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Nothing. Storm damage inspections are free. We climb the roof, check siding and gutters, look at windows, and document everything we find. If there’s no damage worth filing a claim over, we’ll tell you that — we’d rather earn your future business than push a bad claim.

If documented damage is more than your deductible, file. Hail and wind damage are covered under nearly every Minnesota homeowners policy as acts of God and don’t typically raise your premium. We’ll walk through your photos and notes with you before you call your carrier so you know what you’re looking at.

Most Minnesota carriers require claims within one year of the date of loss; a few require six months. Don’t wait — the longer you wait, the harder it is to prove the damage is from that specific storm.

For hail and wind events, almost never. These are catastrophic losses outside the homeowner’s control and most carriers don’t surcharge after them. Liability claims and water damage are different. Ask your agent for the actual answer for your policy.

You file. The carrier sends an adjuster. We meet the adjuster on the roof and walk the damage together. The adjuster writes a scope; we review it and supplement anything missed (drip edge, ice-and-water shield, ridge venting, code-required upgrades). We give you a final flat estimate so you know your out-of-pocket before we start.

Lower heating and cooling bills, warmer winters, cooler summers, fewer ice dams, and quieter rooms. Most Twin Cities homes built before 2000 are under-insulated by current Minnesota energy code. The payback on attic insulation alone is typically 4–7 years.

Attic: R-49 minimum, R-60 ideal. Walls in new framing: R-21 cavity plus continuous exterior R-5. Rim joist (often the biggest leak in old houses): R-15 closed-cell spray foam. Basement walls: R-15 rigid foam against the foundation. Crawlspace: encapsulate then insulate the walls, not the ceiling.

Blown-in cellulose or fiberglass for attics (cheap, fills oddly-shaped cavities). Batts for new wall framing (fast, predictable). Closed-cell spray foam for rim joists and crawlspaces (air-sealing + insulation in one). We’ll recommend the right one for each part of your house — most homes need a mix.

Yes. We’re BPI-certified and bring a calibrated blower door to every comprehensive insulation assessment. The test pressurizes your house, lets us find every air leak with a thermal camera, and quantifies the improvement after work is done.

Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy both offer rebates for attic, wall, and rim-joist insulation when post-work R-values meet the program thresholds. The Inflation Reduction Act adds federal tax credits up to $1,200/year for qualified insulation work. We handle the paperwork.

Three tiers: refresh ($15K–35K, 2–4 weeks, paint cabinets + new counters + lighting), mid-range ($35K–75K, 4–8 weeks, new cabinetry + minor layout tweaks + electrical), full remodel ($75K–150K+, 8–14 weeks, complete gut + new layout). Cabinet selection, appliance package, and finishes drive the spread.

Flat itemized estimates. Every line spelled out. No "Allowance: $5,000 — TBD" hiding a future surprise. If we don’t know yet, we say what we don’t know and how we’ll figure it out.

A typical 6–8 week kitchen remodel disrupts daily life. We help you plan a temporary kitchen setup in the basement or dining room, work cleanly behind zippered dust barriers, sweep at the end of every day, and we don’t leave the dust where the kids run around.

Cosmetic refresh ($8K–18K, 1–2 weeks). Fixture-and-finish update ($18K–40K, 3–5 weeks). Full layout change with moved plumbing ($40K–80K+, 5–8 weeks). Tile selection, vanity choice, and whether plumbing rough-in moves are the biggest cost drivers.

Waterproofing behind tile (Schluter, Wedi, or equivalent — every wet wall, every time), ventilation (sized to room volume, ducted to the exterior not into the attic), plumbing rough-in (the cheap moment is when walls are open), and subfloor preparation. These hidden details determine whether your bathroom looks great in year ten.

Three tiers: basic finish ($30K–60K, 4–6 weeks — framing, insulation, drywall, flooring, lighting, plus a half-bath), full finished basement with bedroom and full bath ($60K–110K, 6–10 weeks), or basement-as-living-space transformation with kitchenette, full bath, and egress ($110K–180K+, 10–14 weeks). Egress windows, sump pump, and proper moisture management are non-negotiable for any conditioned basement space.

Always. We rule out water before we frame. That means checking grade and gutters outside, inspecting the sump system, addressing any visible efflorescence or staining, and adding rigid foam against the foundation walls before framing. Skipping this step is the single biggest reason finished basements turn into mold problems three years later.

An interior remodel touches multiple rooms or reconfigures how the main floor flows — opening up a kitchen to a living room, removing a load-bearing wall to combine spaces, redoing flooring across the whole main level, or updating finishes house-wide. Pricing scales with scope: $40K–80K for a multi-room refresh, $80K–200K+ for a layout change involving structural work. We always check load paths and HVAC implications before quoting.

Almost always, yes. We sequence work so you keep at least one bathroom and one cooking setup operational at all times. We hang zippered dust barriers, HEPA-vacuum daily, and keep tools and materials staged in the project area — not in the rest of the house. The exception is a true full-gut where every utility is shut off; in those cases we plan a temporary stay before demo starts.

$20K–60K for most residential decks. Composite or cedar, simple platform or multi-level. Cost drivers: footings count, height above grade (railings/codes), size, and material grade. Add $5K–15K if you want built-in benches, planters, or a pergola.

Composite for low-maintenance and 25–30 year service life — no annual sealing, no splinters, no rot. Cedar for traditional look and lower upfront cost, but plan to seal it every 2–3 years and replace boards over time. Both work in MN if installed correctly with proper ventilation underneath.

