Comparing construction wages between states is harder than it looks. The dollar figure on a pay stub tells only part of the story, because the same hourly rate buys very different housing, groceries, and fuel depending on where the worker lives. A ranking that ignores those differences will put a state with high wages and […]
New Jersey carries some of the highest housing costs in the country, and the burden is not spread evenly. In counties closest to New York City and Philadelphia, a typical mortgage payment consumes a much larger share of the median paycheck than it does in the rural northwestern corner of the state. The gap shows
Florida keeps adding residents faster than almost any other state, and every new household needs a place to live. Builders across the Tampa and Orlando corridor are working to close the gap with a supply chain built around prefabricated components: roof trusses, floor trusses, and engineered lumber that arrive at the site ready to set.
When US LBM acquired Ridgefield Supply Co. in December 2020, it picked up a Connecticut institution. Founded in 1883, Ridgefield Supply operates an 89,000-square-foot facility in Ridgefield made up of a lumberyard, warehouses, a hardware and paint store, window and millwork showrooms, and an employee-training center. A dealer with that much history in one town
Roofing contractors depend on materials arriving at the right time, and the distribution network behind every roof is a bigger part of the job than most homeowners realize. When a distributor opens a new branch in a fast-growing market, the practical effect for local crews is shorter delivery times, better stock, and fewer trips across
When a sawmill shuts down, the effects ripple through the lumber market faster than most buyers expect. A curtailment in one state can tighten supply across a region, push prices up at the lumberyard, and change how builders bid their next job. Florida builders have reason to watch these moves closely because the state’s housing
Montana earns its nicknames: the Treasure State, Big Sky Country, the Last Best Place. For anyone planning a log home, it is also a working classroom. Montana ranks fourth among U.S. states by area and 44th by population, with just over 995,000 people spread across 145,165 square miles, roughly seven people per square mile. Wide-open
Pennsylvania’s wooded counties, from Bucks County in the east to the ridges of the Alleghenies, have a long history of log construction. Modern buyers are drawn to the same reasons settlers were: timber is local, insulating, and durable when detailed correctly. A Craftsman-style log home in Pennsylvania pairs chinked log walls with Mission-inspired interiors, clean
Every log home has a story behind it, but the practical lessons are what carry from one build to the next. A handcrafted house in central Pennsylvania started with 40 acres of wooded property, nearly three years of planning, and a decision to source the timber locally instead of shipping it across the country. The
When someone mentions Wisconsin, the Great Lakes, the Packers, and dairy come to mind first. America’s Dairyland has more than cheese curds, though: 15,000 inland lakes, two Great Lakes shorelines, thousands of miles of trails, and some of the most scenic timber country in the Midwest. For a log home road trip, that adds up
