Commercial Storm Damage Restoration in Minnesota

A storm hits a commercial building differently than a house. The roof is bigger and flatter. There’s equipment sitting on it. And every day the doors stay closed costs money.

Kiser Construction handles commercial storm damage restoration for buildings of any size, from one tenant suite to a whole building. We’re a licensed Minnesota contractor (BC416441) based in Elk River, and our firm is IICRC certified. We’ve been repairing storm damage since 2003. We plan every job around one goal: getting you open, or keeping you open.

What storms do to commercial buildings

Large, low-slope roofs

Wind gets under roof edges and peels them back. On a big roof, a small open edge can let in a lot of water before anyone notices, because nobody walks the roof every day. Often the first sign is a stained ceiling tile three rooms away.

Rooftop equipment and openings

Rooftop units, vents and curbs are all places where the roof has been cut open. Storms loosen the flashing around them, and that’s where many leaks start. We repair the roof around them. Your HVAC contractor services the units themselves.

Storefront glass, doors and signs

Broken storefront glass and damaged overhead doors leave the building open to weather and to people. Those get boarded up first.

Water inside

Ceiling tiles, insulation, drywall and flooring take the water that gets through. Wet ceiling tiles usually have to be replaced. Drywall and flooring depend on how long they stayed wet.

The first 24 hours: protect the building

The first job is stopping more damage. We board up broken glass and doors, cover open roof areas and start pulling water out of the building.

Before we cover anything, we photograph it. Your adjuster will want to see the damage the way the storm left it. Our emergency board-up and tarping page covers how that first visit works.

What to do while you wait for us

• Account for everyone in the building and keep people out of areas with sagging ceilings or standing water.
• Shut off power to wet areas at the panel only if you can reach it from a dry spot.
• Don’t send staff onto the roof. Wet, damaged roofs are slippery, and edges may be loose.
• Move inventory, files and electronics away from leaks and cover what you can’t move.
• Take photos and short videos of every affected area.
• Let tenants and your insurance company know what happened.

Multi-tenant buildings: who calls whom

In a multi-tenant building, storm damage usually touches more than one lease. The roof and exterior are often the owner’s responsibility. Damage inside a suite can involve the tenant’s own insurance for their contents and improvements. Your leases decide that, not us.

What we can do is keep everyone working from the same information. We photograph each affected suite separately and note what we found in each one. That way the owner, the property manager and each tenant can hand the right pages to the right adjuster.

Keeping your business open during commercial storm damage repairs

Most commercial repair work doesn’t have to happen between 9 and 5. We move loud work to evenings and weekends where the building allows it. We also phase the job, so you keep part of the space open while we work in the rest.

In multi-tenant buildings we work directly with your property manager. Each tenant gets a schedule they can plan around.

It works. One of Kiser’s commercial customers wrote in a review that they stayed open for the entire job and that the crew kept the showroom floor clean for customers.

Documentation your adjuster and accountant can follow

Commercial claims need more paper than residential ones. We photograph the loss, log moisture readings every day where drying is involved and write a scope your adjuster and your accountant can both follow.

We document. We don’t interpret your policy and we don’t adjust your claim. Minnesota law reserves that work for licensed public adjusters.

How a commercial storm job runs with Kiser

1. Call and secure

Call our emergency line. We board up, cover the roof and stop the water.

2. Inspect and scope

We walk the roof, the exterior and every affected space. You get a written scope. The inspection is free.

3. Meet your adjuster

We meet the adjuster on site and share our photos, readings and scope.

4. Phase the repairs

Roof, siding, gutters, glass, framing, drywall and finishes are scheduled in phases around your hours and your tenants.

5. Final walkthrough

We walk the finished work with you or your property manager. Every job carries a one-year warranty from the completion date.

Plan for the next storm

FEMA’s Ready Business program publishes a severe wind and tornado toolkit for businesses. It walks owners and managers through identifying risk, developing a plan and taking action.

Its planning scenario is worth reading on its own. It asks you to assume the building is closed and you can’t get in for at least three days, with half your inventory or equipment damaged and all utilities out. It also suggests reviewing your property coverage with your agent every year and keeping a current photo or video inventory of the building, equipment and stock. That inventory is the single most useful thing you can hand an adjuster.

Who we work with

We work with property managers, building owners, tenants and business owners. Jobs run from a single suite to a full building. Read more about our commercial restoration services, including water and fire work.

What commercial storm repairs cost

Cost depends on how much roof area opened up, how far water spread inside, how many tenants are affected and how much of the work has to happen after hours.

Two things can raise the cost of commercial storm damage restoration more than people expect. The first is time. Water that sits in ceiling tiles, insulation and drywall for several days means more has to come out. The second is access. Work in occupied space, or after hours, takes more planning than work in an empty building.

Inspections are free. You get a written scope before work starts. We work on 50/50 payment terms.

Where we do commercial storm damage restoration

We work across Anoka, Hennepin, Sherburne and Wright counties from our office on Meadowvale Road in Elk River. The full list is on our areas we serve page. For homes, see our residential storm damage restoration page.

Common questions

Call us

Commercial storm damage restoration goes faster when one contractor secures the building, documents the loss and makes every repair. For an active emergency, call (612) 518-8852. A real person answers 24/7, including holidays. To talk through a commercial project, call our Elk River office at (763) 633-2010.