Painting, roofing and remodeling in Muskego, where C&L is based

Half of Muskego's homes were built in 1988 or later, according to the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates, and 84.8% are owner-occupied, a higher share than Brookfield's or New Berlin's. Most houses here were started after June 1, 1980, which puts them under Wisconsin's Uniform Dwelling Code. For a roof, that brings the state's two-layer limit and, on slopes of 4:12 or less over heated space, ice-dam protection at the eaves. Houses from the late 1980s and 1990s are now at the age when original roofs, siding and windows come due, often all in the same few years.

The other 42.3% of homes were built before 1980, and 4.3% before 1940. Those houses sit outside the dwelling code unless the city applies it, and most fall inside Wisconsin's 1978 lead-paint cutoff. Paid work that disturbs paint beyond small thresholds (6 sq ft per room inside, 20 sq ft outside) or replaces any window must follow the state's lead-safe renovation rule. On an older Muskego house, that shapes exterior painting, siding removal and window replacement more than any other factor.

The lakes add a third kind of house. Homes on Little Muskego Lake, Big Muskego Lake and Lake Denoon face open water on one side, and those walls take wind, sun and driven rain the street side never sees. Paint and caulk fail first there, shingles lift first along exposed rakes, and flashing at windows and roof-wall joints gets tested hardest. Away from the water, the city runs from subdivision streets to larger rural parcels.