In case you're just tuning in, we had a large oak tree fall on our house about a month ago. We are STILL getting things back to normal. The primary reason why it took so long is that the first contractor that the insurance company had sent out (their "preferred provider") screwed up a bunch of things, agreed to put everything back together, and then totally blew us off. After having them break three or four scheduling commitments, we finally had to go with another contractor. It's a shame, because I was really looking forward to forcing them to repair all the mistakes they had made when they were doing their water mitigation.
Looking back at the disaster, I wish we had just contacted a company of our own. Although it was nice that we never even saw the bill for it (just the invoice marked as "paid"), I would have liked to have screened the contractor a little better. I did check out their website and reputation after the fact and found it to be "okay". Nothing phenomenal, as they were just part of a larger chain of companies that does various types of home repair work. You would think that water mitigation work would be important enough that I would have done my research before I even let these guys step foot in our home, but in this case the house was a total disaster and we had no idea what to do. I called the insurance company at 3am and they stepped in and took care of it. If it had just been a basic sewage backup or a minor roof leak, I would have done my research, checked references, and picked the company that sounded best. But we had a tree in our kitchen. What can you do?
If anything, be better prepared. Arm yourself with some phone numbers for businesses that you have already checked out, and have them handy near your emergency contact numbers. It's not that difficult to find solid reputable companies on the net. For water damage, there are sites like WaterRestoration911.com. The name says it all. They've got lots of info on their website, don't hide behind a big generic corporate entity, and they do more than just say, "yeah, we do that." It beats the idea of accepting whichever company your insurance adjuster sends your way (or the company that they get a kickback from in some way). Our adjuster nearly forced us to use them by saying that they were the only company whose estimates would be spot-on, because they use the same software. Just because they charge exactly what the insurance company is willing to pay doesn't mean that they'll do a good job, and finding a better company (even if they charge a little more) is definitely worth the extra effort. You can either fight the insurance company for some extra cost now, or you can fight the contractor to come back later and fix what they didn't do right.
As of now, our kitchen is back in order and fully functioning, thanks to my own hard work. The flooring, cabinets, counter-tops, and drywall are complete. All the plumbing was replaced and is connected and running. We've painted the walls and ceiling, but I still need to finish the edge with a 3" coarse brush. We're also working on repainting the lower rooms that had drywall work done. One room (my home office) is requiring lots of additional spray texture from where I removed acoustic paneling. It's amazing how little wall area one of those spray texture cans will actually cover. The entire house reeks of paint, cabinet stain and spray-on orange peel. I keep getting headaches. I can't wait until everything has dried. Until then, we're living with most of the doors and windows open (at least the ones with intact screens).
All that's left on our to-do list is to replace one window and the rear siding (which is on backorder). After a month of restoration, our home is finally about ready to go back on the market. Let's hope for a quick sale!