I’m with you on the install making or breaking it. I had a neighbor go with synthetic slate last year, and the crew they hired cut a few corners—now h...
That’s exactly why I sucked it up and did the paperwork, even though it felt like a waste at the time. I’ve seen neighbors try to cut corners—looked g...
I know that “iced tea” look all too well. After a big storm last spring, our tap water was basically brown for two days. I ended up flushing the whole...
That’s been my experience too. I went with composite mainly because I couldn’t stomach the price of cedar anymore, plus the upkeep was just getting ol...
Had a similar headache with a roof fan on my last place—thought I did everything right with the flashing and sealant, but after a couple years, I noti...
I get the appeal of just doing it yourself, but after one too many close calls on a wobbly ladder, I caved and tried those hinged gutter guards from t...
I hear you on the upfront sticker shock with metal roofs. We went with asphalt because it was what we could afford at the time, but man, every storm s...
I hear you on the tech not catching everything. I had a drone scan done last spring because I figured it’d be cheaper than paying someone to climb up ...
I hear you on the paranoia—every fall I’m up there poking around, half expecting to find some new science experiment growing in the corners. I used to...
I learned the hard way that splash blocks aren't much more than decorative stepping stones when it comes to serious storms. A few years back, we had a...
I've had mixed luck with classifieds and FB marketplace, honestly. Last summer, I grabbed some leftover sheets from a guy who ordered too much for his...
Had a similar issue last summer when we redid our deck. Got a quote good for 30 days, but then the lumber we wanted got backordered. By the time it ca...
Same here, learned the hard way myself. I spent ages trying to patch leaks and messing around with coatings, thinking that was the main issue. Finally...
Yeah, bigger isn't always better, but honestly I've had the opposite happen. Went with a smaller outfit once because their quote was way cheaper, and ...
Motion sprinklers, huh? Never thought of that one... I've just been patching things up with whatever's handy (duct tape, mostly—don't judge). Might fi...