Natural Stone Restoration and Carpet Cleaning Bids: IMS Texas

August 12, 2011 By

stone restoration bids ims texas

At IMS we take a long hard look at your situation before we even start a job bid

Natural stone restoration and carpet cleaning bids take more time than clients’ may think. IMS Texas co-owner Jason Johonnesson explains:

Whenever we are asked for a bid, someone asks us or submits an RFP, a request for proposal, we put a lot of time and effort into that. In man hours, the average bid involves about eight man hours of my time. I have to make an observation of the floor, get to the bottom of what a customer or potential customer really wants because often times they don’t quite know how to describe what it is they want. It’s not clean; they want it to look cleaner. That doesn’t always mean it needs to be cleaned. It could be perfectly clean, but it’s a matte finish and a lot of people associate a matte finish with a floor that’s not clean. They associate matte as dirty and polished as clean. So you have to get through what they really mean, find out actually what’s wanted and needed, and then take the measurements, do the observations.

There are so many complexities in today’s natural stone floors. A lot of incompatible surfaces are mixed together. It’s almost like you have a designer who takes a little bit of marble, a little bit of granite and a little bit of limestone, they pick the colors they want and they just throw them together on the floor and they have to all be treated differently. So if you have a combination flooring with two or three different types of stone there is a lot to consider when giving you that bid. I would be leery of someone who gives you a quick bid without much consideration because they’re probably taking a wild shot and maybe they are not considering all of the troubles that can occur. We disclaim whatever troubles we might encounter in our bid. Before we get started we want you to have an accurate idea of what your expectations should be. We want to make it clear to you what you should expect and what is realistic and our goal is that you are always astonished that it is far better than what we actually explained.

To get a bid for your natural stone restoration, carpet cleaning, concrete polishing or other service, call (214) 351-9390.
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IMS Texas’ Concrete Polishing Division

August 10, 2011 By

concrete polishing ims texas

IMS has four divisions, each of which excels technically in obtaining a superlative surface in your home or business

Today at IMS Texas, we have several divisions all dealing with maintenance of your interior surfaces. There is our carpet cleaning division which is our flagship division and what we started out with. We have a natural stone maintenance and restoration division where we have pioneered multiple techniques to the point of being asked to do seminars and generating interest both nationally and internationally. And we have a flood and water damage restoration division which grew out of our customers’ needs.

Now, we also have a concrete polishing division, our fourth division, in which we’ve been able to carry over technology from our granite restoration procedures and apply them to concrete. Out of the entire decorative concrete world there are many facets to the decorative concrete industry, anything ranging from etching to overlayments and engravings it goes on and on. We specialize in a single facet and that is polishing, diamond polishing. We do not do overlayments. We do not put on topical coatings. We don’t want it to look like a basketball court.

We want a diamond polish so that it can have the same type of clarity and gloss that a natural stone floor could have. So that is our newest division which is a carryover of technology from our stone division. And that’s where we find ourselves today. Those are our four strong divisions and it all began with our carpet cleaning and maintenance division.

To get a quote from IMS Texas from any of our four divisions,
call (214) 351-9390.
Filed Under: IMS TX Concrete Floor Restoration Tagged With: , , , ,

Natural Stone Restoration and Trade Secrets

August 8, 2011 By

Excerpted from an interview with IMS founder, Larry Johonnesson:

natural stone restoration secrets ims texas

IMS Texas' hard-won technology isn't completely secret, but it's protected to keep it from being messed up.

The stone industry is kind of interesting. Jason [Johonnesson, IMS co-owner] has been involved for many years with Research and Development, in researching various things and sees, from time to time, problems that occur. He has given his technical expertise and lended the old-world European skills to people and businesses here.

