This was a blog/press release written for my employer to help clients understand the many delays that have been affecting the construction industry since COVID started. Many of the delays (especially material delays) were still there 2 years after the start of the COVID pandemic.

Construction In COVID

2021 and 2022 were supposed to be better than 2020. However, the long duration, extent, and severity of the COVID pandemic have surprised everyone. Many people think that because new home building and remodeling projects are increasing, the construction industry is in great shape. These people would be right in one sense. The desire to build new homes and remodel older homes has consistently increased since everything reopened in 2020. Remodeling companies are busier than ever as people realize they want their homes to be more comfortable and need them to work more efficiently with work-from-home requirements. Unfortunately, this increase in demand comes with many challenges for the construction and remodeling industry.

Supply chain issues

It is no secret that the pandemic has caused massive supply chain issues. When even one section of a supply chain is affected, it can cause a bottleneck in the supply chain that not only limits available quantities of materials but also increases lead times for those same materials. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has affected more than one area of the supply chain, and this intensifies the effects making lead times even longer and quantities even more limited.

As a result, many companies and individuals have begun to hoard materials for future projects making it harder for others to get those same materials for current projects (very similar to the situation with hand sanitizer and Lysol at the beginning of the pandemic). This hoarding of materials has resulted in many clients and companies not even being able to find the materials they need to start, much less finish, their home renovation projects. It has also resulted in higher costs as these hoarders are selling their products at greatly inflated prices.

Lead times have increased dramatically in the last couple years and materials that may have taken weeks to get before the pandemic are scheduled to take months (and could even take longer). A recent quote from one company had a lead time for windows and doors at a staggering 33 weeks! That’s over 8 months just for windows! Many big box stores have been promising items to customers at a shorter delivery time, only to email them later that these items will not be received in the time promised. This bait and switch tactic has caused many issues with disgruntled customers and construction companies trying to finish work.

Illness and quarantine

Before the pandemic, many construction workers would come to work sick or only need a day off to get over a mild cold. In post-pandemic times, many are required to have a negative COVID test or quarantine for several days prior to returning to work. This drastically slows construction projects as many workers end up off projects for extended periods of time. Even if there is a backup crew available, several days are lost due to the time it takes to transition from one crew to another.

It has also become more difficult for construction companies to find workers willing to work in close contact with clients. If a worker is immunocompromised or lives with an immunocompromised person, they will often refuse work that requires them to be around other people. These health precautions were practically non-existent pre-COVID and have reduced the available construction workforce. The labor force has lost almost 25,000 employees, declining every month since March of 2021 and has since fallen below December of 2020 numbers.

The excessive number of variants that have mutated from the original COVID-19 and the multitude of symptoms associated with them have caused many problems with illness and quarantine. The main problem is that the symptoms associated with COVID could also be associated with everything from allergies to a common cold to the flu. This results in uncertainty and many workers calling out for what would have been mostly a non-issue in the past.

Supply and demand issues

Anyone who has taken even a single economics class understands that prices increase dramatically when demand goes up and the price increase is exacerbated when supply goes down at the same time. The phenomenon has affected obvious construction items such as lumber and drywall, but also less obvious areas like labor. With less workers available and demand higher, subcontractors are charging more than previous years to do the exact same work.

This price increase is shown in recent U.S. Census Bureau data that showed construction costs increasing by 17.5% from 2020 to 2021. Costs from 2019 to 2021 show a 23% increase. This large of a spike hasn’t occurred in 40 years. Softwood lumber prices have increased by 85% in the last year, resulting in much higher material costs for almost all construction projects as it is a raw material in many items.

The increase in demand and decrease in supply has also caused issues with finding materials. It’s not just pricing that is affected but availability as well. This can be compared to the “Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020.” Toilet paper companies were churning their products out at the same pace as before but with demand for the products reaching frenzied levels, it was impossible to find any. In the construction industry, this has affected lumber and other commonly used construction items. While many of the companies providing common materials are manufacturing them at the same speed, these products are just not as easy to find because of the increase in demand.

Find a company that is working to overcome these issues

If you must remodel or build your home now, try to find a company that is working to overcome these issues as best as possible. Hestia Construction & Design in Houston, TX has tried to mitigate the effects by having back up crews available, diversifying suppliers for materials, and keeping customers informed as much as possible when there are delays. While contractors don’t have the ability to control everything (lead times are still an issue on some materials), they do their best to overcome the current challenges facing the industry. If you are looking to remodel in the Austin, TX or Houston, TX areas, Hestia Construction & Design can help you. Find out more on their website or call their office at 832-244-2350.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/construction-costs-hit-highest-spike-in-50-years/2891677/

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-construction-industry-covid-delta/

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/2022-construction-forecast-another-year-2321895/https://acuityinternational.com/2022/02/10/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-construction-estimates-from-crisis-comes-opportunity/