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Tornado Rebuild Guide | Menasha, Neenah & Fox Crossing | Wildflower Development
Rebuild
Fox Valley Tornado · July 27, 2026

If your home was a total loss,
here is what happens next.

The rebuild sequence in order. What your foundation can and can't reuse. Real 2026 costs. Where to get help. Written by a builder who works in this market.

No email required. Nothing gated. Take it to any builder you want.

Where to get help now

Wildflower Development builds about 50 homes a year in Wisconsin and Michigan's UP. Our office is in Larsen/Winchester and our crews live here.

A note from the owner

We are not here to sell you a house this month.

This is our home too. The tornado crossed streets our crews drive every day and neighborhoods where our own people live. Some of them are cleaning up their own yards right now.

We know what shows up after a storm like this. Trucks with out-of-state plates. Contracts in the driveway. Somebody who needs your signature before you've read your own policy. That is not what this page is.

Almost nobody reading this can sign a construction contract in August, and nobody should. You need your adjuster's scope, your lender's process, an engineer on your foundation, and a clear head. That takes weeks or months. We'll be here when you get there, and in the meantime everything we know is on this page for free — including the parts that might lead you to a different builder, or to not rebuilding at all.

One thing we'd ask you to do today — for your neighbors more than for yourself. Call 211.

Even if you're fine. Even if you have insurance, somewhere to stay, and family helping. The count of people who call 211 is part of what determines whether this area qualifies for federal disaster assistance at all. Your call is a data point that may put money in your neighbor's hands. It takes four minutes.

Two things we already have in place, and they're the two things holding up every rebuild in the Valley right now.

We have a structural engineer retained to make the call on whether a foundation can be saved. That decision is worth tens of thousands of dollars and nobody should be guessing at it, or taking the word of whoever wants to demolish it.

And we have a design drafter on staff — not a subcontractor with a queue. Getting a proper design is what stalls most rebuilds for weeks or months, and we can turn one around quickly as we work through the process with you.

Call us for either one. You do not have to build with us to use them.

— Mitch Nordahl, Owner, Wildflower Development

We're from here

Office in Larsen/Winchester. Our crews live in this market and several were in the path.

A structural engineer is already retained

For the foundation decision — the one that's worth $50,000 to $75,000. You get the referral either way.

Our designer is on staff, not in a queue

Waiting on a plan is what stalls most rebuilds for months. We can turn one around in days.

Fixed price, no allowances anywhere

The number you sign is the number you pay. It moves only if you change something, in writing.

Tap any section to open it. Nothing here is gated — skim it or read all of it.

Where to get help right now

Official and community resources

Not ours. We're just putting them in one place.

Verified August 9, 2026. This changes weekly — Winnebago County keeps the authoritative list at winnebagocountywi.gov. Check there before acting on anything below.

Central intake for everything

Call 211

Housing, financial assistance, cleanup help, supplies, volunteers — 211 routes requests to the right organization. This is also the call that builds the case for federal assistance to this area. Make it even if you don't need anything.

If you are struggling

920-233-7707

Winnebago County crisis line. Mental health support, available to anyone affected. Rebuilding a house is the smaller problem, and there is no prize for handling this alone.

Everything under one roof

Multi-Agency Resource Center

Winnebago County Fox Cities Campus — Engineering Building, 1655 University Dr., Menasha. Housing, finances, mental health, food and essential needs in one place.

Call before you drive over. The county's posted hours ran August 6–8 and no further dates have been published. Check the county page for current status.

Free, and most people don't know it exists

County storm damage viewer

The county published aerial drone imagery captured July 29 — two days after the tornado — covering Fox Crossing, Menasha and Neenah, specifically so residents and businesses could document damage. If your own photos are thin or you evacuated before taking any, this is dated third-party imagery of your property.

Open the storm damage viewer →
Do not put these at the curb

920-232-1800

County Solid Waste. Propane tanks, fuel containers, chemicals and suspected asbestos must not go out with regular debris — call to schedule household hazardous waste disposal.