I can give you a good example, one in Oklahoma, which was a black granite floor. Handling black granite was something that we really did pioneer and is very difficult to do. I won’t give you our trade secrets on how we did this, but granite is different than marble and a lot of stone men are never trained the difference. They don’t understand it. With IMS, we have a little bit of the old school in us from Europe, so needless to say, we understand the natural progression and development of stone and how it’s done. This is important to us. So Jason lended his expertise to a problem that was existing in Oklahoma, after this gentleman had tried everything, he’d gone in and this black granite had looked just horrible, Jason told him how to fix it. Even though it was simple to us it was still complicated to others.

So Jason just jumped in the car and drove down, because this guy was in a little bit of a legal problem or potentially legal problem at the time I guess I could say, and handled it overnight for him and brought everything back to where in this law firm they loved their lobby again. It was beautiful.

Next thing we know we had people from Oklahoma here. That was just kind of an automatic thing. They wanted to know how we knew these types of things. Some of these things are pretty guarded trade secrets at IMS and we don’t really want to tell these things, but when we see a professional, who is in our industry, that has the same vision that we do, the same honesty that we have, the same expertise or the ability to be that kind of an expert and really deliver the quality to his clientele, and that’s what he is after, we tend to bring them into the fold and give them the missing pieces of the technology. We know it’s important to them. It’s not something we want to hide; it’s something we want to protect. We don’t want it to be prostituted in anyway, so to speak. Those are important things to us.

To have your stone floor looked at by a professional from IMS Texas,
call (214) 351-9390.
Filed Under: IMS TX Natural Stone Restorators Tagged With: , ,

Things To Look For In A Flood Restoration Company

August 3, 2011 By

water damage dallas ims texas

When water rears its ugly head and damages your building, call the experts. Call IMS.

When your home or building becomes flooded, there is no time to lose in doing what you can to minimize damage to your property. One of the most important calls you make will be to a Dallas-area flood restoration company to assess the water damage and begin controlling it.

In major cities like Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, there are several flood restoration companies to choose from. Since you will be entrusting the future of your property with this company, make sure that they are qualified for the job.

  1. Does the company clean and restore to IICRC specifications? The IICRC is the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification. The IICRC is an independent, non-profit certification body whose mission is to set and promote high standards and ethics. Look for a Texas based flood restoration company that is IICRC certified to better guarantee good quality service.
  2. Does the company have a history of customer satisfaction? Look on the companies’ websites for testimonials. You can also check out customer review websites to look for past customer experiences. You can also check local city message boards in Dallas and Houston to see if there is any feedback on a company there. Although this technique does not always speak of the true nature of the experience you will have with the company, it can help you to narrow down your choices.
  3. What kind of equipment does the company use to repair flood damage? Many people do not consider the type of equipment that is needed to do a proper flood restoration. Much more is needed than a couple of mops and a bucket. Cutting edge heat dryers, cameras and monitoring equipment is needed in order to prevent damage from becoming severe. The weather in Dallas and Fort Worth can be humid nearly all year round, and this promotes fast growing mold in damp situations. If your home floods and the weather is warm, you want to make sure you get the floors dry so mold doesn’t take over.
  4. How soon can they get to your home or office building? When it comes to flooding, time is of the essence. How quickly a company can get to your home and start on damage control the better it is for you. When the water has a chance to sit and fully permeate into your floors, furniture and walls, the better chance there is of swelling, cracking, discoloration and other damage occurring.

Your property is too valuable to entrust to just anyone. Choose the right company to do your flood restoration. Choose IMS.

To get a consultation regarding flood or water damage, or to discuss any of our other services such as natural stone restoration, concrete polishing or carpet cleaning, call IMS at (214) 351-9390.
Filed Under: IMS TX Flood Damage Restoration Tagged With: , , ,

Natural Stone Training Seminars and Education: IMS Texas

August 1, 2011 By

Excerpted from an interview with Larry Johonnesson, founder of IMS Texas:

ims tx training stone restoration

IMS' success has created worldwide demand for their expertise in stone and carpet cleaning

The other thing that has occurred is when we have showed up in trade magazines and various things like this, or on the blogs on the internet with some of these organizations, problems get discussed that other individuals are running into in the United States or in the world, or we have owners from Europe walk in and say, “How in the heck do you maintain this floor?”

