Allied Restoration - April 2022

Allied Restoration - April 2022

APRIL 2022

Many Strengths, One Purpose: To Service

626.349.6515 www.AlliedRestore.com

Hey, there — remember us? It’s been a while, but we’re excited to be back in your mailbox and keeping you updated on everything happening at Allied Restoration. Some of you have been working with us for years, while others are brand-new, so this edition is about who we are and what we do. Our founders, O.P. and Victor Almaraz, grew up on food stamps and government cheese in El Monte, California, but that only strengthened their determination to succeed. Allied Restoration began in the middle of the 2008 Great Recession, but just two years later, they were doing great business and seemed unstoppable. Then, during a business conference, Victor began to feel ill. He went to his hotel room to rest, but he soon contacted his brother to request help. O.P. rushed Victor to the hospital, which he sadly never left. Victor passed away two weeks later at only 39 years old. It was a tragedy no one could foresee. I’d known O.P. and Victor for quite a few years at that point, so I was happy to join the company and help keep it afloat. It was rocky at first, but we persevered. Over time, we’ve flourished and increased revenue 7–8 times over. I know that Victor would be proud to see his business thrive. One of the keys to our success has been structuring our company to service high net worth and celebrity customers. Before we entered the market, it was an underserved niche. Celebrities have different needs and expectations than your average consumer, and it’s not just that they expect everything to be fancy. Typically, a restoration crew enters a property, whips out their phones, and takes pictures for insurance. You can’t do that in celebrity homes; those photographs could be worth thousands of dollars, and having cameras What We’ve Been Up To IT FEELS GOOD TO BE BACK

intrude into their lives can be traumatic for someone constantly hounded by paparazzi. Recently, our entiremanagement team spent three days training at the Ritz Carlton on what these customers expect and require. Since restoration companies typically receive business from insurance companies, the end-user experience is often lacking. The insurer gets all the attention, leaving homeowners in the dark. We recognize that we’re entering someone’s home, their most sacred space, and behave accordingly. Our customers are not just a number or a paycheck. A lot has changed since we last published a newsletter. To start, we moved our offices to West Covina, which strategically places us with easy access to Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and Orange County. When someone has just experienced a disaster, they need us there immediately. Our new office allows us to get to our customers with the speed they expect and deserve. We now have a state-of-the-art training center, which we want to make available to the insurance brokers and adjusters with whom we do business. We’ve got a kitchen space, coffee machine with all the bells and whistles, and even an area to relax and unwind. If you would like to use the facilities, give us a call! We’ve also branched out into new business segments. Our disinfection and sanitation department has grown significantly since the first COVID-19 cases hit the United States. We use SteraMist, a product developed in partnership with the Department of Defense to kill anthrax. Now, it’s used to disinfect areas where cleanliness is a matter of life and death. We’ve worked in hospitals, nursing facilities, and food processing plants, and we’ve donated hundreds of thousands of square feet worth of disinfectant to communities in need. We’ve also begun offering duct cleaning services, which our customers desperately need after they’ve experienced a wildfire. And speaking of fires, we’re doing everything we can to prevent them before they occur. There’s a lot more information coming on both of those fronts — stay tuned to future editions for more. Thank you for welcoming us back; I hope you’re even half as excited as we are. I look forward to using this opportunity to communicate with you directly about what I’m thinking, what the company is doing, and what we have to offer. Keep an eye out for us next month!

We would love to help YOU! Please call us at (888) 489-3436 or scan the QR code to set up an appointment TODAY!

–Tim Bauer

WWW.ALLIEDRESTORE.COM

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Wallpaper Is Back… But Why?

PREPARING YOUR A/C UNIT FOR SUMMER

For many people around the country, April is the first month when they might turn on their air conditioning unit. Even if it’s still chilly where you are, summer is right around the corner, so you need to make sure your A/C unit is ready to tackle the summer heat. A central air conditioner has an indoor air handler and an outdoor compressor. The compressor is where you want to spend your time cleaning and maintaining. More than likely, you didn’t use your air conditioner during the cooler winter months, so you’ll need to do a few things to ensure your unit is in peak condition before turning it on. Before doing any work on your unit, make sure you turn off the circuit breaker. You’ll need to turn off the power to the condenser at the service panel, but most condensers also have a weatherproof disconnect box that you need to power down. Once your unit is powered down, you can begin cleaning and replacing your furnace or air-handler filters. Ideally, you should do this twice a year. If you fail to change or clean these filters, restricted air flow will reduce the efficiency of your unit. In addition to cleaning your filter, you also need to clean the condenser coils. If your unit was uncovered during the winter, leaves and other debris likely found their way inside the coils. Make sure the fan is clear before moving inside the box to check if the coils are clogged. If they are, clean them with a soft brush and use a vacuum to clean the coils from the inside. Once you’ve cleared away all the debris and excess water, check the coolant lines. These lines are usually covered with foam insulation that can fray and crack. If they’re damaged, replace them with new foam insulation sleeves. Your unit should now be ready for a test, and if everything runs well, your air conditioner should be ready to take on the summer heat. Anyone can clean and complete simple maintenance, but if the system still doesn’t work properly, call in a professional to investigate and handle further repairs.