Older Menasha and Doty Island homes commonly contain asbestos in siding, floor tile and pipe insulation. Do not break it up yourself. Abatement is done by a licensed abatement contractor — if you're not sure whether you have it, call us and we'll tell you what to look for.

Free legal help on your policy — Tuesday

Insurance guidance clinic

Remley Law is running a free insurance guidance legal clinic at the Elisha D. Smith Public Library, 440 1st Street, Menasha — Tuesday, August 11, 3:00–6:00 PM. Bring a copy of your policy and your questions. If you don't have paper, your insurer's online portal usually has it.

If you're worried your coverage is short, go to this. An attorney reading your actual policy is worth more than anything a builder can tell you.

If you need cash before the settlement lands

Local storm relief loan programs

Community First Credit Union and Verve are both running storm relief loan programs for temporary housing, emergency expenses and recovery costs. We have no relationship with either and get nothing if you use them — they're just there, and settlements take time.

A warning about contractors, from a contractor

Wisconsin residential contractors are prohibited by law from negotiating your insurance claim. Anyone offering to "handle your adjuster," "maximize your claim," or cover your deductible is describing something they are not permitted to do. Ask for a state contractor credential, a local physical address, proof of insurance, and references you can actually drive to. Do not pay a large deposit up front, and do not sign anything in your driveway. Wisconsin price-gouging protections are in effect following the July storms.

Read this first

Who we are — and aren't — the right company for

We're a fit

Total loss — the house is coming down and going back up

That's exactly what we do, and we do a lot of it. Complete homes, start to finish.

We're not

Partial loss — roof, siding, windows, a damaged section

We don't do restoration or repair, and we'd do it worse than the companies that specialize in it. Call a restoration contractor. If you want a name, call us anyway and we'll give you one — getting you to the right company faster is worth more to both of us than a meeting neither of us should be in.

Everything on this page is free and ungated either way, and the resources above apply to you regardless.

The rebuild sequence

Seven steps, in this order

Skipping one costs months. The biggest reason a rebuild stalls is that nobody told the homeowner what order things happen in.

The most important section on this page

Your foundation: what usually stays and what usually goes

Read this before you agree to any demolition.

Fire and flooding damage a foundation from the inside. A tornado damages it from the top. The house lifts and racks, and the load path takes the punishment on its way out — anchor bolts, sill plate, and the top course of the wall. Everything below grade is frequently untouched.

That matters because a foundation can look destroyed at the top and still be structurally sound. Replacing a good foundation adds $50,000 to $75,000 to a rebuild, and for a lot of families that is the entire difference between building and walking away. Nobody should be told to demolish a foundation by a person who profits from demolishing it.

Get a structural engineer's evaluation

Not a builder's opinion. Not a contractor's. A licensed engineer inspects the walls, footings and anchorage and issues a written determination. It's inexpensive relative to what it decides, and your building department and your insurer will both want it.

Usually can stay

Usually has to go

Three things that decide it more than the concrete does

Footing depth. Older footings are often shallower than the frost depth required here. A shallow footing means replacement or underpinning regardless of how good the wall looks.

Ceiling height. Many of these basements are 6′8″ to 7′. That's fine for storage and mechanicals but won't qualify as habitable space. Know that before you plan a finished lower level.

Footprint lock. Keeping the foundation means keeping the footprint. That's a constraint, not a defect — but the new plan has to be designed to the foundation you have.

An affordability lever most people miss: insulating an existing basement wall from the interior to meet current energy code costs a fraction of replacing the wall. If your engineer clears the structure, the energy code is not a reason to tear it out.