It shocks them to see what we have been able to do. And so we get calls from Germany, Sweden, various places, England. I just refer all of that to Jason, thank God. He’s our Research and Development guy, he handles those. And from that we have a lot of interest in people contacting us, so from time to time we just simply throw educational training seminars here at our location.

We bring those people in, when we did the concrete polishing seminar for example we had no idea we were going to have them from Baton Rouge to the East Coast, West Coast and from Canada, and they were impressed to see the types of technologies that we had developed and how we had put them together. It was new to them. It was different. And now we have plenty of partners, so to speak, in the business coast to coast that do this, and polishing has taken off and other technologies that we have brought in has really taken off in that industry.

To bring in IMS Texas’ expertise to your natural stone floors, carpet, or concrete polishing needs, call IMS at (214) 351-9390.
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Inspecting Your Building for Susceptibility to Flood Damage

July 29, 2011 By

flood damage storm ims texas

When storms arrive, be sure that your building is protected against flooding

Flood damage affects hundreds of thousands of Americans each year. Some damage from floods occurs because the water is simply too strong for the building to resist it.

However, some damage occurs because of structural issues and could have been prevented. If your building is properly maintained, inspected for structural integrity, and flood prevention methods implemented, it will be able to thwart some of the damage of rising waters.

  1. Get your roof a checkup. A roof gets pummeled by rain, wind, dust, hail, and various animals throughout the year. It also is exposed to the extreme heat of the sun and the extreme chill of winter snow and rain. It is possible for small cracks and breaks to open up, leading to a leaky roof when the rains begin again. Inspect your roof yourself or have a professional do it in order to avoid water damage restoration in this area.
  2. Inspect your building for signs of weakness. Cracks can signify that your building has settled. If the crack opens up to the outside, you will want to make sure that it is properly filled with a waterproof sealant. If you notice discoloration, it could be from moisture. Water damage could mean that mold has formed. It could also mean that the area has become structurally unsound. You can call a flood restoration specialist in order to assess the damage.
  3. Check out windows and doors. Windows and exterior doors are prime locations for water to enter into your building. You can keep waterproof by keeping them sealed up tight. Inspect all of your windows and doors and check the integrity of the weather stripping, if it is applied. Add weather stripping wherever is necessary.
  4. Clean your gutters. Gutters can effectively funnel water away from your building when they are clean and in working order. Before the rainy season, have your gutters cleaned and cleared. Inspect them for kinks or breaks that may keep them from doing their job correctly. Gutters that overflow can end up causing flooding instead of preventing it.
  5. Know a good flood restoration specialist. Before the need presents itself, research flood restoration companies in your area. There are several flood restoration companies in the Dallas-Fort and Houston areas, but IMS Texas is one of the premier companies due to their 18 years of experience and dedication to cutting-edge technology and what simply works.
  6. Get Texas flood insurance. Having a good flood insurance policy will ensure that if your property is damaged you will be able to fix it. Flood insurance is standard for those that live in flood plains, but even those whose property is not within a flood plain can benefit from flood insurance. For example, flooding can occur from a burst water or sewer pipe no matter where you are. This type of flooding still requires a flood restoration specialist to repair damage to floors and ceilings. Many Texas insurance companies offer flood insurance, finding a policy that works for you depends on your building and the type of coverage you need.
For fast, professional and thorough handling of water damage or flood water damage, call IMS Texas at (214) 351-9390.
Filed Under: IMS TX Flood Damage Restoration Tagged With: , ,

Top Reasons to Choose Concrete Flooring

July 27, 2011 By

IMS TX polished concrete floor

IMS TX can restore and polish concrete floors to a beautiful shine

Concrete has taken off as the flooring material of choice in the past decade. In the past, simple concrete slabs were quickly overlain with carpet, tile or wood in order to create a beautiful and easy to maintain floor. Now, many are ripping up those excess layers and exposing the concrete slab below. There are many advantages to getting back to basics by having a concrete floor installed in your home or commercial space.

