Bringing High-End Homes Back From the Brink

Howard White and Jeff Gross, top executives at Maxons Restorations, a Manhattan-based company that mitigates damage after calamities like fires and floods, was called to the New Jersey home of Donald Drapkin, the late deal-making hedge fund manager and a close associate of financier Ron Perelman. A 12,000-square-foot wing of his 40,000-square-foot mansion, which was filled with treasures including a paintings, tapestries, and Elvis's and Eric Clapton's guitars and Joe Louis's boxing gloves, burned to the ground. The remainder of the house needed a top-to-bottom cleaning to rid it of smoke odor. With a team of 20 people, White and Gross spent 45 days wiping down every inch until all was restored and odor free. Maxons Restorations recovers valuables and farms out restoration work to art and antique experts, while their specialized cleaning crews erase all traces of catastrophes inside the home. Gross explains, "In our business, you often get what's called a 'two-party check' from insurance companies. They are made out to us and to the homeowner, and we both have to sign." When dealing with smoke damage, Gross and White say that the property needs to be cleaned immediately because smoke carries acidic particles that can etch, stain, or discolor a surface and the odor becomes more embedded into fabrics. For a plastics fire, there can be less odor but heavy residue, which is why cleaning crews need vulcanized rubber sponges, specialized degreasers, dry fabric cleaners, and deodorizers.

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