The Covid Pandemic has hit each and every one of us somehow at sometime. Every industry and person has their story, and here is ours.
Previous seasons before Covid March 2020
Previous years before the pandemic was the “original” normal. Around January-February of each year, we would update our labor and material prices for most of the year with a few minimal material updates throughout the seasons. January-February is when the material pricing was mostly set for decking and railing materials through the suppliers and the lumber prices would gradually go up for the summer months and slowly go back down for the Winter months. Estimating/Quoting projects was pretty easy at those times because we mostly knew what the costs would be by the time we were to build the project. Also, lumberyards/suppliers could hold our prices much longer so we can get locked in on the material rates at the time of the initial quotes (depending on if the project was mostly in that same season). Another nice part of the Original Normal Days was the amount of material available. Of course there were times that some special order supplies would be “out of stock”, but back then usually only took a few days for the suppliers to restock. Another great thing that was happening for a Homeowner looking for a project was the ease of getting in contact with a reputable builder, getting a design & quote, then getting on a schedule that wasn’t too far from when they originally looked into getting deck project done. A complete project from the initial meeting to finish building was mostly all at a decent time. The amount of time for a deck to be on the schedule would vary throughout the seasons depending on the weather and the average amount of homeowners looking for projects. Average was 3 months throughout the year.
The Beginning = March-April
Spring started off like every year. Warmer weather is bringing homeowners out to check out their property and brings in deck project requests. Then we got the lockdown, we were still building our already accepted projects like normal. We were outside and not too worried about the spread, however still keeping our distance. The requests slowed down for a couple of weeks, then bang – we were getting more than average requests for outdoor projects. Most people would tell me since they are not going on vacations or because the homeowners are staying home more, better get some use of their backyard to enjoy during the lockdowns. Business was great and now it was time to rethink our procedures. No more going inside homes, but all meeting outside with keeping our distance. Also was time to think about more over the phone and online interaction for the initial contacts. Over the previous years, I always wanted to figure out a way to give people an idea of pricing before the initial in-person meeting so it would prepare the homeowner for what to expect to see if we were going to be in their budget and timeframe. This pushed me to do it, and it’s working great. Many homeowners love the quick quotes I am able to give them over the phone and then we can decide if we want to meet at their home for real measurements and pricing numbers.
Supply Chain, and Price Increases
We (as well as most others in our field) have been hit with the supply chain issues on deck and railing materials for some products, but most homeowners don’t see behind the scenes. Because of the amount of projects on the schedule and wait time to begin a project, it gives us time to order the materials with our suppliers a month or two before we begin. Some material may only take a day or so, while others may have taken 4-6 weeks, but either way our goal is to have the material brought to our area (lumberyard) so it would be here by the time we begin the project. Material costs are another thing we are all dealing with. Lumber prices change every day and with man-made products (composite decking and aluminum metal railing) we have been getting notice sometimes one week before the price increase. What is different now versus then is if when we order materials for a project that will happen in 3 weeks, and then we are ready to begin. We used to get charged the price for when we ordered it. Now what has changed is, we get charged at the current going rate for when the product gets delivered to the homeowner’s house. The issue is people do not want a deck load in their driveway for 3 months while awaiting on a start date. So us contractors hope that our prices at the time of the quote will take into consideration of the new prices at the time of delivery. I would say we have been mostly good on the price numbers throughout the couple years. But if so many days/months have passed since the original quote has been given, we will update the pricing to the current.
Homeowner Experiences
The deck requests were at an all-time high throughout the whole 2 years (and even still today). The schedules were booking up quick and us deck builders are swamped with work from answering requests, creating designs and quotes, and physically building the deck projects. Early Spring is when most people think about their decks and backyard/outdoor projects. That means this is all of us Deck Builders busiest part of the season with Quotes and Designs. I am not sure exactly how the price comparison was from them to now, but I would easily say about an average deck went up about 20%-40%. Some of the deck lumber has gone up 300% and composite has about 30%-40%. We are getting many comments that some people are wanting to wait until the prices go down, but it’s happening as the opposite. My understanding is it will take years for things to catch up, and highly doubt the prices will ever be the same as two years ago. Another thing I hear from people is it’s hard to get a hold of a builder to do a project (in every service industry). This is due to the main deck builders are going to focus on only doing low-maintenance decking (no more wood – mostly during the busy season) and have project minimums. One thing I suggest to people is if you are looking to build a new deck, make sure you get it from a reputable company – preferably one that has been certified with the material’s company such as Timbertech or Trex. Going this route will assure you that the project is built correctly with the materials so there is no worry about any possible warranty dispute claims of being improperly built. The material and labor is more expensive now, so any reassurance is worth the cost.