The harder truth: your old layout may not be legal anymore

This is the part nobody tells homeowners, and it causes more disappointment than the engineering does. Your house was built to a code that no longer exists. Even on a perfectly sound foundation, you often cannot rebuild the same floor plan:

  • Stairs eat more space now. Current rise, run, width and headroom requirements consume noticeably more floor area than stairs built before about 1980. Your existing stair opening may not fit a legal staircase, which forces changes on both levels.
  • Bedrooms need egress. Every sleeping room requires a compliant emergency escape opening. A basement bedroom means saw-cutting the foundation wall for an egress window and well — a real cost, and the engineer has to approve the opening.
  • Bathrooms need more room. Current clearances around toilets, tubs and showers exceed what older homes gave them. That 5-by-7 bath may not fit where it was.
  • Walls are thicker. Current insulation and air-sealing requirements add assembly thickness, so interior dimensions shrink slightly against the same exterior footprint.
  • Narrow footprints constrain everything. A primary suite, walk-in closets, open living space, main-floor laundry — these may simply not fit inside an older footprint at any price.
  • Nonconforming lots may not let you expand. Your municipality may allow rebuilding on the existing footprint while prohibiting any enlargement of it. In that case you cannot solve a layout problem by adding on.

So here is the trade-off, stated plainly. A foundation can be structurally sound and still be the wrong foundation for the house you want. Reusing it saves you a great deal of money. It also means accepting the footprint and the layout compromises that come with it. Sometimes the honest answer is that you have to pick one — the savings or the floor plan.

We will tell you which constraints apply to your specific foundation during design, in writing, before you commit to a plan. Finding this out during construction is how rebuilds go badly.

Get on the engineer list

We have a structural engineer retained specifically for tornado-damaged foundations. Give us a name and number and we'll get you on the list — whether or not you ever build with us. If someone has already told you to demolish, say so and we'll move you up.

Or call (920) 990-9642
Real numbers

What a rebuild actually costs in 2026

Current Fox Valley numbers from homes we're building right now — not a national average.

1,200 sq ft ranch, sound existing foundation reused

$275,000 – $325,000

Depending on your selections. That's roughly $230 to $270 per square foot.

Why small houses cost more per square foot

A 1,200 square foot ranch carries the same kitchen, the same two bathrooms, the same furnace, water heater, electrical service, permits and crew mobilizations as a 2,000 square foot house — spread across 40 percent fewer square feet. So the per-foot number looks alarming when it's actually normal.

If you've read that homes cost $150 a foot to build, that number came from a larger house in a different market. And the reason the per-foot figure drops as houses get bigger is that those fixed costs stop dominating — which is why we'd rather talk to you about a total number for your house than a rate per square foot.

Construction costs are not what they were when most policies were written. If your dwelling limit was set in 2019 or 2020 and has only moved by an inflation rider since, there's a real chance it's short.

Code upgrades are the line people miss. Your new house must meet current code, not the code your old house was built under. Energy compliance, insulation values, egress and electrical requirements have all moved. Some policies cover that difference under ordinance-and-law or code-upgrade coverage. Many do not. Check yours by name.

Coverage that routinely goes unclaimed

  • Trees, shrubs, plants and lawn. Often a separate limit near 5% of dwelling coverage, with a per-plant cap. Heavily under-claimed because nobody hands you a number to ask with.
  • Detached structures. Sheds, detached garages, fences — usually separate from dwelling coverage.
  • Appliances and contents. Generally personal property, not dwelling.
  • Code upgrades. Only if you carry ordinance-and-law coverage.

If your coverage falls short

Some homeowners reading this are underinsured and will not be able to rebuild what they lost for what their policy pays. That is not a reflection of anything you did wrong — it's what happens when construction costs move faster than coverage limits. If that's your situation:

  • Keep the foundation. Usually the largest single savings available, and the reason to get an engineer out early.
  • Build simpler, not just smaller. A rectangular footprint with a simple roof costs meaningfully less per foot than the same square footage with bump-outs and gables.
  • Build to a plan that already exists. A home a builder has built before carries less risk contingency than a one-off.
  • Finish in phases. Get to a complete, code-compliant, occupiable house and leave the lower level or third bedroom for later.
  • Sell the lot and buy existing. For some families this is the right answer, and there's nothing wrong with it.

We would rather tell you the number is short than sell you a house you cannot finish. If our estimate comes back above what you can fund, we'll say so plainly and tell you why.

