"Whatever can go wrong, usually will . . ."

Sadly, Murphy's law often applies to homeowners.  Here are a few examples of homeowner situations that we have helped address.

The wet basement.

A homeowner notices that moisture is appearing more frequently in his basement.  He calls several contractors.  He gets estimates for a variety of work with prices ranging from $700 to over $25,000.  Unsure of what to do, he calls the Homeowner Help Center.  We identify the problem, recommend a scope of work, the homeowner hires a contractor to complete the work, saving many thousands of dollars in the process, and now has a dry basement!

The foundation "problem".

Cracks appear in the walls of a home's foundation.  Rather than ignoring the problem, the homeowner calls the Help Center to get an evaluation of the problem.  It turns out that the cracks are benign settlement cracks with no immediate treatment necessary.  The homeowner can now rest easy having questions answered by someone who is not interested in selling a new foundation.

A question about roofing.

The need for a new roof prompted a homeowner to get prices for the work.  Before a contractor was called, the homeowner called the Help Center for an opinion.  Does the old roof need to be removed before the new one is applied?  An engineer from the Help Center examined the roof, the sheathing and joists.  A recommendation to have all existing roof layers removed was made.  The homeowner was then able to choose a contractor that included this effort in the contract proposal based on this foreknowledge.

Finishing touches.

A significant addition was built onto an existing home.  The homeowner had a dispute with the contractor regarding charges that the builder was adding to the final payment for "changes" and "extras".  The Homeowner Help Center was called to help the homeowner determine the validity of the extra charges.  An inspection of the home was made, as was a review of the original plans, specifications and contracts.  It was determined that approximately 80% of the extra charges were valid and the balance of the add-ons were subjective.  Based on the written report, the homeowner and builder were able to reach an amicable agreement without resorting to litigation or insurance claims.