What Does a Restoration Technician Do?
Restoration technicians help people recover after they’ve experienced property damage from a disaster. These experts will assess damages and recover what is still salvageable. Afterward, they can begin cleaning the property, removing debris, and beginning repairs.
These technicians will remove and replace any unrecoverable parts of a home, safely stabilize structures, sanitize areas, and restore buildings to their former state. Professionals in this role should have an excellent understanding of safety standards and be able to help customers with complaints or questions about timelines, invoices, and expectations.
A restoration technician is expected to be physically fit, have excellent communication skills, and be great at working as a team. While higher education isn’t required, having certifications or licensure in safety programs and previous experience in construction is a plus. These individuals will likely be dealing with customers who’ve lost parts or all of their homes; therefore, experience in customer service is beneficial as well.
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National Average Salary
Restoration technician salaries vary by experience, industry, organization size, and geography. To explore salary ranges by local market, please visit our sister site zengig.com.
The average U.S. salary for a Restoration Technician is:
$33,110
Restoration Technician Job Descriptions
When it comes to recruiting a restoration technician, having the right job description can make a big difference. Here are some real world job descriptions you can use as templates for your next opening.
Example 1
[Your Company Name] is hiring an experienced restoration technician. We’re looking for a highly empathetic person with great communication skills and physical stamina, in addition to skills with various tools. After a fire, flood, or another disaster, a structure will be in need of some serious TLC to get it back into shape. Restoration technicians help the victims of disasters, natural and man-made, repair the damage and clean up the mess. They also deal with sewer backflow and issues with mold, cleaning up rugs and furniture, and other tasks that help get a home or building ready to be occupied once again.
Typical duties and responsibilities
- Provide restoration services for structures damaged by fire, mold, water, and weather
- Perform water extraction, carpet/floor drying and cleaning, mold and mildew remediation, deodorization/decontamination, and demolition and debris removal
- Clean and store savable belongings and property
- Demolish or remove damaged plumbing, framing, drywall, and related materials
Education and experience
This position requires a high school diploma or equivalent, preferably with courses in ecology, biology, and chemistry. Employers often prefer candidates with an associate degree and certification in inspection, cleaning, and restoration.
Required skills and qualifications
- Expertise with hand tools
- Robust communication and listening skills
- Physical fitness and stamina for cleanup work
- Comfort with fieldwork
Preferred qualifications
- Experience working in all types of weather and environment
- Ability to lift up to 50 pounds
- Strong and in good shape
Example 2
The Restoration Technician is responsible for working as part of a team to perform emergency services and contents restoration work while adhering to company policies and procedures regarding remediation. The individual will also adhere to EPA, OSHA, and local requirements regarding safety and hazardous materials handling. Other qualifications and responsibilities might arise as deemed necessary by circumstances. The individual must be available for emergency response work after-hours and on weekends.
Responsibilities
- Perform content restoration work for residential and commercial properties
- Perform physical labor associated with cleanup activities, packing customer’s contents, general on-location cleaning, HVAC cleaning, and deodorization of facilities
- Assists with the inventory of site contents, setup of emergency services equipment, preparing contents for storage, and lifting items into storage
- Follow applicable safety rules, regulations, guidelines, policies, and site-specific safety plans when performing cleanup activities and donning protective gear
- Operate routinely used tools and equipment
- Perform routine inspection and preventative maintenance on assigned equipment
- Warehouse maintenance, stock supplies, building maintenance
- Perform work at high elevations such as from a ladder and scaffolding
- Hazardous Waste Operations
- All other duties as assigned
Required education and experience
- High School Diploma or equivalent
- 2-4 years of construction and restoration experience, working on water/fire damage jobs specifically, environmental experience, and hazardous waste
Example 3
If you come to work every day with a great attitude, a willingness to learn, a passion to serve, and a desire to be great at what you do, we can teach you the rest. So apply now. There’s always a place on our team for someone great!
Responsibilities
- Perform mold damage restoration, including dry-outs, packing, cleaning, debris removal, etc.
- Maintain a clean and organized vehicle and clean equipment appearance
- Perform end-of-the-day job cleanup and breakdown
- Inventory and load the work vehicle with equipment, products and supplies needed for each project
- Perform procedures following JTR guidelines and crew chief instructions
- Have empathy for others and show a sense of urgency in resolving customers’ problems
- Work hard and take pride in doing the job right every time
- Move equipment and other items from the warehouse to the job site and back
- Communicate with management to report project status, updates, issues, or concerns
Qualifications
- Education/experience: High school diploma or equivalent, some college/college degree preferred
- Construction experience preferred
- IICRC/Restoration experience preferred
Example 4
We provide restoration in (city) and surrounding areas. Job assignments can include specialty mitigation services, light demolition, water extraction, carpet and upholstery cleaning, mold abatement, vandalism clean-up, fire and smoke damage mitigation, content move-outs and pack-ins, and content cleaning.
Your role
- Drive a company vehicle to locations designated by customers
- Execute all work to meet or exceed applicable federal, state, and local regulations and company and customer quality standards while providing world-class customer service
- Become proficient in fire and water restoration, as well as mold abatement
- Respond to water jobs and initiate water mitigation according to IICRC and ServiceMaster standards
Skills
- Must have good communication skills
- Must have a valid Drivers License
- Reliable transportation
- Ability to travel out of town
- Able to move and/or lift 50+ lbs.
- Must pass drug and background check
- Previous restoration experience is a plus!
Candidate Certifications to Look For
- Water Damage Restoration Technician (WRT). This three or four-day course provides candidates with a basic background in water damage and restoration, teaching extraction, containment, and mold procedures needed in the field. The course is meant for technicians in both residential and commercial operations.
- Fire and Smoke Restoration Technician (FSRT). This course covers the basics of mitigation, scoping, cleaning, deodorization, subrogation, spoliation, and documentation of structures damaged by smoke and fire. After completion of this course, the candidate will be prepared to restore typically damaged homes and buildings.
- Water Loss Specialist (WLS). The WLC certification is an advanced certification taken after several years of experience in the field. The three-day course will teach candidates how to handle more specialized cases.
Sample Interview Questions
- What experience do you have in restoring properties damaged by water, fire, or other natural disasters?
- When developing a restoration plan, what factors do you consider when assessing the extent of the damage?
- Have you ever had to work with insurance companies to ensure that restoration work was covered?
- Have you ever dealt with a difficult client, and how did you handle their concerns?
- In order to ensure that restoration technicians possess the skills and knowledge needed for quality restoration work, how do you train and manage them?
- When have you collaborated with other professionals, such as architects or engineers, to plan a restoration project?
- How do you verify that the property is fully restored to its pre-damaged condition, and what steps do you take to ensure this?
- Do you have a plan for completing the restoration work on time and on a budget?
- Have you ever worked with other contractors, such as electricians or plumbers, to fully restore a property?
- What steps do you take to ensure that all safety regulations and industry standards are followed during restoration work?