Find out your own number

Square footage, stories, foundation type and address. We come back within two to three days with a rebuild cost range for your house, typically accurate to about ten percent. Free, no plan needed, nothing signed. Usually enough to tell you whether your settlement is close or badly short.

Or call (920) 990-9642
Read your own policy

Your insurance policy, in plain English

Your policy is the most important document in your rebuild and it's written to be unreadable. Here's what the words mean, which lines actually matter, and what to ask about. We're a builder, not an adjuster — we can't and won't tell you what your claim is worth. But we can tell you what you're reading.

Start here if you read nothing else

Your first check is probably not your settlement.

On most replacement-cost policies the insurer pays actual cash value first — the depreciated value — and holds back the depreciation until you actually rebuild and submit invoices showing what you spent. That held-back amount is called recoverable depreciation.

So a family whose house costs $300,000 to replace may see a first check for $210,000 and conclude they're $90,000 short. Often they aren't — the rest is waiting on proof they rebuilt.

Two things to confirm before you panic or make a decision: is this the ACV payment or the full settlement, and how long do you have to rebuild to collect the holdback? That deadline is real, it's often 180 days to two years from the loss, and it can sometimes be extended if you ask in writing before it lapses.

The ten lines to find on your declarations page

The first page or two of your policy — the summary with the dollar amounts. Print it, circle these, bring it to your agent or the free clinic.

What the coverages actually cover

Each lettered coverage is a separate pot of money, and people routinely fail to claim two or three of them.

Endorsements and riders worth checking for

Add-ons you either bought or didn't. After a total loss the difference can be six figures. Check your declarations page by name.

Terms you'll hear and what they mean

How a standard policy divides the money

The other coverages are usually written as a percentage of Coverage A, so your dwelling limit quietly sets everything else. Here's roughly how a typical policy would look on a $300,000 dwelling limit — check your own declarations page, because the percentages vary by carrier.

The part that catches people: Coverage A doesn't just build your house. Depending on how your policy is written it may also have to absorb demolition, debris haul-off, and the extra cost of building to current code. Every one of those competes with the house itself for the same pot of money. A $300,000 dwelling limit minus $25,000 of demo and debris is a $275,000 house, not a $300,000 one.

Dwelling versus contents — and why contents hurts more

Coverage A pays for the structure. Anything permanently attached: walls, roof, mechanical systems, cabinets, flooring, water heater, furnace, built-in dishwasher. If it would stay with the house when you sold it, it's usually dwelling.

Coverage C pays for everything else. Furniture, clothing, dishes, tools, electronics, and your refrigerator, range, washer and dryer. If you'd take it with you, it's usually contents.

Here's the gap. Many policies carry replacement cost on the dwelling but actual cash value on contents — unless you specifically bought replacement cost on personal property. That means a ten-year-old sofa pays what a ten-year-old sofa is worth, not what a new one costs. Across an entire household that difference is routinely tens of thousands of dollars, and it's the single most common unpleasant surprise after a total loss.

And contents requires an itemized list. Insurers generally will not pay a lump sum on personal property — they want a room-by-room inventory with descriptions, ages and values. Most people have nothing like that, and reconstructing it from memory after losing your home is brutal.

How to rebuild your contents list

Ways to reconstruct what you owned without trying to remember it all at once.

This is tedious and it is worth real money — often tens of thousands of dollars. You don't have to finish it this week. Start a note on your phone and add to it whenever something occurs to you.

Where to get real help reading it

Free legal clinic, this week. Remley Law is running a free insurance guidance clinic at the Elisha D. Smith Public Library, 440 1st Street, Menasha — Tuesday, August 11, 3:00–6:00 PM. Bring your policy and your questions. If your coverage might be short, go to this.

Your own agent. The person who sold you the policy is obligated to explain it and generally wants to. Ask them to walk you through the declarations page line by line and tell you which endorsements you carry.

A public adjuster is a licensed professional you can hire to represent you on your claim. They typically charge a percentage of the settlement. That is a real option and a legitimate profession — and it is specifically the thing your contractor is not allowed to be.

