Restoration FAQs for Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley

What kinds of damage do you handle?

We restore property after water, fire, smoke, and mold damage, including the repairs that follow. Our work also covers storm and wind damage, emergency board-ups, sewage and biohazard cleanup, odor removal, asbestos abatement, and contents cleaning and storage.

What areas of Alaska do you serve?

Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley. Our Anchorage office covers Anchorage, Eagle River, Chugiak, JBER, and Girdwood, and our Palmer office serves Palmer, Wasilla, Big Lake, Houston, Willow, Sutton-Alpine, and the rest of the Valley. We also take on large commercial projects statewide. Call us to confirm your location.

What licenses and certifications does TCM Restoration have?

We’re licensed and bonded as a general contractor in Alaska, and our technicians hold IICRC certification. The Better Business Bureau also gives us an A+ rating.

Do you offer free estimates?

Yes, every estimate is free. For non-emergency work like mold removal or repairs, call us or send us a message, and we’ll schedule a visit to look at the damage and write up the repairs before anything starts.

Can you restore an office, store, or apartment building?

Yes. We handle commercial and multifamily properties as well as homes, from the emergency cleanup through the rebuild.

What makes TCM Restoration different from other restoration companies?

We’re Alaska’s largest restoration company, and one project manager stays your contact for the whole job. You can read what customers say in our 200+ Google reviews.

Where does the name TCM come from?

It stands for The Carpet Man. We started out cleaning carpets in 1996 and have since added water, fire, and mold restoration and our own construction team. You can read more about TCM Restoration.

Will we have to move out while you work?

Usually not during a water job. The rooms that stayed dry remain livable while our equipment dries the rest. After a large fire or a sewage backup, or when the heat has to be shut off in winter, staying somewhere else for a while may be the better choice, and we’ll give you our best suggestion about whether it’s safe to stay.

Will my homeowners insurance cover water damage?

Usually, if the damage was sudden and started inside the home. Most policies cover a burst pipe, a failed water heater, or an appliance leak. Slow leaks are often excluded as a maintenance issue, and outside flooding needs a separate flood policy.

Can you start work before my insurance adjuster sees the damage?

Yes, for the emergency work. We can start extracting water, drying the structure, and boarding up openings right away to keep the damage from spreading, while permanent repairs wait for your adjuster. We photograph the damage before anything is removed, so your adjuster can see what was there.

Do you work directly with my insurance company?

Yes, we work directly with all major insurance carriers. Your project manager sends the photos, moisture readings, and repair estimate to your adjuster and stays in touch with them throughout the job.

Will our insurance pay for a place to stay if we can’t live at home?

Often, if the damage is a covered loss. Most homeowners policies include loss-of-use coverage, also called additional living expenses. It pays the extra cost of staying elsewhere while repairs keep you out of your home, up to your policy’s limits, and your adjuster confirms what’s covered.

What should I do right after a pipe freezes and bursts?

Shut off the main water valve first. If you can reach the breaker safely, cut power to the wet rooms. Keep the heat on so other pipes don’t freeze, move what you can off wet floors, and take photos. Then call us, and our water damage restoration crew will extract the water and start drying to keep it from spreading further into the walls and subfloor.

How long does water damage restoration take?

Most properties dry in three to five days, though crawl spaces, finished basements, and hardwood floors can take longer. We take moisture readings every day and keep walls and floors open until the readings show everything is dry. Repairs start once drying is done.

Is water mitigation the same thing as restoration?

No. Mitigation stops the damage from getting worse by extracting the water, drying the structure, and removing what can’t be saved. Restoration repairs what the water ruined, like drywall, flooring, and paint. We handle both, so the company that dries your property also puts it back together.

Is sewage or floodwater cleaned up differently than a pipe leak?

Yes. After a clean leak from a supply line or water heater, we can usually dry and keep most of what got wet. Sewage always carries contamination, and floodwater, groundwater, and runoff usually do too, so we remove the porous materials they reached, then disinfect and dry. Even clean water turns dirty if it sits, so we start right away.

How do you know how far the water spread?

We measure it with moisture meters. Water travels farther than the stain you can see, climbing drywall and spreading under flooring, so we take readings outward from the leak until the materials read dry. Those readings show what can dry in place and what has to be opened up.

Can floors be saved after water damage?

It depends on the flooring and the water. After a clean-water leak, carpet and pad can often be dried, cupped hardwood can flatten as it dries slowly, and vinyl plank can sometimes be lifted and relaid. Laminate that has swollen has to be replaced either way. Starting quickly gives every floor a better chance.

What does fire and smoke damage restoration include?

Fire damage restoration covers everything from securing the property to rebuilding it. We start by boarding up openings and tarping the roof, then dry out the water from firefighting, clean the soot off the structure, remove the smoke odor, and pack out and clean your belongings. Last, we rebuild what burned, so one company handles it all.

How do you get rid of the smoke smell for good?

By removing the soot that holds the odor instead of masking it. Our crews clean the walls, ceilings, ducts, and fabrics the soot reached, cut out materials the smoke soaked too deeply to clean, and finish with thermal fogging and air scrubbers.

Why does the whole house need cleaning when the fire was in one room?

