The full digital edition of our summer newsletter: a 12-point Minneapolis home maintenance checklist, honest guidance on when to remodel, and a few stories from our team and our neighborhood.

If you’re here from the print edition, thanks for scanning. The mailer only had room for the highlights, so this edition includes the complete checklist, a closer look at the question we hear more than any other, and a little more about what’s been happening around the Hanson community.

A Note From Dan

Homes are never really finished.

They change as families grow, routines shift, children get older, parents age, and the way we want to live evolves. Sometimes improving a home means a major renovation. Other times, it means fixing something that has been quietly bothering you, creating a better place to gather, or simply taking better care of what you already have.

Our hope is that Hanson at Home becomes a useful part of your life as a homeowner. It’s not meant to be news about Hanson. It’s meant to offer practical advice, ideas, local connections, and stories that help you enjoy your home and your community.

Thank you for continuing to welcome us into your homes, refer us to people you care about, and stay connected with our team.

Dan Hanson Hanson Design Build Remodel

Your 12-Point Minneapolis Home Maintenance Checklist

A few small steps now can help prevent larger problems later. In the Twin Cities, timing matters. Summer storms put your gutters and grading to the test. Anything you catch before the first freeze is one less thing a Minnesota winter can make worse.

Exterior

• Look for peeling paint, open joints, or failed caulking around windows and doors. These are some of the easiest places for water to get in, and resealing them now costs far less than repairing water damage later.
• Check siding, stucco, and masonry for changes since last season. Small cracks are often normal. Look more closely at movement, moisture staining, or cracks that seem to be growing, and consider having someone evaluate them.
• Make sure downspouts direct water well away from the foundation. Extensions or splash blocks should carry water out into the yard instead of dropping it at the base of the wall.
• Check decks, stairs, porches, and railings for loose boards or movement. A wobbly railing is a safety issue before it’s a maintenance issue.
• Trim vegetation away from siding, roofs, and mechanical equipment. Overgrown shrubs and branches hold moisture against your house and block airflow around your air-conditioning unit.
• Look for water pooling near the home after heavy rain. Pooling usually points to a grading or gutter problem, and it’s a common starting point for basement moisture.

Inside the Home

• Replace or clean furnace and air-conditioning filters. Your system has worked hard all summer. A clean filter helps it run efficiently into the heating season.
• Check beneath sinks, around toilets, and near appliances for slow leaks. Slow leaks rarely announce themselves. Watch for staining, swollen cabinet bottoms, or a musty smell.
• Test smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms. Press the test button on every unit, and replace batteries or units as needed.
• Review your home’s shutoff locations with family members. Everyone in the house should know where the water main, gas shutoff, and electrical panel are before an emergency, not during one.
• Clean bathroom exhaust fans and make sure they’re working. Here’s a quick test: hold a square of toilet paper up to the grille. If the fan doesn’t hold it in place, it isn’t pulling enough moisture out of the room.
• Look for changes in basement moisture, odors, or staining after storms. Compare what you see now to what you noticed last year.

A home does not need to be perfect. The goal is to notice changes early, understand what matters, and keep a small concern from becoming a large one.

Should We Remodel Now, or Wait?

It’s the question we hear most often. There’s no universal answer, but these five questions will get you closer to the right one for your household.

Is the current space making daily life harder? A poorly functioning kitchen, an inadequate bathroom, a cramped entry, or a disconnected main floor affects your family every single day. The value of improving it isn’t limited to resale. It shows up every morning.

Do you expect to stay in the home? The longer you plan to stay, the more time you have to enjoy the investment. For many families who love their neighborhood, remodeling is how they make a house work without giving up the block, the schools, and the neighbors.

Are you solving the right problem? Sometimes homeowners start out asking about an addition when a thoughtful reconfiguration of the space they already have would serve them better. Good planning explores the possibilities before settling on a solution.

Are your home’s systems part of the conversation? Remodeling older Minneapolis and St. Paul homes often involves more than new finishes. Electrical, plumbing, insulation, structure, windows, heating, and ventilation can all shape the best approach, and they’re much easier to address during planning than in the middle of construction. (Related: Old Home Remodeling in the Twin Cities)

Are you prepared to plan before construction begins? The smoothest projects are rarely the ones that move fastest at the start. They’re the ones that take the time to define the design, scope, investment, selections, and expectations before work begins. That’s the thinking behind our design-build process.

Our advice: Don’t remodel simply because a trend tells you to. Remodel when the change will meaningfully improve the way you live.