Wallpaper is one style of home decor that you either love or hate. It was extremely popular in the 1930s and grew in popularity throughout the 1950s and ’60s. While wallpaper was still being put in homes during the ’70s, its popularity had peaked, and people began turning toward more minimalistic means to decorate their walls. The 1980s saw paint and paneling become more popular, and paint became the dominating force in wall design during the ’90s. Not only did wallpaper fall out of style due to new ideas in interior design, but it was also a pain to install and remove. For years, it seemed rare to walk into someone’s home and see wallpaper. But over the last few years, it’s become much more common. This has led many people to wonder why wallpaper has returned and if it is here to stay. Over the last decade, DIY and home improvement shows have taken the world by storm. Some of the shows would use minimalistic wallpaper when designing a room, but as time progressed, more and more home improvement shows had their hosts applying wallpaper. The designs they chose were more modern, making viewers envision similar designs in their own homes. Additionally, traditional wallpaper manufacturers heard the feedback regarding the difficulty of installing and removing wallpaper. They addressed the issues by creating wallpapers that were easier to apply and didn’t need excessive amounts of glue. Producers also explained the environmental advantages of wallpaper, which piqued the interest of environmentally conscious individuals. Wallpaper sales have been rising over the past few years and don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. One study estimates that the global market for digitally printed wallpaper will reach $7.5 billion by 2026. It sat at $2 billion in 2017 with most sales taking place in Europe and Asia. Only time will tell if Americans continue to get back behind the wallpaper trend.

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SHE SAVED HER HUMAN! On Jan. 3, 2022, NewHampshire State Police responded to a call about a lone dog wandering around on the interstate near Veterans Memorial Bridge. When they got there, the pup—a Shiloh shepherd named Tinsley — led the officers on what seemed to be a wild goose chase. “When Trooper Sandberg and the Lebanon police officers attempted to get close to the canine, it continued to run northbound on Interstate 89, crossing into Vermont,” the police department wrote in a Facebook post. “A short time later, Trooper Sandberg and the Lebanon police officers located a damaged section of guardrail near the Interstate 91 and Interstate 89 junction.” It turns out Tinsley had a destination in mind: an upside-down pickup truck that had crashed through that very guardrail. The truck had rolled off the highway, and the people who were inside— including Tinsley’s owner, CamLaundry —were on the ground, badly hurt and hypothermic! Thanks to Tinsley’s bravery, the cops called an ambulance that rushed them to the hospital. “This was almost like a real-life Lassie situation,” one lieutenant told CNN. “It’s really quite remarkable. This dog definitely saved their lives. I don’t think they would have survived the night given the temperatures.” Tinsley is a real hero on four legs, just like Lassie, a fictional pup who saved two little boys from dying of hypothermia in the snow. Fortunately, Tinsley’s grateful owner, Meet Tinsley, a Car Crash Survivor

Cam, made a full recovery. He also knows just how special his pup is. “She gets spoiled all the time,” he told the WPTZ news station. “She’ll get some venison, probably [a] burger tonight, and probably some back scratches with it.” Tinsley is not the only dog who has saved a human from the cold. In the winter of 2017, a rescue pooch named Peanut saved the life of a 3-year-old girl in Michigan who had wandered away from home, and a golden retriever named Kelsey saved her owner after he slipped in the snow and broke his neck. She kept him warm for 19 hours and barked until help came. To read the full story of Tinsley’s roadside rescue, visit CNN.com and search “real-life Lassie.”

TAKE A BREAK

ONE-PAN CHICKEN TACOS Inspired by TasteOfHome.com

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breasts, sliced into 1-inch pieces • 2 tbsp garlic powder • 2 tbsp cumin • 2 tbsp chipotle powder

• Canola oil (for frying) • Corn tortillas • Grated cheddar cheese • Pico de gallo and guacamole salsa (to taste)

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken pieces, garlic powder, cumin, and chipotle powder. Mix until the chicken is coated. 2. In a frying pan, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken mixture. Cook on medium heat for 5–8 minutes. 3. Remove the chicken from the pan, and add the corn tortillas (avoid overlapping) so they soak up the juices. Flip the tortillas and repeat. Then, add chicken and grated cheddar to each tortilla and fold it over the filling — in the pan. 4. Cook the tacos for 3 minutes per side until the tortillas are crispy and the cheese is melted. 5. Top with pico and guacamole salsa, and serve!

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

3120 E GARVEY S WEST COVINA, CA 91791

626.349.6515 www.AlliedRestore.com

INSIDE

1

Welcome Back

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Wallpaper Is Back … But Why? Get Your A/C Unit Ready for Summer

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A Heroic Dog Saves Her Owner One-Pan Chicken Tacos

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Where to Place Plants in Your Small Space

GREEN PLACES FOR SMALL SPACES Spring has officially arrived! As the weather warms up around the country, people are heading outside to refresh their gardens. But what if you live in a small space, like an apartment, or simply don’t have any backyard space to accommodate growing your own plants? If you’re in that situation, use these three areas to help your plants thrive! A Balcony or Patio

Most pots can sit on balcony and patio floors while still getting enough sunlight to properly grow. Just remember to water them appropriately and bring them inside if the weather turns bad! In Windows Windows can provide the perfect space for plants to absorb sunlight without the

need to manage their location. Bay windows are ideal, but you can also place plants on the windowsill. The Entryway Plants don’t just have to grow on the ground or in pots! An entryway can let you go vertical with your greenery while staying out of the way of visitors.

626.349.6515

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