The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance handles consumer complaints and publishes plain-language consumer guides. If you believe your insurer is handling your claim improperly, that's who to call.

We'll send you the questions to ask

If your settlement went to your mortgage company, there are eight questions you should get answered in writing before you hire anybody — how many draws they allow, who inspects, how long release takes, and whether any portion comes to you up front. We'll send them in a form you can forward straight to your servicer. No charge, and it applies whoever you end up building with.

Or call (920) 990-9642

What we can and can't do here. Wisconsin law prohibits a residential contractor from representing or negotiating your insurance claim, and we don't. Everything above is general information about how these policies are typically written — your policy is its own document and the specifics govern. What we can do, with your written consent, is prepare a construction estimate for your property and provide it to your insurer, so the conversation is grounded in a real number instead of an argument.

Know before you rely on it

Where a standard policy falls short

Not every one applies to you. Find out which do, before you're relying on money that isn't there.

Start here, not with a contract

Start with the demolition

Before anything gets built, the remains of your house have to come down and leave the property. Right now that's the tightest capacity in the Fox Valley — everyone needs it at once, and it's holding up hundreds of rebuilds that can't start until the lot is clear.

8–12 demolitions a month

Real capacity, on our own equipment, with our own crews. You do not have to hire us to build your house to use it.

What demolition includes

  • Removal of the remaining structure, attached garage, porches and decks
  • Debris hauled and lawfully disposed of
  • Utility connections capped or removed as your municipality requires
  • Foundation removal only if an engineer has determined it can't be reused — never by default
  • Raze permit application handled for you, in whichever municipality you're in
  • Coordination with your engineer's foundation evaluation while we're on site

Hazardous material abatement — asbestos, lead, buried fuel tanks — is handled by a licensed abatement contractor, not by us.

Raze permit fees are being waived right now

Nothing can be torn down — house, garage or shed — without an approved raze permit first. All three municipalities are currently waiving raze permit fees, plus some electrical permit fees. Nobody has said how long that lasts.

If demolition is in your future, get the permit application moving even if you haven't picked a contractor. Menasha Community Development: (920) 967-3610. Fox Crossing: (920) 720-7105. Neenah: (920) 886-6130.

All utilities must be properly disconnected before any demolition work. And contact your insurance company before any work is done — every one of the three municipalities says the same thing.

Before we touch anything

Finish your photographs, complete your adjuster's inspection, and remove every piece of personal property you want to keep. Demolition destroys the evidence of your loss permanently. We won't start without your written go-ahead, and we'd rather wait a week than have you lose a claim.

Why we mention it first

Hiring a builder to build you a house is a large decision you shouldn't make in August. Hiring someone to clear your lot is a small one you can make this week — and it means you'll know exactly how we work, how we communicate, and whether we do what we say, long before you decide anything bigger. That's a better way to choose a builder than a sales meeting.

Talk to us about demolition

Tell us the address and we'll give you a demolition quote and tell you where you sit in our schedule. We'll also flag whether your foundation looks like a candidate for reuse — and get you to an engineer to make that call before anything comes down.

Call (920) 990-9642
Two speeds

How fast you can get a real number

Right now the question keeping people up isn't which cabinet door they want. It's whether the number their adjuster wrote down is anywhere close to what rebuilding actually costs. You can find that out this week.

Fast

2–3 days

Ballpark within about 10%

Give us square footage, stories, foundation type, garage and your address. We come back within two to three days with a cost range typically accurate to within ten percent, and often better — built from what we're actually paying to build homes here this month.

Usually enough to tell you the one thing you need to know now: whether your settlement is in the neighborhood or badly short.

Exact

2–4 weeks

Line-item contract pricing

A full quote takes two to four weeks because it means a real takeoff against a real plan on your specific lot, with your foundation's condition, your utility situation and your municipality's requirements priced in.

Anyone who hands you an exact contract price in three days is guessing and will find the difference later, in change orders.

What to have ready: approximate square footage of what you lost, one or two stories, whether you had a basement, crawl space or slab, garage size, and your property address. If you don't know your square footage, your county assessor record has it and it's free to look up.