  1. Strength and durability. Concrete is one of the most durable building materials, making its use widespread in both residential and commercial spaces. Made of pulverized limestone mixed with water, when cement dries it is as hard as a rock. Decorative concrete floors for interior use are sealed with a special epoxy resin, making the cement floors waterproof. This keeps them from absorbing liquids and becoming discolored or stained.
  2. Economical price. Concrete is popular not just for its strength and durability, but also for its affordable price tag. Compared to other types of flooring, such as wood and tile, cement is far less expensive and much more practical. Wood floors scratch, and tile floors chip, and both these choices are more expensive to buy and install than cement. Since cement floors do not have to be regularly maintained or replaced, they are especially economical in the long run.
  3. Flexible design concepts. Cement floors can look simple or elegant, depending on the way in which it is applied. Stain can be applied to concrete floors then sealed. Decorative overlays can be created in designs ranging from natural stone and tile to faux wood. Concrete floors can bring depth to a room when polished to a high shine.
  4. Easy to maintain. Since cement floors are less prone to chipping and scratching, they require less maintenance. They can be cleaned with a dry mop using a weak solution of water and mild soap. When cement floors begin to dull, IMS Texas, a professional cement restoration specialist, can be called into to use a special polisher on the floors.
  5. Eco-friendly choice. Cement floors have been gaining in popularity as an eco-friendly flooring choice for homes and offices. Cement has a light carbon foot print, since it does not necessitate toxic chemicals or processes to produce. It is also durable, so it does not have to be replaced as often. Finally, its cooling properties make it a good choice for homes in warmer climates as it naturally keeps the home cooler, keeping energy cots down.
  6. Serviceable by concrete floor specialists. A concrete floor restoration and maintenance specialist, such as IMS Texas, is trained in the art of keeping concrete floors looking their best. Concrete restoration specialists can restore concrete floors that have begun to dull, or have chipped or cracked due to structural settling. The use of special concrete floor polishers can bring out an incredible shine in concrete floors, making them look brand new.
IMS Texas has been polishing and restoring concrete floors, using the same advanced technology effective techniques employed by its natural stone division. The result is a stunning concrete floor. Call (214) 351-9390 today.
Filed Under: IMS TX Concrete Floor Restoration Tagged With: , ,

How to Choose a Commercial and Office Carpet Cleaning Service

July 25, 2011 By

Dallas skyline carpet cleaning ims tx

For nearly 20 years, many of the largest offices in Dallas have trusted their floor and carpet maintenance to IMS Inc.

Choosing a commercial carpet cleaning service for your office building is an important decision. The office is the first impression of the company that customers experience. If it is clean and neat, their impression will be positive. A dirty, unorganized office building will leave customers with a less enthusiastic impression of the company it represents.

  1. Ask questions. Before you call a potential commercial carpet cleaning company, prepare a list of questions for them to answer. Ask about the amount they charge per square foot of cleaning. If the company tells you they charge by the room, be wary. Not all rooms are the same size, so make sure that the charge is fair compared to companies that charge by the square foot.
  2. Check the certification. Find out what kinds of certifications the commercial carpet cleaning company has. Are they a fully licensed Texas business? Are they a Dallas-Fort Worth company in good standing? Also, look for a company that adheres to IICRC standards, such as IMS Texas. The IICRC is the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification. This will ensure you that the company keeps to the highest industry standards.
  3. Get an estimate. Always have a company representative come to your office building and give you an estimate. If a company gives you an estimate over the phone, it may not be entirely accurate because not all of your offices specific needs have been evaluated. Having a in-office evaluation will allow the company to give you a precise evaluation of the services needed and the estimated cost.
  4. Equipment check. Find out what kinds of equipment the carpet cleaning uses. You want to make sure that the equipment is sufficient to give your floors the proper treatment. Ask about the kinds of cleaners used by the company. If you have specific requests, such as the use of eco-friendly cleaners or ones with low levels of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds), make sure that the commercial carpet cleaning company you choose can accommodate your requests.
  5. Don’t forget about upholstery. If your office building has sofas, chairs and other upholstered furniture, you need to ask about commercial carpet cleaning of it as well. Some companies may include upholstery service in their square foot price, but others may offer it as an additional charge. Make sure you clarify before you sign for service to make sure you know what you are, or are not, getting with your commercial cleaning service.

