Over decades, concrete, block, stone, and brick foundations naturally weaken as mortar joints decay, tie-rod holes rust out, and block cavities collect moisture, creating new leak paths that didn't exist when the home was built. When looking at a concrete foundation, it isn't a matter of IF it will leak, but WHEN it will leak.
Weather-related insurance claims have almost trebled in cost as relentless rain and winds are causing havoc for households. Rain damage and flooding mean the cost of repairs has shot up this year compared with the costs of dealing with the aftermath of Storm Éowyn in January last year.
Mother Nature hasn't given us a break but as soon as there is an opportunity, city crews will do a blitz. The city's 2026 budget includes an increase from $5.5 million to $6.2 million for pothole repairs, reflecting the ongoing challenge of maintaining road infrastructure during harsh winter conditions.
MTA Chair Janno Lieber repeatedly laughed in the face of Old Man Winter this week, chastising other transit agencies like NJ Transit that shut down due to the snow. But his decision to keep service running represents a departure from previous MTA leaders, who were quick to close aboveground subway service during snowstorms.
So many homes now have high efficiency sealed combustion boilers and furnaces that do not vent out through the chimney at rooftop height. These units typically will have their intake and exhaust going out through the side of the house. These do need to be high enough off the ground to allow for typical snow patterns, but snow drifts due to high winds can pile pretty high, and this next storm is coming with very high winds.
In fact, it acts as an insulator that protects the shingles. And, even when it's deep, the snow's weight is less than what the roof is designed to bear; the average roof is built to carry loads of 65 pounds per square foot. Even flat roofs, which seem more vulnerable to snow loads than pitched ones, are pretty tough. In fact, residential flat roofing is stronger than commercial roofs.
We're seeing more frequent, more severe extreme weather events and that inevitably affects claims and affects pricing it can't not. And this is happening all over the globe. More, after this week's most important reads.
Raising the roof is a major structural change, but for some homeowners, it can be a practical way to gain space and modernize a home without relocating. Whether the goal is higher ceilings, an added level, or turning unused attic space into livable square footage, the idea to raise a roof on a house often comes up when a home no longer fits everyday needs.
After last weekend's snowstorm, streets in cities across the East Coast are crowded with dirty snow piles that squeeze pedestrians into single-file corridors and force them into gross half-frozen puddle swamps at intersections. But of the major metros, only Washington, D.C., closed its schools through Wednesday, finally reopening on Thursday with a delayed start time - all this despite receiving just six or so inches (plus, to be fair, a treacherous coating of ice on top).
Life doesn't pause for grief or fear. You might be going through something devastating but you're still packing lunches, still driving your kids to baseball practice, still showing up to work. One minute I find myself prepping for a whole home presentation and the next minute I'm checking the news, hoping and praying that no one has been killed on the streets today.
Cedar Street just came out victorious in a multi-year saga with the city of La Canada Flintridge, winning the first successful builder's remedy case in California Superior Court for its 80-unit mixed-use project at 600 Foothill Boulevard and setting a path for other developers to build. But the fight may have left its scars, in time, stress and now soured relationships with some officials.
Residents in the Greater Toronto Area are digging themselves out and going back to their regular weekday schedules a day after a major snowstorm. About two to four centimetres of snowfall is expected throughout the region, including Peel, York and Durham, according to Environment Canada. Flurries are forecasted to start in the afternoon and end close to midnight.
They worked well in advance of the storm. They worked through the storm, and they're continuing the work today as we speak, continuing to clean up our roadways, continuing to fix the infrastructure and clear snow from the MBTA system," MBTA General Manager and Interim Transportation Secretary Phil Eng said. "We're seeing improvements as we go.
It's 2:30 PM on a Tuesday. You're at work. A text arrives from your neighbour: "Your roof tiles are falling in your garden." Your stomach drops. You're thirty minutes from home. You can't leave work immediately. Even if you could, what would you do? Your roof is damaged. You don't have a roofer's number. You don't know what to do first.
Toronto is under a yellow snowfall warning with 10 centimetres of snow expected to affect the morning and evening commute on Wednesday. An Alberta clipper, a low pressure system, is forecast to bring the snow starting Wednesday morning and easing in the afternoon, Environment Canada said in the warning issued late Tuesday afternoon. Visibility could be poor at times if the snow is heavy or blowing, the agency says.
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According to Con Edison, approximately 700 customers in parts of Brooklyn and Queens are affected by ongoing outages. The utility company explains that the primary cause is a problematic mixture of snow and road salt seeping into underground electrical equipment. Con Edison crews are reportedly working around the clock to restore service. This marks the second consecutive week of power problems in Brooklyn, after previous outages in Park Slope and Boerum Hill left hundreds without electricity last week.
"Solid ice." "Outrageous." "Not fair." These are some of the comments bike riders posted on Tuesday night and earlier today about conditions on the Queensboro Bridge bike lane more than two days after a fairly insignificant snowfall ended on Sunday night. Photographic evidence suggests that the Department of Transportation did not fully clear the way for riders - many of whom are delivery workers - on the second-busiest East River bridge (and the only one to link Queens directly to Manhattan Island).
