Best's Recommended Expert Service Providers - Disaster Restoration

• Telephone: 602-944-2645
• Fax: 602-944-6844
• Emer/After Hrs: 602-944-2645
• E-Mail: info@kowalski.com
• Website: www.kowalski.com

Established: 1967

Qualified Member Since: 2002

• About Us
• Services Rendered
• Qualifications
• Software Platforms & Technology Used
• Professional Memberships
• Service Area
• Personnel
• High Profile Cases
• Articles
• Additional Links

Arizona Res. Lic. 57542, Com. Lic. 075573

About Us

Kowalski Construction, Inc. is the oldest and largest restoration and repair contracting firms in Arizona and is licensed, bonded, and insured for both residential and commercial work. Our services include the reconstruction of structures damaged by fire, water, wind, and mold. We provide prompt communication with Project Estimators, Project Managers, and field employees. We'll keep you informed with weekly email project updates and provide computerized project scheduling for large losses. We work with all major insurance companies and have a nationally recognized Customer Service Program. Xactimate estimates and sketches with digital pictures are delivered promptly.

Kowalski Construction has been doing business here in the Phoenix market since 1967 and our primary focus is insurance restoration. During this time we have worked with all of the major insurance and independent adjustment companies giving us a broad insight into claims handling processes and procedures.

We are extremely familiar with 3rd party claims handling and working as part of a team along with the property owner, insurance adjuster, and insurer. We understand the individual needs and roles that each plays throughout the claims handling process. Our processes and procedures have been designed around filling those needs in a systematic approach that ensures consistency. We pride ourselves on managing not only the construction project but the communication to all parties concerned as well.

We believe that strong documentation is in the best interest of all parties and take the lead in doing this from the preparation of the estimate or billing, the included notation and in our computer system, a well-documented project helps to avoid problems.

Services Rendered

Software Platforms & Technology Used

• CoreLogic
• MICA
• Xactware
• iCat

Qualifications

Certified Lead Carpenters, Xactimate Certifications, estimated and managed multi-millions of dollars in restoration projects on Public and Private Residential, Commercial, Industrial and Church properties for Insurance Companies, Independent Adjusters, Insurance Agents, Property Mangers, Architects, Engineers, Government, City, State & Federal Agencies

Professional Memberships

• Arizona Insurance Claims Association
• Arizona Multihousing Association
• Institute of Real Estate Management
• Better Business Bureau
• Restoration Affiliates
• RIMS
• PRIMA

Service Area

Serving Metropolitan Phoenix for all project sizes and Arizona for Large Losses.

Personnel Information

Owners

• Steven M. Kowalski, Operations Manager, President
• James R. Kowalski, Business Development Manager, Vice-President

Management

• Tony Taylor, Large Loss Project Estimator
• Jason A. Todd, Special Operations Manager
• Brandon S. Kowalski, 1-800-BoardUp Manager
• Leah Ranaglia, Finance Director
• Amir Noweder, Construction Operations Manager

Manager

• Gil Chasse, Electrical Division Manager
• Paul Latimer, SMS, CHST, Safety Manager
• Tyson Leatherwood, Water & Mold Manager
• Elizabeth Lee, Contents & Textiles Manager
• Blake Schmidtke, BoardUp Supervisor
• Jacob Hall, Hazardous Materials Project Manager

Administration

• Alexis Delfinado, HR Generalist
• Tabatha Jones, Controller

Articles

Restoration & Remediation Magazine Case Study Article

Additional Links

You Tube

High Profile Cases

70363 Warehouse Remediation -- A warehouse space of 111,159 square-feet sustained water damage due to a monsoon storm that blew off 3,900 square feet of roofing. In addition, the damage caused a microbial infestation which required remediation. A roof truss was broken in the process as well, and needed repair. This warehouse was four stories tall and was stocked full of merchandise. Storage capacity was maximized by using racking systems. However, these racks did not allow enough space for the 40’ scissor lifts required for our demolition and repair work. It was therefore necessary to remove four sections of racking to create the necessary aisle space. We had to coordinate access to the premises and organize over 2,500 pallets to remove the racks and stored merchandise. This required the use of three semi-trucks running around the clock for two days. With the merchandise and racking out of the way, we built a 40’x65’ wooden platform on top of the existing racks in order to provide a base from which we could access the ceiling. Working from the existing racking to construct the platform and catwalk over 30’ off the ground posed several challenges and safety concerns. We built railing and outriggers around the perimeter to better secure the area. A huge containment was also erected in order to protect the unaffected areas of the warehouse. Eleven negative-air scrubbers were utilized during the microbial remediation process. While working on the platform during the remediation process, closer inspection revealed that the infestation covered a larger area than previously known. The platform then had to be expanded to 65’x60’ and the containment was extended to 105 feet long, x 60 feet wide x 40 feet tall in order to accommodate the larger remediation workplace. Overhead lights were deemed unsafe to operate until replaced so we established a battery-powered temporary lighting system. We also installed an additional power panel as there were not a sufficient number of existing outlets in the area to operate our tools and equipment. If all of this didn’t present enough of a challenge, the owner and insurance company were still dealing with a $3 million claim and law suit from a very similar type of loss that had occurred 24-months ago. That work was not performed by Kowalski Construction, and litigation was ongoing as we worked on the second claim. Confirmation that the Insurance Company was concerned about the second claim escalating was evident in the fact that they assigned an International Adjuster to handle the loss. This Adjuster told us that he only handled claims over $100-million and was one of only a handful of such Adjusters in the world.

21-7637 Shopping Mall Fire -- Smoke damage from a large fire ravaged approximately 1/3 of Arizona’s largest mall. Kowalski was asked to perform restoration services, but with a twist. Mall managers wanted to keep the mall open for business during the restoration process. Fire suppression efforts, as well as the deployment of the sprinkler system, caused major water damage to the building. Water extraction and structure drying was our first order of business. Blocking off and containing the damaged areas from the unaffected areas of the mall was our second priority. We also had to keep a keen focus on protecting individual stores from cross contamination of any sort. Once these priorities were managed, our attention shifted to cleaning. This herculean effort inside a massive mall required three 65’ boom lifts and 20 scissor lifts manned by 50 employees to reach the open-air designed ceilings. All this work was completed in just a 10-day period. The timeframe was so compressed in an effort to provide minimum downtime and loss of revenue for both the individual stores that were affected, as well as the mall. Finally, Kowalski focused on the reconstruction process. Our goal was to deliver both the mall and the stores back to their pre-loss condition, so that shoppers would never know that anything had ever happened. This large-scale reconstruction process took only 14 days to complete. The logistics of coordinating with various insurance companies, mall ownership, management & personnel, as well as the individual store’s management and building departments, required constant communication to keep everyone informed of the progress, set expectations, and maximize efficiency.

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