Wood has become a precious natural building resource that has become construction gold overnight. Seemingly overnight, lumber has become the new oil. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. construction industry is seeing a massive building crisis: A deep lumber shortage that is driving prices sky-high and 200 percent higher than April 2020 supply costs, […]
Armed with hurricane and EF-2 tornado force, violent winds straight out of a disaster movie roared through Cedar Rapids and the Iowa City corridor on Monday, August 10. The fallout was stunning, heartbreaking and incredibly costly. “It’s unlike anything we’ve seen recently,” Mid-American Energy spokesperson Tina Hoffman told The Des Moines Register. The monster storm, […]
Most homeowners know the toughest rule of the American Dream: the meter is always running. The U.S. Census Bureau pegs the average cost of running a household at $1,408 per month. That’s a daily homeownership cost of nearly $47. The cost of your mortgage, home maintenance, insurance and utilities adds up fast. Unfortunately, there are […]
Under-appreciated, but a priceless ally in the war against cold showers, water heaters rarely get the love they deserve. And unfortunately, time is not on the side of aging, tired and worn water heaters. Alas, unlike a fine wine, most water heaters don’t get better with age. And if you’re noticing water welling up near […]
Along the lower Mississippi River todays lies stunning, costly, heartbreaking and immensely painful images of the destruction and devastation floodwaters have inflicted on thousands of Midwest U.S. home and business owners, their families, employees and customers. The Mighty Mississippi’s waters continue to rise to record levels in many low-lying areas in Missouri and Illinois as […]
No house built on a shaky foundation has a solid future. It’s a harsh truth and sinking feeling many American homeowners discover every day. Shifting soil can lead to an avalanche of foundation issues and costly home repairs. A recent New York Times study found that stabilizing and shoring up foundations costs homeowners more than […]
It’s often called the “silent killer.” Carbon Monoxide’s nickname is well-earned. It invades your home like an invisible man. You can’t see it, feel it, hear it or smell it. CO is the No. 1 cause of accidental poisoning in the United States. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports carbon monoxide kills 450 […]
Life in the gutter isn’t easy, especially if you’re tasked with keeping your home dry and routing rainwater away from your residence. When was the last time you cleaned your gutters? If the answer is only when they become loaded with leaves, that’s the wrong answer. We understand the words don’t scream excitement. Cleaning gutters […]
One day your beautiful new custom-colored carpet is complementing your living room. One torrential flood later, your pricy home investment is a soaked, soggy mess lying under six inches of water. As you race to find a Shop-Vac and the phone number of your restoration professional, you wonder nervously, “Can my carpet be saved?” As we […]
You spend thousands of dollars refinishing your basement from a concrete dungeon into a relaxing and multi-dimensional living quarters. You add a new recreation room – your very own man cave, a new home office, a new bedroom, a new bathroom and new laundry room, plus tens of thousands of dollars to the value of […]