How much does smoke damage restoration cost?
Short answer: Smoke damage cleaning typically runs about $3 to $8 per square foot of affected area in Denver metro. A single-room kitchen fire with contained smoke often lands between $3,000 and $10,000, while whole-home smoke and odor work with contents processing commonly runs $15,000 to $50,000 or more. Structural rebuild is additional. Ranges reflect typical Denver metro residential work and are estimates, not quotes.
Need this handled today?
Call for emergency response in Denver and the surrounding metro.
Call Now for Emergency Help(720) 319-807324/7 Emergency Call HandlingKey Takeaways
- Cleaning: roughly $3 to $8 per square foot affected.
- Contained kitchen fire: $3,000 to $10,000 for smoke and odor work.
- Whole-home smoke exposure: $15,000 to $50,000 or more.
- Contents pack-out and specialty cleaning is a separate significant line.
- HVAC and duct cleaning is nearly always required after significant smoke spread.
Cost Components
- Emergency board-up and tarping: $500 to $3,000.
- Suppression water extraction and drying: $1,500 to $6,000.
- Soot cleaning labor, the largest line on most smoke losses.
- Sealing and repainting affected surfaces: $2 to $5 per square foot.
- Contents pack-out, off-site cleaning, and storage.
- Duct cleaning: $500 to $2,500.
- Odor treatment with hydroxyl or ozone equipment.
Why Protein Fires Surprise People
A kitchen fire with little visible damage can still deposit protein residue through an entire floor. It looks like almost nothing, smells strongly, and requires degreasing of every surface including cabinet interiors. Those losses routinely cost more than homeowners expect given how small the burn area looks.
Where Money Is Well Spent
- Thorough dry soot removal before any wet cleaning, which prevents permanent staining.
- Insulation removal where smoke entered cavities, rather than attempting to clean it.
- Sealing with an odor-blocking primer before finish paint.
- Early electronics decontamination, before acidic residue corrodes components.
Exceptions and Important Considerations
- Wildfire smoke intrusion without fire damage is usually a cleaning and filtration scope, often $2,000 to $10,000.
- Furnace puff-back soot is oily and costs more per square foot than dry smoke.
- Historic finishes require specialty methods that raise unit costs.
Related Questions
Painting without cleaning and sealing does not work, and the odor returns. Cleaning then sealing is the durable path.
It is typically part of a covered fire loss, subject to your policy and your insurer's determination.
It is processed off site by specialty facilities and billed by item or volume.
Not if smoke traveled through the system; odor will return every time it runs.
Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration in Denver
Call (720) 319-8073 for 24/7 emergency response across Denver metro.