by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
Jason Sams started his career not giving houses facelifts, but rather as a special education teacher in Jacksonville. Soon after college and his teaching career, Sams set out cleaning houses. In a matter of 10 years, his one man company has grown to more than 30 employees with a fleet of 17 trucks, repairing, restoring and overhauling apartments and homes.
Sams’ mother was in the cleaning business when he was a youngster. One thing led to another, he said, and he found his niche in apartment cleaning. It started with painting, then on to carpeting and finally resurfacing.
Sams founded Restore 24 in 1996 to handle units for apartment communities. Now, Sams is expanding to include more of the residential aspect and says it “just fits so good for Realtors.”
“We can turn houses so quickly,” he said, adding the company does some houses in as soon as one day and others up to seven days.
Restore 24 coordinates the painting, carpet cleaning and maintenance of homes. And for the most pesky of tasks, such as removing wallpaper, Restore 24 has a crew for that as well.
A complete ‘turn’ of a home ranges in price. Sams said the process can be done relatively inexpensively at just over $3,000.
Restore 24 doesn’t do roofing but performs most other tasks, all with in-house contractors, with the exception of landscaping, which is subcontracted out.
“We cater to residential. We do complete makeovers and can organize every detail,” said Sams. “We do that with garages, too, and a two-part epoxy paint treatment.”
Sams compares his services to the television show “Clean Sweep” with airs on The Learning Channel.
“We take everything out, clean and put it all back in the house in an organized manner,” he said.
Sams said his services are resourceful because the cost offsets worry of maintaining a home.
“People pay a substantial amount of money to go on vacation,” he said. “When people pay for this service, it makes them feel more relaxed. They have peace of mind because the house is fixed.”
And, said Sams, they don’t have to work on the weekend tweaking little projects.
Restore 24 was originally named All American Office & Building Maintenance. Using Sams’ principle that guides his life — “surround yourself with reliable, positive people, work hard and exceed others’ expectations,” — the company that primarily focused on the apartment and condo industry changed its name.
The company still serves the apartment industry and several residential real estate firms, but in 2005, Sams also began offering multi-service home cleaning and painting service to residential consumers. According to Sams, he renamed his company to represent both the of services and the quick response time he offers his customers.
To date, Restore 24 has cleaned carpets, upholstery and window treatments; patched drywall; and painted the interior and exterior of some 50,000 units throughout the First Coast, preparing them for new tenants, according to Sams.