Commercial carpet cleaning companies in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area offer a wide variety of quality services. Texas weather can be hot and humid nearly all year round, and carpets can become water damaged by both water and the mold growth that it fosters. Whether you are looking for regular carpet cleaning maintenance or restoration due to flooding, having a quality Texas commercial carpet cleaning service will keep your office carpets looking their best for years to come.

IMS Texas has nearly 20 years of exceptional commercial carpet cleaning experience to handle your office carpets. Call (214) 351-9390 for a fast, free carpet cleaning estimate.
Filed Under: IMS TX Carpet Cleaning Tagged With: ,

Carpet Cleaning: High Moisture vs. Low Moisture

July 22, 2011 By

From an interview with Jason Johonnesson, co-owner of IMS, Inc:

Jason Johonnesson, co-owner, IMS Inc.

Call on Jason Johonnesson and the IMS Texas team to get your carpets clean

When talking about carpet maintenance there are so many types of cleaning procedures out there. We’re not going to cover all of those. We are going to reduce it down even simpler to its lowest common denominators, and that is high moisture cleaning and low moisture cleaning and when to use each one. There are times when high moisture is more efficient and works better and there are other times when low moisture is. I will give a few examples. High moisture always works better in a residential setting. That does not mean that it does not work well in a commercial or office setting. It does. But it works better in a residence because almost always residential settings have padding.

High Moisture Carpet Cleaning for Homes

High moisture extraction relies on vacuum and you have to have a lot of vacuum power through the carpet. Residential carpet has a layer of padding or cushion underneath it that allows air to pass through. You can get a lot more vacuum lift in a residential setting. Office carpets are glued directly to the concrete. There’s not any airflow through concrete, so you only have the airflow through the carpet fiber only, not through the actual backing. So extraction has its limitations but it’s still an effective cleaning system commercially, it’s just not as efficient as it would be in a residential setting.

Low Moisture Carpet Cleaning for Offices

What has become very popular in the last ten years, especially commercially, for many reasons, is low moisture cleaning. Low moisture cleaning has its benefits. First of all you don’t have to rely on airflow. You don’t have to worry about it being glued directly to the concrete. Also, in most office buildings, they have automatic air conditioning and heating systems that close down around seven or eight o’clock at night. They are turned off so you have no more airflow in the building. If you’re using high moisture cleaning method there is a possibility that it might not be dry the next morning because there will not be airflow all night. With the low moisture system it’s dry in minutes and you just don’t have to worry about it. Also the low moisture cleaning system is very, very effective at removing spots. That has to do with what we call “wick-back.”

What is Wick Back?

First, I will describe what wick-back is, or what the wicking effect is. It gets its name from the wick in a lantern. If you dip a wick in an oil lantern and you ignite it, you start it with a lighter, as it burns it will draw oil from below, because really it’s the oil that’s burning and not the wick. It’s an upwards motion and as the flame burns the oil is being sucked out of the lantern. The same thing happens with the carpet. If you add a lot of moisture to a spot it may sink that spot and over the next few hours or maybe even couple of days as that moisture evaporates into the environment the actual stain itself will be wicked up to the tip of the fibers and could look even worse than it did before. At least before when you saw it, most of that spot was deep in the carpet and you only saw half of it. Now it’s all up on the tip of the fibers and it looks very dramatic. That is the wicking effect. Any type of high moisture cleaning system has a lot of potential for wick-back. The more thorough you try to be, the more moisture you use, the more possibility you have of wicking. Often times with high moisture cleaning you have to go back the following day to remove the spots that wicked up from the night’s prior cleaning. With low moisture you never add that much moisture so you never have the danger of the wicking effect to begin with.

