Fire
Fire damage restoration
Board-up and security, structural assessment, strip-out of what can't be saved, and restoration of everything that can. From a chip-pan fire to a whole floor.
Over 30 years' experience · Specialists in fire & flood restoration
Fire or flood, we put it back.
Joiners and building contractors with all trades covered, from the Borders to Angus. Insurance work is our speciality: one phone call, a project-managed claim, and one team from the first pump-out to the final coat of paint.
In the first hour
What to do right now.
The steps you take before we arrive make a real difference to what can be saved. Pick what has happened and work down the list. If anyone is in danger, call 999 first.
Tap one to switch the list
- Stop the water if you safely can. Your stopcock is usually under the kitchen sink or where the pipe enters the house. Turn it clockwise.
- Switch off the electrics at the consumer unit if water is near sockets, fittings or the unit itself. Never touch it standing in water.
- Lift what you can. Rugs, photographs, paperwork and electricals up and out. Put foil or blocks under furniture legs.
- Photograph everything before you move it, including tide marks on walls. Your insurer will ask.
- Leave the sodden plaster alone. Don't hoover water with a household vacuum or put heaters on full. It can drive moisture deeper.
- Call us, then your insurer. We'll tell you what we're doing and give you what they need.
- Don't go back in until the fire service says so. Structures and ceilings can fail hours after a fire is out.
- Keep hands off soot. Wiping it grinds it into paint, fabric and plaster and makes it permanent. Leave it alone until it has been assessed.
- Don't switch on appliances or heating that were near the fire until they've been checked.
- Ventilate if it's safe. Open windows to let smoke clear, but keep the property secure.
- Throw away open food that was exposed to heat, smoke or firefighting water.
- Photograph each room and call us. We board up and secure the property as soon as we arrive.
Emergency board-up
It's in the name.
A broken window or a burnt-out door leaves a home open to weather, water and whoever walks past. Before anything else, we make it secure.
- GlassBroken glass cleared from frames, sills and the pavement so nobody gets hurt.
- BoardWindows and doors boarded with exterior-grade ply, screwed into the frame rather than nailed, so the frames can be kept.
- RoofRoofs and holes sheeted with temporary covers to keep rain out while the building dries.
- LockLocks changed or a secure door fitted if keys were lost or the door can't be saved.
- ProofPhotographed before and after and sent to you and your insurer once the job is done.
Services
Everything between the damage and the day you're back.
Most people end up juggling a drying firm, a joiner, a plasterer and a decorator. We are all of them, working to one plan with one person in charge of your job.
Flood
Flood & water damage
Burst pipes, leaking tanks, overflowing burns and rivers. We extract, find every pocket of hidden moisture and dry the building rather than just the surface.
Structural drying
Moisture mapping, thermal imaging and targeted drying for solid stone, lath and plaster and modern builds. Readings logged every visit.
Mould remediation
Contained, safe removal of mould that follows a leak or flood, and the moisture problem underneath it put right so it doesn't come back.
Reinstatement building work
Our own joiners, plasterers, electricians and decorators rebuild what came out, so the drying team hands straight over to the build team and nothing sits waiting between trades.
- Joinery
- Plastering
- Electrical
- Plumbing
- Flooring
- Kitchens
- Decorating
Specialist craft
French polishing, and mouldings made to match.
Some things can't be bought off the shelf. Our craftsmen polish wood to any colour you want, and remake period mouldings that nobody manufactures any more.
French polishing
Traditional shellac polishing, built up by hand to a deep, clear finish. We restore pieces that have been damaged by heat, water or smoke, and we'll polish something you've just bought to match the rest of the room.
- Doors, panelling, staircases and handrails
- Furniture, old or brand new
- Colour matched to any shade you want
Mouldings made to match
Damaged a length of architrave, skirting or coving that isn't made any more? We take a sample, copy the profile exactly and make new lengths to match, then finish them in paint or French polish so the repair disappears.
- 1We take a sample
- 2We copy the profile
- 3Made, fitted & finished
Any colour you want
Pick a finish to see it on a moulding.
These are just a few. Bring us a sample, a paint chip or a photo and we'll match it.
Planned building work
Not an emergency? We build too.
The same joiners, plasterers, electricians and decorators who put homes back together after a fire or flood also take on planned work. Tell us what you have in mind and we'll arrange a visit and a free written quote.