Getting plans drawn

Our in-house design team has drawn floor plans for hundreds of homes. Two paths:

Option one

Free

Build to one of our existing rebuild plans. We keep 3 to 5 single-story designs from roughly 1,100–1,700 sq ft, in slab and basement versions, sized for exactly these lots. Already drawn, already priced, built regularly. If one fits your lot and foundation, the plan costs you nothing — and you get the most accurate price we're capable of giving, because we already know what it costs to build.

Option two

$1.00 / sq ft

A custom floor layout and exterior elevations designed to your lot and your existing foundation. Finished living area only — garage and basement included free. A 1,200 sq ft ranch is $1,200. It comes off your build price. To be exact about the mechanic, because vague promises about credits are how people get burned: you pay us for the design, and if you go on to contract with us, that same amount is deducted from your contract price. You don't pay for it twice. If you build with someone else, you paid market rate for a design and you keep the drawings.

What you get: a dimensioned floor layout and exterior elevations drawn to your specific lot and foundation, plus a line-item construction estimate at current 2026 pricing.

What you do not get, and should not pay us for: a permit set, structural engineering, truss design, energy code documentation, a survey, soil testing, or a variance application. That's deliberate — those belong to whichever builder you hire, as part of building the house. Paying a designer separately for work your builder will do anyway is money wasted.

You own the drawings either way. Bid them to any builder in the Valley. We don't ask for exclusivity and we don't require a deposit toward construction.

There is one document to sign, and it is only the design agreement. Not a construction contract. Not a commitment to build with us. It covers the design work and nothing else. We send it to you before we come out so you can read it on your own time, and we ask you not to sign it until after we've met and we both agree we're a good fit.

How it works

Short phone call first, so neither of us wastes an afternoon. Then a free on-site assessment — we walk your lot and your foundation with you and talk through what's realistic. No cost, no obligation, and nothing signed at your curb.

We'll also point you to a structural engineer for your foundation evaluation. We have one retained for exactly this, and you get the referral whether or not you ever build with us. That determination has to come from a licensed engineer, not from a builder — ours included.

How long design takes

Two to six weeks, and the width of that range is almost entirely about you, not us. Our designer produces one to two plans a day — drafting isn't the constraint and never has been. The range is revision rounds and selections. Decisions, not drawings.

Two weeks happens when a family takes one of our existing plans, it fits their foundation, and they work through their option sheets promptly. Six weeks happens when the layout goes through several rounds, or when selections sit unmade — entirely understandable when you're living in a hotel and grieving a house, and we won't rush you. What we will do is tell you plainly which item is holding the clock.

One firm rule: we don't start construction until your selections are complete

Cabinets, countertops, flooring, siding and shingle color, paint, fixtures, hardware, appliances — all of it, signed off, before we break ground. No exceptions.

This isn't bureaucracy, it's why our schedules hold. A house started with three undecided selections stalls mid-build waiting on a material that's now eight weeks out, and every trade behind it stacks up. Then you're the family still in a rental in November. We'd rather hold your start date two weeks at the front than lose two months in the middle.

Our actual capacity, since you should know it

We can start 4 to 6 homes a month and run 8 to 12 demolitions a month. That's the real number, not a marketing number, and it's the constraint on everything.

It also means we'll fill up. When we do we'll tell you where you sit in the queue and what that means for your start date, instead of taking a deposit and figuring it out later. If we can't get to you when you need us, we'd rather say so and point you at a builder who can.

Before you call us

What we build, and what we don't

Fixed price. Not allowances.

This may be the most important thing on this page if you're worried about money.

Most builders quote a number containing allowances — a placeholder figure for cabinets, another for flooring, another for fixtures. Then you go shopping, discover the allowance doesn't buy what you assumed, and your "price" climbs $20,000 while you're already committed. It's the single most common way homeowners get hurt by a construction contract, and after a total loss you cannot afford it.

