Home improvement contractors - still busy?

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psteinx
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Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by psteinx »

Has anybody contracted for or started significant new home improvement projects in the last 1-2 months, or inquired about same?

Are things still ugly, relative to pre-COVID norms, in terms of availability, lead times, and price?
z91
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by z91 »

Lumber prices starting to finally come down, but I've noticed the bids I put out are still high..It seems that contractors in my area anyway are taking advantage of high lumber prices. I saw some of the studs I needed come down about 25% at the big box store from when I first reached out, but no change to the bid.

I'm starting to work closer with subcons instead and just GC the project myself to save some money. I am definitely taking on more work, but it's worth the savings.
Jeep4Life
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by Jeep4Life »

Around here, all the contractors say they are booked at least two months out. So many people doing home improvements.
Carson
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by Carson »

My brother's a home improvement trade and still crazy busy. What you are going to find now is a lot of people starting projects to get their home 'ready for the holidays'.
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Sandtrap
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by Sandtrap »

Generally, in our State: Many large and small, General Contractors and Sub Contractors, lead time for projects is 1-2 years.
(there are exceptions depending on the Contractor, IE: good or lousy, etc)
Causes of the larger cycles in the construction industry and R/E are larger than "the pandemic".

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Last edited by Sandtrap on Fri Sep 24, 2021 6:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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YeahBuddy
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by YeahBuddy »

Yes. Multiple contractors booked solid. Often these contractors are bidding jobs much higher that would never previously be accepted that are now being quickly accepted by homeowners. My best friend just booked a job that the contractor said he would get back to him in 2 weeks with info on vendor supplies. It's been 9 weeks with no contact. It's a lucrative, recession proof industry.
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phositadc
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Post by phositadc »

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fortunefavored
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by fortunefavored »

Sandtrap wrote: Fri Sep 24, 2021 6:29 am Generally, in our State: Many large and small, General Contractors and Sub Contractors, lead time for projects is 1-2 years.
(there are exceptions depending on the Contractor, IE: good or lousy, etc)
Causes of the larger cycles in the construction industry and R/E are larger than "the pandemic".

j :D
dis laimer: zillions of points of view and zillions of opinonions on zillions of things.
My experience too - I checked with several reputable contractors on a medium-large project (ADU/garage) and they all laughed and said "talk to me in 2 years"

The only people available were in business a very short time, sketchy, or had very poor reviews.
Luke Duke
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by Luke Duke »

I got 4 bids for a bathroom remodel. All 4 were at least double what I expected to pay. It looks like I'll be my own GC on this one.
YeahBuddy
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by YeahBuddy »

phositadc wrote: Fri Sep 24, 2021 7:52 am
RobLyons wrote: Fri Sep 24, 2021 6:29 am It's a lucrative, recession proof industry.
Pretty sure the subprime mortgage crisis of '07-09 would beg to differ.

You spotted the blip on the radar, congrats!
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mw1739
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by mw1739 »

Ordered kitchen cabinets and appliances last month. 3-4 month lead time on the cabinets and 6-7 months on the appliances. When we first picked out appliances in the spring it was about a 3-4 month lead time, but apparently things have gotten worse.

Lumber prices are down 50% from the peak but none of that cost savings was passed along from the cabinet company.
Wannaretireearly
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by Wannaretireearly »

Supply chain issues will hit contractors and their projects. Neighbor mentioned delays with new windows etc. I expect projects to not only start late cos of demand, but take much longer than anticipated.
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ClevrChico
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by ClevrChico »

Based on my neighbor's projects, material and labor are actually available now to get stuff done as of a few weeks ago.

But, there are no bargains, so expect to pay top dollar.
Rudedog
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by Rudedog »

Plumber who does work for us is a small company with three licensed plumbers and a couple of helpers. He says they are working seven days a week right now, its crazy. By the way, his hourly rate has gone up. Window and door company told us they were six months out installing windows. They have no trouble getting the windows, their installers are that far behind.
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crinkles2
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by crinkles2 »

We are still waiting on a roofer to come do a very basic fix.

Brand new condo with leaking skylights.

Paid 50% deposit 1 month ago, they haven't even been to do the measure to order the correct flashing etc.
yosh99
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by yosh99 »

I recently contacted four contractors in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area for a porch addition. Only one bothered to call back and they said they are booked through August 2022.
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firebirdparts
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by firebirdparts »

You know, around here, they've always been hard to hire, my whole life. I don't really know why, but I think one issue is basically that home improvement projects are difficult and sticky. You could try to charge more per hour due to the contortions but the market may not bear that. I've hired a few of them, and I think guys that like to work alone might like working alone enough that they go into that business. Another positive is that you can avoid specialization, which gives you variety, but also has that downside that a jack of all trades is a master of none. FWIW. Other than that I think there are a lot of negatives.
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snowox
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by snowox »

Anyone worth their salt in our area is busy well beyond two months out. As others have mentioned on materials that have come down have not been passed on to the consumer so for now I am just trying to do things simple to keep my own home updated best I can. In a jam or emergency the I have to pay but so far have been able to find someone in the industry near where I live that will always do a cash job and then at least its still reasonable. To do a full kitchen remodel or master bath forget it. And being as there are so many people in my area in the same position , even when things do slow down there is such a back log of people wanting to get things done and not enough good contractors this could take more than just a couple years to straighten itself out imho.
SQRT
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by SQRT »

Starting on a new project to redo our pool house kitchen due to water leak damage. I was apprehensive but it looks like things have improved quite a bit recently. I feared a 4 month time frame but now looks more like 6-8 weeks. Of course, we picked stuff that was in stock to shorten the time frame. Scottsdale area.
fareastwarriors
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Re: Home improvement contractors - still busy?

Post by fareastwarriors »

Some material costs have gone down from the peak but at the same time, labor costs are much higher than before. Expect to pay a full price.
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