- Extensions
- Loft conversions
- Kitchens
- Bathrooms
- Full renovations
- Structural repairs
- Joinery
- Plastering
How we work
You'll always know what day it is on your job.
Every restoration follows the same order. Each step has an owner, a date and a written record your insurer can read.
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Hour 0
You call, we answer
A person picks up, day or night. We take what's happened, give you safety steps and book someone out.
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First visit
Make safe & survey
Water extracted, electrics isolated, property boarded and secured. We map the damage room by room and photograph everything.
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Days 1 to 10
Dry out & monitor
Drying equipment runs to a plan. We visit, take readings and log them until every wall hits its dry target.
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Sign-off
Dry certificate & scope
You and your insurer get the drying record and a priced scope of works for the rebuild.
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Handover
Rebuild & hand back keys
Our trades reinstate the property. We walk it with you and don't leave until you're happy.
Wall moisture38.0% WME
Day1of 9
Illustrative. Real drying times depend on the building, the water and the season. You get the actual readings from every visit.
Our work
Same room. Drag to see the difference.
Drying guide
How long will it take to dry?
It depends on where the water came from and what it soaked into. Pick both and you'll get the range we'd expect to see on a typical job. Your survey gives you the real figure.
Insurance
Insurance work is our speciality.
Every claim is project managed from start to finish. If you're insured, you're usually free to appoint us yourself, and we then work directly with your insurer and loss adjuster so you don't have to.
- Homeowners
- We send your insurer the photographs, moisture readings and costed scope they ask for, and keep you updated in plain English.
- Landlords & factors
- Tenant liaison, access arranged around residents, and one point of contact for shared closes and tenement stairs.
- Businesses
- Out-of-hours working and phased drying to keep shops, offices and kitchens trading where it's safe.
- Loss adjusters
- Clear validation reports, daily drying logs and fixed timelines you can hold us to.
Areas we cover
From the Borders to Angus.
Our crews cover the central belt, Fife, Tayside and the Scottish Borders.
- Edinburgh & Lothians
- Glasgow & Clyde
- Fife
- Dundee & Angus
- Perth & Kinross
- Scottish Borders
The people who turn up
Our own crews. Not whoever's free.
Everyone who walks into your home works for us, is trained by us and is answerable to us. They'll be in plain clothes if you'd rather the neighbours didn't know, and they'll treat the place as a home, not a site.
- Over 30 years' experience in fire and flood restoration
- Joiners & building contractors, all trades covered
- Uniformed, ID-carrying technicians
- Fully insured for domestic and commercial work
- Protective covers down before anything comes in
- One named project manager from start to finish
Questions
What people ask us first.
How quickly can you get here?
We'll give you an honest arrival time when you call, wherever you are in the areas we cover, and talk you through keeping things safe until we get there.
Do I need my insurer's permission first?
Not to stop the damage getting worse. Emergency work to protect the property is something insurers expect you to do. Call them as soon as you can, and we'll send them everything they need.
Can I stay in the house while it dries?
Often, yes. Drying equipment is noisy and warm but safe to live with. If a kitchen or bathroom is out of action, or smoke damage is heavy, we'll tell you straight and help arrange alternative accommodation with your insurer.
Why not just put the heating on and open the windows?
Surfaces feel dry long before the building is. Solid stone and old lime plaster hold water deep inside, and if it's decorated over too soon you get blown plaster, mould and a second claim. We measure until the readings say it's dry.
What will it cost if I'm not insured?
We survey and give you a written, itemised price before any work beyond the emergency make-safe. You decide what goes ahead.
Water is coming through from the flat above. What do I do?
Knock on your neighbour's door first so they can turn off their water. If nobody answers, the stopcock for the close is often in the common stair or the cellar, and your factor or landlord will know where. Then call us. We'll trace where it's coming from and give both flats' insurers the evidence they need.
Who pays when the damage is in the shared close or the roof?
Usually the owners share it. In most Scottish tenements the title deeds, or the Tenement Management Scheme where the deeds say nothing, set out how common repairs are split. If you have a factor, they normally organise it. We can survey the common parts and give one costed scope everyone can work from.
How quickly can you board up a window?
Board-up and make-safe is the first thing our crews do and they carry the materials on the van. Ring the 24 hour line and we'll give you an honest arrival time on the phone.
Get help
Tell us what's happened.
For anything happening right now, phone is fastest. For everything else, send this and we'll call you back.
24 hour line01592 655106Or email info@fbrs.co.uk