By Lisa Carolin
When your home is hit by a flood, a fire, a tornado, or another type of natural disaster, what should you do? That’s the specialty of Gateway Restoration, Inc. which has a Chelsea office on South Main Street.
It’s owned by Deanna and John Robbins, who started the business exactly five years ago. They’ve both worked in the mortgage business, and John has also done new construction financing work.
“The nice thing about this industry is that it’s not based on the economy,” said Deanna Robbins. “Most of our work is with water damage but we also handle smoke and fire damage and wind damage. These things happen to people all the time regardless of the economy.”
Robbins says that part of her job is helping people through an emotional time because the disaster or accident wasn’t something they planned on.
The Robbins have worked with people on big disasters like the tornado that hit Dexter in 2012, and they’ve also worked with them on small problems like when an ice machine line breaks.
“Even something small can make a big mess,” said Robbins. “We use professional moisture meter equipment to assess the damage. If we can get there within 48 hours, a lot of things can be dried and saved.”
The Robbins say their business has grown every year. They currently have 10 employees.
“Most of our business comes from insurance agents,” said Deanna Robbins. “We also do work for people without insurance but 95 percent of what we do is insurance claims.”
She says that homeowners have to have insurance on their homes if they have a mortgage, and that most people who have paid off their homes do buy homeowner’s insurance.
“Sometimes when you have an event that happens like this, people use a contractor who worked on their house, but those people aren’t always familiar with the way the process works for an insurance claim-related event,” said Robbins. “Our main job is to protect the integrity of the home. We’ll come to a home free of charge to figure out what repairs are needed and to make sure the homeowner handles the water damage properly.”
Gateway Restoration serves Washtenaw, Jackson, Livingston and Lenawee counties and sometimes will go farther. For more information on Gateway Restoration, Inc., call 734-645-5500 or click here.