With the low moisture system you are using way less moisture so the chance of wicking is greatly diminished. What has become popular or more commonly sought with the carpet maintenance programs is viewing low moisture as the interim form of cleaning and the high moisture as the annual form of cleaning. Many carpet manufacturers want to know that their product is extracted with the high moisture extraction, hot water extraction system at least once a year. So typically, to make sure that you’re not voiding a warranty, you will have it extracted once a year, and every cleaning in between that time will be low moisture cleaning for appearance, spot removal, where the soils converge into traffic patterns. Low moisture systems are very, very good for staying on top of that, followed by an annual deeper high moisture water extraction.

Summary

So that’s become sort of the norm in the last ten years is to use low moisture cleaning as interim maintenance whether you’re on a quarterly program, semi-annual or even monthly, and then a once a year hot water extraction. At IMS Texas we offer whatever system anyone wants. If you want all extraction we can provide it. If you want all low moisture all the time, which some do, we can provide that. Any type of cleaning program, if your carpet has special needs or it has special instructions, every carpet manufacturer has special instructions and guidelines, if a specific cleaning system is recommended, we do them all. But the most common by far is a low moisture interim maintenance followed by an annual high moisture extraction.

Call IMS Texas for a quote on either low-moisture or high-moisture carpet cleaning for your home or office. Call (214) 351-9390.
Filed Under: IMS TX Carpet Cleaning Tagged With: , , , ,

Emergency Flood Control Tips

July 20, 2011 By

Water damage restoration IMS Texas

Flash flooding can be a nightmare. Use these tips to help control it until IMS Texas' flood restoration experts can arrive.

Texas is crisscrossed with rivers and waterways, making it an outdoor lover’s dream. But the very storms that provide those rivers with water also often cause flash flooding.

Texas building managers must be alert to the possibilities of flooding and ready to take action when it occurs. As soon as you discover flooding in your building (or home), you can take steps to help minimize damage. It is important to call a flood restoration specialist right away, but it may take them a few hours to get there, depending on your location and how many other people are experiencing the same problem.

While you wait, you can begin to take action to prevent flood damage:

  1. Locate where the water is coming from. Determining where the water is coming from shouldn’t be hard but it is important for the next step, which is stopping the flow. If the water is discolored, you may be dealing with a sewer pipe bust rather than a water line bust. Determine the size of the affected area and whether you can stop the flow.
  2. Try to stop the water flow. If the water is from a burst water valve, go outside and turn off the water to your house if you can. If you cannot locate the water valve for your buildings water, call your utility company and report an emergency and they will send someone out to turn it off for you. If the water is coming from a flood, try and seal the areas where the water is entering.
  3. Disconnect electrical sources near the water. Evaluate the area and determine what, if any, electrical devices or outlets need to be disconnected. If your entire house is flooded, you may have to turn off the power to your home. Water acts as a conductor of electricity and water in the vicinity of electrical outlets can be a dangerous combination.
  4. Try to remove as much water from your house as possible. You can use mops, brooms, squeegees and other cleaning tools to remove as much water as possible from your home. Removing water will prevent it from soaking further down into your floors, carpets and walls.
  5. Protect your furniture and personal items. Start going around and elevating everything you can. Furniture, books, and rugs should be moved out of the area that is flooded. If you cannot move some of your furniture out of the way, you can always use plastic to wrap the areas exposed to water to help prevent them from getting soaked.
  6. Use what you can to start the drying out process. If you are able to keep the electricity on in your house despite the flooding, you can run your heater and/or air conditioner to start drying out the house. Fans and portable heaters can also be useful if they can be operated safely in the conditions. If electricity is not available, you can open windows and let Mother Nature do the work for you.
For help with water damage and the flood restoration process, contact IMS Texas at (214) 351-9390.
Filed Under: IMS TX Flood Damage Restoration Tagged With: ,
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