If budget is part of your decision, our guide to the 30% rule in remodeling is a helpful place to start thinking about scope and home value.

Design Idea: Make Room for Connection

One of the most meaningful changes you can make to a home doesn’t always involve adding square footage. Sometimes it’s about improving how people connect inside the space you already have.

Many older Twin Cities homes were built with the kitchen closed off from the rest of the house, which is the opposite of how most families live today. Small, intentional changes can shift how a home feels. That might mean:

• Opening a kitchen toward the dining room
• Adding comfortable seating where people naturally gather
• Creating better sightlines between rooms
• Designing an island that invites conversation instead of getting in the way
• Adding a coffee station, reading corner, window seat, or family command center
• Improving lighting so a room feels warmer and more inviting

The best homes support both togetherness and privacy. Good design isn’t only about how a room looks. It’s about helping people live the life they want within it.

Caring for an Older Home: How to Document Cracks and Changes

Older homes naturally change over time. Wood moves, plaster cracks, and Minnesota’s swing from humid summers to dry, frozen winters keeps materials expanding and contracting all year. So the important question usually isn’t “Is there a crack?” It’s “Is it changing?”

When you notice something that concerns you:

1. Take a clear photo.
2. Include a ruler, coin, or other object for scale.
3. Record the date.
4. Note whether weather or moisture may be involved, such as a recent storm, a humid stretch, or a cold snap.
5. Take another photo from the same spot several months later.

Good documentation makes it much easier to tell whether something is stable, seasonal, cosmetic, or worth a closer look. It also gives a contractor or inspector a clear history to work from.

When in doubt, ask. A simple conversation may give you peace of mind, or it may help identify an issue before it becomes more serious.

From Our Clients

One of the best compliments we can receive is hearing from clients long after a project is complete.

Recently, several past clients reached out with kind, unprompted feedback about their homes and their experience with Hanson. We also heard from a current client who shared how pleased he is with the team and the progress of his project.

Those comments matter because remodeling is about much more than finished photographs. It’s about listening, communicating, solving problems, caring for the home, and helping people feel confident throughout the process.

Thank you to our clients for continuing to share your experiences, and congratulations to the entire Hanson team for the care you bring to this work every day.

Around the Neighborhood: A Little Free Library Built With Sanford Middle School Students

You may have noticed the new Little Free Library outside our office at 3344 43rd Avenue.

The library was created through a volunteer project with students from Sanford Middle School. Hanson team members coached the students as they planned and completed a project meant to brighten the neighborhood.

Along the way, the students learned about project planning, teamwork, problem-solving, and what it takes to bring an idea to life. For many of them, it was also their first chance to use real tools.

We’re proud of what they created and grateful to have played a small part in the experience.

Please stop by. Take a book, leave a book, or bring a child to find something new to read.

Homes help create community, but community extends well beyond our own walls. We hope this becomes one small place where Longfellow neighbors connect, share, and discover something worthwhile.

A Simple Summer Idea: Host a “No-Perfect-House” Gathering

Many of us put off inviting people over because the house isn’t finished, the yard needs work, or life just feels too busy.

Minnesota summers are short, and there are still a few warm evenings left. Consider inviting a few people over anyway.

Keep it simple:

• Order food or make one easy meal
• Ask guests to bring a favorite summer drink or dessert
• Put some chairs in the yard
• Turn on some music
• Let the house be lived in

A home doesn’t have to be finished, or perfect, to bring people together.

Team Spotlight: Kelsi

Because Kelsi supports multiple departments, she sees parts of our company that others may not always see. Recently, she brought the office team together to make sure our processes continue to support both our clients and one another.

That kind of initiative matters.

Great client experiences are built through hundreds of thoughtful actions behind the scenes. Thank you, Kelsi, for noticing opportunities, bringing people together, and helping us keep getting better.

Meet Kelsi and the rest of the crew on our team page.

What Are You Curious About?

We want future issues of Hanson at Home to answer the questions homeowners are actually asking. Here are a few topics we could cover:

• Remodeling costs
• Maintaining an older home
• Aging in place
• Design trends worth considering (or avoiding)
• Energy efficiency
• Home technology
• Landscaping
• Local architecture and history
• How to know when a renovation makes sense

[Share Your Question →] [SURVEY FORM URL]

Your question may become the topic of a future issue.

Stay Connected

Have a question about your home? Thinking about a future project? Know someone who would benefit from a conversation with our team?

We’re always glad to be a resource, even when the answer isn’t a remodeling project.

Call (612) 655-4961 or reach out to our team.

Hanson Design Build Remodel Enhance Life Through Home