The Cost of Doing Nothing

If you ask virtually anyone what they don’t have enough of, the majority will answer time and/or money. I would also add “dogs to pet” but I have very specific priorities. Life is busy, and fast, and expensive, and it seems like everywhere you turn, something else needs your resources - your attention, your time, and yes, your money.

That’s why home repairs get put off so often. They can be inconvenient in every sense. The problem itself takes all of your attention as you try to figure out what’s happening, what kind of professional to contact, and then which company to use. You have to arrange your schedule for an appointment, sit through the appointment, fill out paperwork...the list is seemingly endless. And at the end of the list is a dollar sign and more appointments and more attention. All because your basement is wet or your front door sticks when it closes but that apparently means the house is sinking.

You can’t eat your dry basement, or drive your stable foundation to work, so it’s always the last priority, the last on the list to get addressed by your mind and your wallet. The concept of your house actually falling apart seems so abstract that it just doesn’t feel like a real possibility.

Until it does.

You wake up one day and, as you force the sticking front door shut, you also see cracks emanating from the door frame. As you skitter across your always cold kitchen floor, you hit a soft spot. You’ve had a cold for months and your daughter is using her inhaler a lot more often than usual. One day there’s a noise like a gun shot, and you go downstairs to see a wall - and your garden - scattered across your basement floor.

We often talk about taking care of below-grade problems as soon as you can because they only get worse and never improve on their own, and it sounds like a marketing tactic. And I mean, it is a marketing tactic, but the point of it isn’t to cheat you out of your hard-earned money. We’ve been doing this for 35 years and we’ve seen everything from health problems (caused by mold) to condemned houses because it was always something the owner planned to fix eventually.

At least once a week, we get a call from someone who has already had us out to inspect their home. Sometimes a few months ago, sometimes a few years ago. They had not decided to go with someone else, but rather not to have the work done at all, and now either they can’t tolerate the problem anymore, or the problem has gotten worse. Upon returning for a new inspection, the solution is often more expensive than it was the first time, but they feel that they no longer have a choice.

It costs money to fix problems occurring in - and below - your home. But that money is going toward your health, and your comfort, and your safety. It’s an investment in not spending every rainy day bailing water out of your basement every hour, of not twitching at that door frame crack always visible in your peripheral vision. It’s an investment in your peace of mind.

It costs money to do something, but it costs much more to do nothing. Call us for a free estimate and make your worries a thing of the past!