We quote a fixed price. Every option on our sheets carries its own price, so the number you sign is the number you pay. It changes only if you change something, in writing, through a signed change order that states the cost before we proceed. There are no allowances anywhere in our contract, including the kitchen. We use our own pre-packaged cabinet and countertop options, and your layout determines the price — we run it through our pricing model and quote you a number. That's how we can move fast and still hold the price.

We are not a custom home builder. We build a defined home with defined materials — vinyl siding, single-hung windows, architectural shingles, LVP and carpet, Delta valves. That discipline is exactly why we can price your rebuild accurately and hold a schedule while every builder in the Valley is overbooked.

The floor plan is flexible. Room sizes, layout, bedroom count, how the house fits your existing foundation.

The specification has a standard and a set of priced upgrades. Single-hung windows are standard; other window types are available and cost more. Same across finishes. Everything comes from the supplier lines we buy from every week, which is how the price stays real.

What we don't do is one-off sourcing. Custom cabinet shops, specialty millwork, materials outside our vendor lines. Not because we can't — because it breaks the purchasing, the schedule and the price certainty that are the entire reason to hire us on a rebuild. If that's what you want, we're the wrong builder, we'll say so in the first ten minutes, and we'll name good custom builders in the Valley who are right for it.

Appliances are included

Not standard in our new-construction homes, but standard on every rebuild: range, oven, refrigerator, dishwasher and microwave. If you lost your house, you lost your refrigerator. Handing you a finished home without one isn't a finished rebuild.

Ask your adjuster how appliance proceeds are handled under your personal property coverage, so the same items don't get funded twice.

You choose from option sheets, not from infinity

Cabinets, countertops, flooring, siding and shingle color, paint, fixtures, hardware finish, appliances — each on a single sheet with a defined set of choices, each priced. That's deliberate. A rebuild already asks you to make hundreds of decisions at the worst possible moment in your life. A defined set of priced choices is faster, cheaper, and far less likely to go wrong than an open field.

Your yard comes back

Most builders stop at rough grade — ground within about a foot of final contour, still carrying rocks and construction debris. On a new subdivision lot that's normal. On a lot where you had a lawn and forty-year-old trees, it's unacceptable, and we're not doing it.

Every tornado rebuild includes a restoration package, performed by Wildflower Landscaping, our own division:

  • Final grade to contour, with rocks, roots and construction debris removed
  • 2–4″ of topsoil across the disturbed area
  • Seed established, with erosion control

That gets you back to a graded, seeded lot rather than a construction site — which is where most builders stop and where we won't.

Plantings are separate, on purpose. Shrubs, trees and beds aren't in the build number, because what you want there is personal: some families want what they had back as closely as possible, and some want to start over with a new design now that the yard is bare. Wildflower Landscaping will quote either, with a one-year plant guarantee, and you're free to use any contractor instead.

How it's papered: you get one all-in number for the project, and two agreements — one with Wildflower Development for the house, one with Wildflower Landscaping for the site work. Each has its own price, warranty and invoice. We keep them separate on purpose: a plant that doesn't survive its first winter is a landscaping matter, not a builder warranty claim, and you should always know exactly who's accountable for what.

There is likely money in your policy for this that you don't know about. Most homeowners policies carry a separate limit for trees, shrubs and plants — often around five percent of dwelling coverage, usually capped per plant. It's one of the most under-claimed provisions in residential insurance. Wildflower Landscaping will document what you lost and what replacement costs, in writing, and with your written consent we'll provide that estimate to your insurer. What your policy pays is between you and them — but you should at least be asking.

Timing, honestly: exterior concrete, grading and planting don't happen in Wisconsin between November and April. If your house finishes over the winter, your house is done in the fall and your yard is done in the spring. That's not us deferring your work — it's the only way to do it so it lasts.

Things people assume are excluded that we'll absolutely quote

Not in the base home price, but real scope we build — and several may be covered under your policy:

  • Driveway beyond the standard apron at the front of the garage
  • Decks, patios, porches and screened enclosures
  • Sheds, detached garages and other outbuildings
  • Landscaping beyond the restoration package above

Ask your adjuster specifically about detached structures — they're often written under separate coverage from your dwelling, and homeowners routinely leave that money unclaimed because nobody told them it was there. We'll quote any of it; whether your policy pays is between you and your insurer.

