For the past 25 years, a program has been underway that providesadvanced training for damage repair contractors and restorers. Over500 individuals, including many of the industry's leadingprofessionals, have completed that training. The RestorationIndustry Association's (RIA) Certified Restorer (CR) designation isoften called the Ph.D. of damage repair. However, manycontractors–and adjusters–are not aware that this programexists.

It is true that over time, many contractors develop arespectable level of expertise in recognizing damage andprescribing remedies. Their knowledge is gained by handling lossesand observing what works. Unfortunately, this type of training onlygoes so far. Real expertise requires an understanding of the forcesthat generate different types of damage and a theoretical basis forhandling them. A short quiz might illustrate this difference:

• Loss #1: A sofa fire produced a really smelly smoke and theresidue on table tops which felt tacky. When the restoration wascompleted the house looked great, the contents sparkled but an odorof smoke bedeviled the occupants. What happened?
• Loss #2: A can of spray paint fueled a utility room fire thatreduced the furnace to a charred hulk. During the final cleanup thecontractor noticed a strange condition: when the windows werewashed they looked fine, but when they dried a hazy film keptreturning. What was the remedy?
• Loss #3: After the initial cleanup, a basement oil spillgenerated a pervasive odor, driving the occupants from the home.The restorer suggested deodorization with ozone. Good idea?
• Loss #4: A suspected bank robber barricaded himself in asecond-floor apartment and police fired tear-gas projectiles tosubdue him. The subject was taken into custody, but three dayslater the other tenants still couldn't use their apartments. What'sthe answer?

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Answers

Loss #1: What happened? The common assumptionis that smoke is characterized by its concentration as heavy,medium, or light. However, Certified Restorers learn that thecharacter of smoke varies with the type of fire that creates it.Vigorously burning fires (oxygen-rich) produce particles that arerelatively small, dry and tend to bond loosely to surfaces.Smoldering fires (oxygen-starved) produce large, sticky particleswhich bond tenaciously and have an extremely pungent odor. Inaddition, the smoke plume from smoldering fires moves slowly and ismore likely to migrate into walls and other cavities. Wet smokethat is not properly treated can bleed through paints and sealers,and continue to generate odors. The distinctions of wet and drysmoke are two of the six basic types of smoke residues covered inthe CR training.

Loss #2: What was the remedy? When furnacesburn, there exists the possibility that air conditioning coils wereinvolved and released their contents. Common AC coolants containfluorides which can combine with moisture to become hydrofluoricacid. Certified Restorers learn that one characteristic ofhydrofluoric acid is the ability to etch glass. When wet, etchedglass appears to be clear because water fills the surface andpermits an even transmission of light. When the glass dries theetched diffraction returns, providing a hazy appearance. Thehaziness is not a film and cannot be removed. Replacement of theglass is the only remedy. This is best discovered early in theproject rather than during the final cleanup.

Loss #3: Good idea? No, bad idea. Fuel oilvapor can cause severe pulmonary distress in some individuals. Theproblem is not the odor, but the fuel oil vapor itself. Thus, aprocedure that masks the odor could be dangerous. Ozone is anoxidizer. It removes odors by adding oxygen atoms to unsaturatedmolecules. Rust and fire are other forms of oxidation. Burninggasoline is an example of rapid oxidization. Certified Restorersunderstand that while the oxidizing action of ozone is unlikely tocause fuel oil to ignite, it is not going to help the situationeither. Until the oil is removed, the odor of fuel oil is animportant indicator of its presence.

Loss #4: What's the answer? Tear gas isdesigned to make humans uncomfortable to the degree that theycannot effectively function. It is formulated to persist. There aretwo principle types of tear gas, CN and CS, abbreviations for theirlong chemical names. CS is the more severely disruptive, producingcopious tears, burning, and nausea. Tear gas can be removed frombuilding interiors by applying procedures designed to neutralizeits chemical components and release it from the surfaces to whichit bonds. Certified Restorers learn how to apply these proceduresand the theory that supports them.

Understanding Theory and Techniques

In addition to perils such as these, the Certified Restorercourse addresses fingerprint powder, toxic substances, proteinfires, water damage, corrosion, and other forms of damage. Theseare not typical perils, of course, but the theory and techniquesthey require carry over to an even greater ability to understandand handle everyday losses. Training in different modes of damageis just one aspect of the program. CR training also includesidentifying and characterizing the responses of differentmaterials, such as marble, wood, leather, ceramics, and metals. Forexample, CR candidates must be able to distinguish hardwood fromsoftwoods, and identify 10 different wood species. Similarly, theystudy the structure and characteristics of textile fibers and learnto identify the major fabric weaves and their responses to variousforms of damage.

