it if insurance covers the work.

Storm damage to your home is a fitting time to repair the property with for instance, a new entry ramp for the elderly or disabled person.

It’s a lesson learned over and over—many don’t comprehend how difficult remodeling projects may become and how easy it would have been to have hired a professional from the start.

When it comes to upgrading after property damage in Bay Village, or other communities, you can trust Sciarappa Construction. With our teams of experienced designers, architects and construction professionals, you will receive multiple design-build and remodel solutions, and you can depend upon Sciarappa Construction to get the job done, with no surprises, and completed on time

Sciarappa Construction has been a family-owned construction contractor with over 40 years combined experience. It just takes a phone call to get started. Located at 32961 Pin Oak Pkwy., Avon Lake, OH 44012, you can contact Sciarappa Construction at (440) 930-2882 or by email at info@sciarappaconstruction.com.