Because heat drives smoke through the whole house. It travels down hallways, up stairs, and through the heating system, so soot settles in rooms the fire never touched. We look for that residue everywhere, ducts included, and clean every area it reached.

When do smoke-damaged walls have to be replaced?

When the heat has burned or softened them, the odor won’t come out with cleaning, or firefighting water has soaked through them. Lightly stained walls usually just need cleaning, a coat of stain-blocking primer, and fresh paint, and only the damaged sections are removed.

Can a badly burned house be repaired?

Often, yes. Framing that’s stained or lightly charred can usually be cleaned and sealed, and studs or rafters burned past the surface are replaced, sometimes after an engineer checks how much strength is left. A teardown usually comes when repairing the structure isn’t safe or would cost more than rebuilding.

Can you clean up after a kitchen fire?

Yes, and most of the kitchen can usually be cleaned rather than replaced. Cooking fires leave a greasy, sticky residue that household cleaners tend to smear, so we degrease the cabinets, walls, and appliances, wash the dishes and cookware, and deodorize the space. The exception is cabinet fronts the heat charred or warped, which get replaced.

Can I clean up mold myself?

Yes, if it’s a small spot on a hard surface. Scrub it with soap and water, then dry the area completely. Larger patches, mold that keeps coming back, mold in a crawl space or ductwork, and mold after a leak or flood call for professional mold remediation, because the moisture behind it has to be found and fixed.

When is mold testing worth doing?

Mostly when you notice a musty smell but can’t spot the source. Along with moisture meters, air samples and surface swabs help us narrow down where the mold is growing and which walls or spaces to open. When mold is already visible, testing rarely changes the plan, since the type of mold doesn’t affect how we remove it.

Will the mold come back after it’s removed?

Not if the moisture is fixed. Mold spores are always in the air, but they can’t grow without moisture, so we find the leak, condensation, or damp crawl space that fed the mold. Before we close up any walls, we ensure the source is fixed and no further leak is happening.

Can moldy drywall and wood be cleaned, or do they have to be replaced?

Wood usually can be cleaned, but drywall often can’t. Framing, concrete, and metal are hard surfaces we can clean and keep in most cases, while mold grows into drywall, insulation, and carpet, so any of those with more than a small spot of growth is cut out and replaced. We also check the back of the drywall, since mold can hide behind a clean-looking face.

How do you keep mold from spreading during removal?

We do everything within our power to keep the spores contained. The work area is sealed off and kept under negative air pressure, so air flows inward rather than out to the rest of your home, and moldy debris is bagged before it’s carried out.

Does TCM Restoration handle the rebuild, or just the cleanup?

Both. Once the cleanup and drying are done, our own licensed construction team handles the reconstruction, from framing and drywall to flooring, cabinets, and paint. One project manager stays with your job the whole way, so there’s no handoff to a second contractor.

Will you match my existing walls and floors?

In most cases. We match your wall texture and repaint full walls or ceilings, so a patch doesn’t stand out. If your flooring is no longer made, we’ll walk you through the options, from the closest match with a transition strip to new flooring across the whole area where it makes sense.

When will my rebuilt rooms be ready?

It depends on the size of the job. Repairing a single room usually takes a week or two, while a rebuild after major structural damage can take several months. Insurance approvals, permits, inspections, and material deliveries can all add time.

Does an Alaska winter stop the rebuild?

Not for most of the work. Once the building is closed in and heated, the interior rebuild can continue through the winter. Cold weather mainly slows the outside work, since new shingles may need to be sealed by hand and exterior paint has to wait for warmer days.

Do you repair the roof, siding, and windows too?

Yes. If a storm, an ice dam, or a fire damages your roof or exterior walls, we handle the roof, siding, windows, and doors in the same job as the inside repairs.

What happens to my belongings while my property is repaired?

We pack them out and take them to our facility, though some items can stay in an unaffected part of the property. Each item we take is tagged and listed on an inventory, cleaned and deodorized if it can be saved, and stored until your rooms are ready. When everything comes back, we go through the inventory with you.

What kinds of belongings can come back from a fire?

Most hard items and many fabrics. Glass, metal, and ceramics usually come back clean, and clothing and linens can often be cleaned and deodorized. Anything charred or melted is usually a loss, and food, medicine, and cosmetics that sat in the heat or smoke should be discarded.

Do you clean electronics after a fire or flood?

Yes, and many can be saved if they stay off until they’re cleaned. Soot and moisture on a circuit board can short it once the power comes back on, so keep devices unplugged and let us clean them first. Smoke-only damage is the most likely to clean up.

Which furniture is worth keeping after a leak or flood?

Solid wood often is, especially if it was wet for less than about a day. Particleboard and MDF usually swell beyond repair. Upholstered pieces depend on what kind of water soaked them. Those hit by floodwater or sewage are rarely worth saving, while clean-water pieces can often dry and clean up if work starts fast.

What can be done for wet photos and documents?

More than you might think, if they’re handled quickly. Papers that will stay wet past a couple of days are usually frozen to hold off mold, while old photos and negatives are air-dried instead. Leave stuck photos together, and we’ll pack out your photos and papers with the rest of your belongings.