The course is divided into sections on buildings and contents.In the building section, candidates learn relevant mechanisms ofair flow and the distribution of airborne particles. They coverstructural nomenclature and the characteristics of framing and roofsystems, as well as heating and air systems. Individual sectionscover deodorization, restoration theory, art, and electronicsrestoration. The Certified Restorer course concludes with anall-day written exam, for which a minimum score of 80 percent isrequired for certification.

The rigorous CR training requires that applicants possess aworking knowledge of restoration before they are accepted ascandidates. Three years of restoration experience are required, aswell as successful completion of a two-day Restoration Techniciancourse and the RIA Contents Restoration course or equivalenttraining.

Other Factors Contributing to RestorationSuccess

However, technical expertise is not the only component ofprofessionalism in damage repair, and it may not be the mostimportant consideration. The comments of property damage claimants,as well as adjusters, suggest that a firm's character andefficiency are immensely important, as demonstrated by suchelemental practices as arriving on time, keeping commitments, andmaintaining good communication. The CR program reinforces thesequalities by imposing a set of rigorous ethical and performancestandards that are unique in the industry. In addition, CRcandidates agree to undergo an independent credit check and reviewof their employment history.

RIA Certified Restorer training can avoid such disasters as:

• “The Job That Never Ended” This was a residential loss wherethe bowl of a recently-installed toilet shattered, allowing waterto run for up to two days (the exact time unknown because theowners were out of town). This project was marked by severalcontractors and the active intervention of the owner and his publicadjuster. After rancorous dispute at every stage, the project wasfinally completed three years after the date of loss. The cause:not one of the contractors performed a comprehensive mapping of themoisture distribution, while long periods of HVAC shutdown resultedin a seemingly endless recurrence of mold.

• “The Floor That Kept Cracking” The kitchen had a large centerisland, granite counter tops, and a ceramic floor. The dishwasheroverflowed and a long perpendicular crack developed in the floortiles. The contractor replaced the plywood underlay and installed anew floor. The owner stated she heard “cracking” noises underfootand shortly thereafter observed a new crack, identical to thefirst. After some grumbling, the flooring contractor took up thetile, his new underlay, and replaced a section of the plywood subfloor before reinstalling the floor as before. A few days later thecrack reappeared. Neither the flooring contractor nor the insurancecompany were interested in a third attempt. While there is norecord of how this was resolved, it was apparent that the floor wasoverloaded by the large island cabinet, the granite counter topsand the substantial girth of the owner. The replacement sub floorshould not have been cut to fit around the cabinets, which shouldhave been removed and the sub floor installed in full sheets withthe joints properly spaced.
• “Chem-Sponge Contamination” A typical residential furnacepuff-back left a coating of soot on every exposed surface. Therestoration firm's estimator told the owners their customaryprocedure was to clean the walls, ceilings, and furnishings withChem-sponges. Immediately following the repairs the occupants beganto experience itching and throat soreness that they claimed werecaused by chemical residues left by the Chem-sponges. They demandedthat the entire home be washed down and repainted. Of course, therereally is no “Chem” in Chem-sponges. They are composed entirely offoam rubber. Their cleaning action is like that of a pencil eraser,except that they retain the particles in a multitude of pore-likecavities. Only on-site environmental testing and a laboratoryreport that confirmed the absence of irritating “chemicals” in thesponges could resolve the issue. The cause of the itching was neverestablished.

These and similar tales point up reasons why skepticism aboundsin today's restoration environment. Fears of toxicity, healtheffects, and incompetence are often, but not always, groundless. Ahigher level of knowledge and expertise, exemplified by RIA'sCertified Restorer program, goes a long way in establishingconfidence in damage repair. The comprehensive RIA Certificationprogram is the most rigorous and substantial training available forthis industry. It is a designation that means something.

Martin L. King, CR, ASA, is a Restoration IndustryAssociation technical advisor on all facets of the restorationprocess. He is the author of the RIA Guidelines for Fire and SmokeDamage Repair, and is the architect of and principal instructor forthe Certified Restorer program.