Fire and smoke scope
Insurance, cash, and financing
This is a planning estimate, not a safety clearance, fire marshal decision, occupancy approval, contractor quote, insurance coverage opinion, code determination, engineering opinion, or legal advice.
| Line item | Amount | What it means |
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Methodology notes
Cleaning scope
The calculator multiplies affected square footage by the smoke and soot cleaning rate, then adjusts for fire severity and affected rooms. Odor treatment is kept separate because it may involve ducts, sealers, ozone, hydroxyl, or specialty cleaning.
Repair scope
Demolition, debris removal, structural repair, electrical, HVAC, duct cleaning, permits, and inspections are entered as allowances so contractor bids can be compared line by line.
Funding view
Emergency premium and contingency are applied to the restoration subtotal, then expected insurance proceeds, deductible exposure, cash after holdback, and optional financing are compared with the total budget.
Fire restoration caveats
- Safety and occupancy come first. A budget cannot determine whether the home is safe to enter, occupy, clean, or rebuild.
- Fire marshal, building department, utility, engineering, or permit requirements can change scope and timing, especially after structural, electrical, gas, roof, or suppression-water damage.
- Smoke, soot, and odor can require specialized cleaning, sealing, HVAC work, duct cleaning, contents handling, and clearance documentation even outside the burned area.
- Insurance payments depend on policy limits, deductible, cause of loss, depreciation, code upgrade endorsements, personal property limits, loss-of-use coverage, adjuster review, and documentation quality.
- Large losses need written contractor scopes, contents inventory support, temporary housing records, and careful tracking of change orders and exclusions.