“Demand for outdoor living products is surging,” says Nancy Musselwhite, a constructing materials trade analyst for Principia Consulting. “Homeowners sheltering in place throughout peak COVID regulations developed a renewed curiosity of their backyards, really, as an extension of their home.” The river rock she wanted in order to help set an aquatic theme was nowhere to be found this spring, so Camille had to make use of 53 baggage of pea gravel instead. At forty pounds a bag, she hauled them from the store in four journeys. And lots of the work going on in backyards slips under the radar of people like Anderson.
As I type this, our dryer is being repaired for the second time since we moved in. All told, we’ve spent round $1,300 on small fixes. A sizable money cushion makes the cost of owning a house extra manageable. But even when you lack that cushion, …