Sky Rocketing Lumber Prices Affect Remodeling
Why did this happen and could it affect your remodel?
“We’ve always believed in the idea of 1%,” explains owner John Murphy. “You energize everyone in your company to look for 1% improvement in how they do what they do each day and you’ll change your world in ways you can’t easily imagine or expect,” explains Murphy.
Murphy Bros. maintained a 94% likely to recommend rating during the second year of the pandemic covering 2021. The selection profile ratings along with the innovations employed by Murphy Bros. can be seen here...
What?!!! Lumber Prices Up 80% Since April 2020.
It's no joke folks. According to the NAHB, National Association of Home Builders, an unintended and unforeseen consequence of the 2020 pandemic has been a boom in building and remodeling and a subsequent spike in building material prices and availability.
Prices affecting remodelers has been somewhat less severe, but availability has been tough for the entire industry.
Murphy Bros. Owner John Murphy shares his perspective on both surprises in this, the first of 4 short "zoom" video interviews with Marketing Director Tom Myrick.
What Happened and Why?
Federal, state and local contributing factors that lead to the pricing spike:
- Mills closed in the spring due to measures enacted by state and local governments.
- When prices fell between March and April mills projected a large drop in demand and substantially decreased capacity utilization.
- Producers did not anticipate the massive uptick in demand from do-it-yourselfers (DIY) and big box retailers during the pandemic as states opened up.
- Canadian tariffs also impacted the price of lumber.
It's not surprising that economists didn't see this coming. They're having to redefine the whole conversation about recovery from the pandemic. The Wall Street Journal has an interesting take on this new search for terms to describe what's happening.
You might not think that interior remodeling projects would be affected much by this dramatic increase, but any product made of wood will be affected to some degree. In this clip, owner John Murphy discusses the possible impact on other products such as cabinets, windows & doors.
What Can We Do About It?
Since we're the ones working on your behalf to figure out what things cost, there are some things we can do to try and protect your project from unforeseen increases. In this clip, owner John Murphy explains our approach to dealing with pricing on behalf of our clients.
What Does This Mean To You?
During times with rising costs like these it's easy to find really good deals. You know, the kind of deals you end up paying for over and over again because they really were too good to be true. In this video clip, Owner John Murphy, discusses how it can happen and what you should be on the lookout for as you research your remodeling projects.
