The increasing cost of building supplies

So many things in our lives have changed because of COVID-19! One you might not be familiar with is that the cost of building materials has increased double-digit percentage points and continue to increase every month. Not so much the finish items like plumbing fixtures and tile but the items needed to build homes and renovate existing homes. Lumber, drywall, insulation are a few of the hardest hit. I even learned that once again, toilet paper and other paper products are set to increase because the majority of the pulp used to make these products comes from Brazil. The carrier ship, Ever Given, that ended up stuck in the Suez Canal brought on several conversations about goods being transferred between countries and the shortage of shipping containers overseas. Did you know that three out of four shipping containers that arrive at US ports full of goods are shipped back empty? Certainly shines a light on current trade between countries. So if there are no shipping containers to send us paper products or a ship is blocking the trade route, we end up with empty store shelves and people hoarding what they can. So not unlike paper products, the mills and manufacturers can only produce so much product in a period of time. You can plan for yearly seasonal increases such as nice weather brings on more buildings. But how do you plan for a pandemic that forces everyone to stay home and not have anywhere to spend cash? Our business actually exploded in March of 2020 when so many people realized they didn't have enough space for the whole family to be home 24/7.

Great news for any contractor, right? Well, not when it comes to bids that were done months in advance. The challenge of ever-increasing material costs we are working with is daunting, to say the least! Pretty much every month we receive a dreaded email or letter from a supplier telling us that starting in two weeks or the following month, the cost of the lumber or drywall or insulation, etc. will increase by 20%. All of this seemingly has no end in sight because it may have started with COVID-19 but now it is just supply and demand.

So in conclusion, consider this a public service announcement for anyone in the middle of or considering a renovation or new build. We will all have to figure out the best way to move forward so we can continue improving the homes in our community!