Contents Restoration & Pack-Out Services in Southeast Michigan

After a fire, flood, or major water loss, the structure is only half of the claim. The contents inside the home — furniture, electronics, clothing, kitchenware, books, artwork, sentimental items — often represent more value than the building itself. Phase III Construction handles the full contents side of restoration claims: inventory, pack-out, off-site cleaning, secure storage, and pack-back when the home is ready.

We work directly with homeowners and their insurance carriers across Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Livingston counties. Our contents documentation routinely adds tens of thousands of dollars to insurance claims that adjusters would otherwise undercount or value at heavily depreciated amounts. Operating under Michigan general contractor license #262000615 and backed by a BBB A+ rating, we treat every contents claim with the same rigor we apply to the structural rebuild.

What Is Contents Restoration?

Contents restoration is the systematic recovery of personal property after a loss. It includes documenting every affected item, removing salvageable contents from the damaged structure, cleaning and restoring those items off-site under controlled conditions, storing them while reconstruction proceeds, and returning them to the home at completion. Items that cannot be restored are documented for replacement-cost claims so the homeowner is made whole on the contents portion of the policy.

Done correctly, contents restoration costs the insurance carrier less than blanket replacement of every item — which is why most policies cover it — while preserving the items the family actually cares about: photo albums, heirlooms, books, instruments, and the everyday belongings a household has accumulated over decades.

What Can Be Restored vs. What Must Be Replaced

Not every item is salvageable, and one of the most important parts of our job is making that determination honestly. Restorable items typically include:

• Hard furniture (wood, metal, glass) that has light to moderate smoke or water exposure.
• Clothing, linens, and soft goods that can be ozone-treated, ultrasonically cleaned, or laundered.
• Electronics that lost power but were not submerged or directly exposed to soot.
• Documents, books, and photographs through specialty paper restoration partners.
• Kitchenware, dishes, and metal items that can be ultrasonically cleaned.
• Artwork and framed pieces — though these often require specialty conservators.

Items that typically must be replaced rather than restored:

• Upholstered furniture with significant soot saturation or water immersion.
• Mattresses, pillows, and cushions that have absorbed contaminated water.
• Open food, sealed pantry goods exposed to extreme heat, and any perishables.
• Cosmetics, toiletries, and over-the-counter medications.
• Particle-board and laminate furniture with water exposure (delaminates and warps).
• Electronics directly exposed to soot, smoke, or floodwater.

The line between "restore" and "replace" is not always obvious, and the wrong call costs the homeowner money in either direction. Replacing a restorable item means depreciation eats the claim; declaring an unrestorable item salvageable means a homeowner pays out of pocket later. We document both categories on every claim and price each item accurately.

Our Pack-Out & Storage Process

1. On-site inventory. Every affected item is photographed, catalogued in a contents inventory list, and tagged with a unique identifier that follows it through the entire restoration cycle. Replacement-cost values are assigned to each item using current market pricing.
2. Pack-out. Salvageable items are carefully boxed, padded, and loaded into climate-controlled trucks. Fragile items (glass, electronics, artwork) receive specialty packaging. The pack-out itself is documented with photos as items leave the home.
3. Cleaning & restoration. At our climate-controlled processing facility, items are sorted by category and cleaned using the appropriate process for each material type (described below).
4. Secure storage. Restored items are stored in climate-controlled, locked, alarm-monitored storage while reconstruction proceeds. Storage costs are billed to the insurance claim, not the homeowner.
5. Pack-back. When reconstruction is complete, items are returned, unpacked, and placed in their original locations. Discrepancies (missing or unrestorable items) are reconciled against the original inventory and documented for the claim.

Contents Cleaning After Fire Damage

Fire damage drives a contents claim that is both the most extensive and the most contested. Smoke and soot penetrate every porous material in the home — not just visibly affected rooms. The right cleaning method depends on the material:

• Hard non-porous items (glass, ceramics, metal, hard plastic) are cleaned by ultrasonic immersion, removing soot from every surface and crevice.
• Hard porous items (wood furniture, leather goods) are dry-cleaned with chemical sponges and treated with deodorizers to neutralize smoke odor at the molecular level.
• Soft goods (clothing, linens, draperies) are sorted by fiber type, ozone-treated to remove odor, and laundered or dry-cleaned according to manufacturer care instructions.
• Electronics are decontaminated by specialty technicians; damaged units are documented for replacement rather than risking restoration of items that may fail later.
• Documents and photographs are sent to a specialty document restoration partner where they are freeze-dried and individually treated.

Contents Cleaning After Water Damage

Water damage drives a different cleaning protocol. The first 24–48 hours are critical: items left wet beyond that window are at high risk of mold growth, delamination, and permanent staining. Our pack-out begins immediately on water claims, and items are stabilized at our facility:

• Hard goods are dried, cleaned, and inspected for warping, mineral staining, or finish damage.
• Soft goods are laundered and dried; items with sewage exposure (Category 3 water) are typically declared total losses for health reasons.
• Documents and photographs are freeze-stabilized within 48 hours when possible to prevent ink bleed and adhesion.
• Electronics exposed to water are evaluated for full submersion, partial exposure, and corrosion of internal components. Restoration is rare; replacement-cost claims are usually the cleaner path.

Does Insurance Cover Contents Restoration?

Most homeowners and renters policies include contents coverage at 50–75% of the dwelling coverage amount. On a covered loss, that coverage pays for both restoration and replacement of damaged personal property. The challenge is that adjusters rarely document contents to the level of detail required for the homeowner to actually recover full value:

• Inventory completeness. If an item is not on the inventory, the carrier does not pay for it. Adjusters routinely miss items, particularly in storage areas, closets, and basements.
• Replacement cost vs. actual cash value. Most policies pay actual cash value (depreciated) at first, with the difference recoverable as "recoverable depreciation" only when the item is actually replaced. Tracking and recovering that depreciation is a separate workflow most homeowners never complete.
• Sublimits. Categories like jewelry, firearms, electronics, and collectibles often have policy sublimits that cap recovery far below actual value. Identifying sublimit risks before pack-out is critical.
• Pack-out, storage, and pack-back costs are separate line items insurers must pay. They are commonly omitted from initial estimates.

Our role on the contents side is the same as on the structural side: document everything, file Xactimate-format scopes, supplement aggressively, and track every dollar from initial estimate through final settlement. On fire claims in particular, our contents documentation often adds $20,000 to $80,000 to the recovery the homeowner would have received from the adjuster's initial estimate alone.

Serving Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw & Livingston Counties

Phase III Construction LLC handles contents restoration claims throughout Southeast Michigan from our Westland operations base. We dispatch pack-out teams to Westland, Livonia, Canton, Plymouth, Dearborn, Wayne, Garden City, Inkster, Allen Park, Taylor, Southgate, Wyandotte, and the rest of Wayne County; Troy, Royal Oak, Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills, Farmington Hills, Southfield, Novi, Wixom, Walled Lake, Commerce Twp, White Lake, Waterford, and Milford in Oakland County; Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, and Milan in Washtenaw County; and Brighton, Howell, and the rest of Livingston County.

Why Phase III

• Family-owned, operating in Southeast Michigan since 2001.
• Michigan general contractor license #262000615.
• BBB Accredited with an A+ rating.
• Climate-controlled, alarm-monitored storage facility.
• Inventory and Xactimate documentation built for insurance recovery, not just paperwork.
• One company managing both the contents claim and the structural rebuild — no coordination gaps.

Phase III Construction LLC
37600 Ford Rd, Westland, MI 48185
(734) 237-7322

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