We buy cable from insurance and salvage claims

A fire in one room does not condemn a reel three bays away. Smoke deposits, radiant heat and hose water each act differently on a jacket, and the distance between them decides whether a drum is reusable or recovery only. Photographs taken before the cleanup are what settle it.

We buy claim cable around Greater Austin and review it the way an adjuster would: what was exposed, for how long, and what the photographs show. The same records that support the claim support the lot, which is why we ask for them before anyone walks the site.

Heat, smoke and water on a jacket

Heat is the one that hides. A jacket that looks sound can be stiff, checked or brittle underneath, and the damage shows when the cable is bent rather than when it is looked at. Note how close the reel sat to the fire and whether the wrap layers fused together.

Smoke leaves an acidic film that attacks some compounds over time, and hose water carries it into the wraps. Submerged cable is a separate problem, because water migrates along stranded conductor and stays there. Both are reasons to photograph before anything is moved or washed.

Resalable, or recovery only

The split is usually obvious once the ends are exposed. Dry cable with an intact jacket, a legible tag and no heat history is a candidate for reuse. Cable that was submerged, cooked or crushed is reviewed as recovery, and saying so early keeps the rest of the lot credible.

Cut the end back on a sample reel rather than the whole lot. Look for water between the strands, discolored insulation and a jacket that has lost its surface. A photograph of a fresh cut end tells a buyer more than a paragraph of description ever will.

Adjusters, restoration crews, property managers

Three parties usually have a say. The adjuster cares about the loss description and the method used to value the material. The restoration contractor controls site access. The property manager signs the release. Find out who holds each role before proposing a pickup date.

Keep our paperwork in the claim file: the lot list, the photographs, the exposure notes and the signed release. Where a claim is still open, a dated record of what was removed and when is often as useful as the figures.

Hail, wind and flash flooding do most of the work here. Onion Creek, Shoal Creek and the low crossings along US-183 flood the same buildings every few years, and a submerged electrical room usually means a claim and a cable lot at the same address.

Freeze events leave a different trail: burst lines, water inside walls and cable that sat wet for a week before anyone shut it down. We review both across Travis, Hays, Williamson and Bastrop counties, working to whatever access the restoration schedule allows.