Our complete standard specification is published, including the priced upgrade paths and what's genuinely not available: our published specification. Read it before you call us. It will save one of us an afternoon.

The only thing we'll ask of you

If your whole block is rebuilding

This is not a referral gimmick. Clustered construction is measurably cheaper to build, and the savings are real enough that we'll document them for you.

When we build three or more homes on the same block, we mobilize excavation once instead of three times. Concrete comes in one pour schedule. One crane day sets three sets of trusses. Dumpsters and portable facilities are shared. Crews stop driving between sites, which is the single largest hidden cost in residential construction.

Those savings exist whether or not anyone asks for them, so we'd rather pass a documented share of them through to the homeowners who made them possible.

So the only thing we will ask of you: talk to your neighbors. If three or more households on your block are rebuilding, call us together and we'll show you the line-item difference between building your homes separately and building them at the same time. If it doesn't save you money, we'll tell you that too.

A legitimate option

If rebuilding on that lot isn't your path

Some families won't rebuild here, and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes the settlement won't cover it. Sometimes the layout that fits the old foundation isn't the house you want. And sometimes standing on that lot every day for eight months is more than anyone should ask of themselves.

If any of that is you, we build homes elsewhere and we'd rather point you at them than watch you force a rebuild that doesn't fit.

Move-in ready now

Celestial Hills — New London

Finished 2026 homes you can walk through this week and close on with no build wait. Three-bedroom single-family on roughly third-acre lots, city water and sewer, about half an hour from the Fox Cities. If your loss-of-use coverage is running out, this is the fastest way to be in a house of your own again.

Straight about the money: these start around $364,900, which is more than rebuilding on a lot you already own. This isn't the cheaper path — it's the faster one, and the one for people who don't want to be on that lot anymore.

See what's available →
Turnkey build

Build turnkey on one of our lots

Pick a lot, pick a floor plan, we build it — and no construction loan is required, which matters if your insurance proceeds are tied up with a loss draft department. No raze permit, no foundation question, no nonconforming setback problem.

We have developed lots at Celestial Hills in New London and at Woodland Hills in Caledonia, roughly twenty minutes from Neenah. [Mitch — confirm which communities you want tornado clients pointed at, and whether Woodland Hills should have its own link.]

See our communities →

One thing to check before you decide, and check it before you commit to anything: ask your insurer what happens to your payout if you don't rebuild on this lot. Replacement cost coverage often pays replacement cost only if you actually replace — take the money and walk away and some policies drop to depreciated value instead, which can be a large difference. Some policies let you rebuild or buy elsewhere and still collect in full. Yours might, or might not. That answer should come from your insurer in writing, not from us.

Talk to a person.

No automated follow-up, no salesperson assigned to you. A conversation about your lot, your foundation, your coverage, and what's realistic — whether or not we end up building your house.

Call (920) 990-9642

Wildflower Development Group, LLC

8701 Cty Road M, Larsen, WI 54947 · (920) 990-9642

Crafting Homes That Endure.

Wildflower Development is a residential contractor. We are not public insurance adjusters, architects, or structural engineers, and we do not represent or negotiate insurance claims on behalf of homeowners. With your written consent we can prepare a construction estimate for your property, provide it to your insurance company, and discuss construction options with you and your insurer's representative. Decisions regarding your claim are between you and your insurance company. Foundation reuse determinations must be made by a licensed engineer; foundation guidance on this page describes typical outcomes only and is not a substitute for an evaluation of your property. Wisconsin residential contracting is governed by Wis. Stat. § 100.65 and Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 110, and all required written disclosures, including cancellation rights, are provided before any contract is signed. Cost figures are general estimates for the Fox Valley market as of August 2026 and are not a quote or guarantee of price. Third-party resources are listed for convenience, are not operated by Wildflower, and we cannot guarantee their current availability, hours, or eligibility requirements — verify with the provider.

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