3-season: screened, roofed, used May through October, $30K–70K. 4-season: insulated walls and ceiling, full HVAC tied into your house system, year-round room, $60K–150K+. The 4-season can be a real bedroom or office; the 3-season can’t.

Yes. Twin Cities municipalities require building permits for any deck or porch. Setbacks, height restrictions, and HOA covenants all matter. We pull every permit and handle any HOA submittals before we break ground — this is the part where most DIY projects get red-tagged.

We build year-round. The catch is scheduling: book a spring build by January, summer by April. We can dig footings through October most years; the cold-weather work shifts to enclosed projects (4-season porches, screened porches with foundations) once the ground freezes.

Drafts you can feel from across the room, condensation between the panes (seal failure), visible water damage on the sill, fogging that won’t clear, or single-pane glass that frosts up in winter. Energy bills creeping up year over year is a softer signal but real.

Andersen 100/200/400 series: solid mid-to-upper market, broad availability, strong warranty. Marvin Elevate/Essential/Signature: premium aluminum-clad wood, cleaner sightlines, longer lead times. ProVia: strong vinyl and fiberglass options at competitive pricing. We install all three; we’ll match the right line to your house and budget.

$800–$3,500 per window installed, depending on size, frame material, glass package, and how much trim/siding work the install requires. A whole-house replacement (15–20 windows) is typically $25K–$60K. Bigger statement windows and bays can push higher.

Install, by a wide margin. A top-tier window installed badly will leak, drift, and underperform. A mid-tier window installed correctly with proper flashing, foam, and trim will last decades. We’re Andersen Certified and our crews train annually on install detail — it matters.

1–3 days for most homes. We typically complete 6–10 windows per day per crew. We work weather-permitting and seal every opening at the end of each day so your house is never exposed overnight.

25–50 years depending on shingle grade. Standard architectural (most common): 25–30 years actual service. Premium architectural with impact rating (Class 4): 30–40 years and possible insurance discount. Designer shingles: 35–50 years. Hail and ice-dam events shorten any of those.

Repair if the damage is contained to a small area and the rest of the roof has 5+ years of life left. Replace if you’re seeing multiple issues (flashing, valleys, granule loss, soft spots in the deck) or if the roof is past 80% of its expected life. We’ll give you the honest read after the inspection.

$12K–30K for asphalt shingles on a typical 1,800–2,500 sq ft house. Metal roofing runs $25K–50K. Cedar shake $35K–60K. Cost drivers: pitch, number of valleys/dormers, current roof condition under the shingles, and whether code requires ice-and-water shield upgrades.

Yes if you plan to own the home for 15+ years. Metal lasts 50+ years, sheds snow well in MN, won’t lose granules to hail, and many insurers offer a discount. The break-even on the higher install cost is around year 12–15 vs replacing asphalt twice over the same span.

Architectural (also called dimensional or laminate): two laminated layers, varied tab cut, 25–30 year life, better wind ratings, what we install on virtually every project today. 3-tab: single layer, flat appearance, 15–20 year life, lower upfront cost — we don’t recommend it for primary residences in MN anymore.

Vinyl for value (works well, low maintenance, $$). Fiber cement (James Hardie, LP SmartSide) for premium look and durability ($$$). Engineered wood for traditional warmth ($$$). Versetta Stone, board-and-batten, or shake accents to break up the elevation. We install all of the above and will match the right material to your style and budget.

Fiber cement (James Hardie, LP) for premium aesthetics, paint-and-forget durability, and 30–50 year life. Vinyl for budget-conscious projects, fast install, and lifetime no-paint maintenance. Vinyl looks like vinyl up close; fiber cement looks like wood from any distance.

Vinyl: $15K–25K average house. Engineered wood (LP SmartSide): $20K–35K. Fiber cement (James Hardie): $25K–40K. Add 15–25% for tear-off of multiple existing layers, accent details (stone, shake, board-and-batten), or full-house insulation board upgrade behind the siding.

Repaint if the existing siding is structurally sound and just looks tired. Replace if you’re seeing soft spots, separated joints, water damage behind it, recurring paint failure, or if you want a meaningful R-value upgrade (we add insulation board between studs and new siding). Repainting buys 5–7 years; replacing buys 30+.

1–2 weeks for most homes. We tear off one elevation at a time and weatherize every night so you’re never exposed. Detail elements (stone accents, custom trim, intricate gables) add days; tear-off of multiple layers adds days.

Yes. Minnesota General Contractor’s License #BC760638. Fully insured: general liability and worker’s compensation on every employee on your property. We’ll provide the certificates before we start.

The south-east Twin Cities metro is our home. Saint Paul Park, Cottage Grove, Inver Grove Heights, Saint Paul, Mendota Heights, Eagan, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Woodbury, and surrounding suburbs in Dakota, Washington, and Ramsey counties. We’ll travel further for the right project — ask.

Free in-home consultations. Schedule online via the Get a Quote page, email info@3RiversMN.com, or call (651) 504-5655. We’ll come out, look at the project, listen, and follow up with a flat itemized estimate — typically within a week.

Three generations of Twin Cities contractors. Honest discovery (we’ll tell you when a project isn’t worth doing). Flat itemized pricing with no allowances. One contractor, one schedule, one accountable point of contact. BBB Accredited A+. 4.9 stars on Google. We’re the contractor your neighbor recommends after the project is done.