Is the pandemic still having an effect on the building process? 

• Absolutely, and we're not sure if we'll ever get "back to normal". The industry continues to be impacted in numerous ways. 

Have the city building departments re-opened to allow for in-person submission of plans?

• Prior to the pandemic, the building departments were only closed every other Friday; now the majority are still closed completely with only a handful going back to limited office availability for us to communicate. All correspondence has been email only – even phone calls have not been possible! 

Is the approval process still taking longer than usual?

• Unfortunately, the answer is yes; almost all cities have opted to outsource the review of plans for the majority of all projects, which causes a delay in and of itself – shipping plans back & forth to the review agencies. Additionally, due to the limitations placed on communications (referenced above), that is yet another item that is adding time to the schedule.

Does supply and demand have an effect on my building project?

• Material Shortages: The days of just running to pick up supplies no longer exists. So many supply regulations and shipping issues have caused severe shortages, backorders and even discontinued items.
• Higher Demand: Most would think that our industry may have slowed down during all of this; however, the opposite is actually true. Consumers still want to build, and they want it done as soon as possible—an impossibility. The phones have literally not stopped ringing.
• Price Increases: Because of the low supply & high demand, the prices have skyrocketed. I’m sure you’ve heard that lumber prices are astronomical—it’s true! We have actually had to create lumber cost surcharge invoices on some projects that were calculated & signed pre-pandemic.

Why would a medical issue cause all of these challenges with building?

• Interesting question, and also quite complex. At the onset of the pandemic, construction employees were deemed to be ‘essential workers’. Fortunately, this allowed us to keep working, but it brought with it a whole new way of doing our work. Lockdown, masks, gloves, sanitizing, posting regulatory signs, exposure scares, quarantine periods for customers, employees, subcontractors. We have never worked under these conditions before, and no one could have planned for any of this.

Once our project gets started, there shouldn’t be any other delays, right?

• While that would be wonderful, it’s highly unlikely for a couple of reasons. The building inspections that are required by the city are also running way longer than before; what used to take 1-2 days, can now take as long as 1-2 weeks. Additionally, the high demand for all of our subcontractors can be greatly affected by even a small hiccup on the job; if they’re booked out for weeks, it could be some time to get them back on site.

We wanted to bring this to your attention with the hope of being honest & transparent, not to use it as an excuse. We are completely aware of how frustrating it is for you to have your home torn apart in a best-case scenario, let alone during all of our current craziness. So please know it is just as frustrating for us to be unable to complete the projects or to operate in the ways we have been accustomed to over the last 32 years.

All of this considered, please be assured that we are doing the best WE possibly can in these circumstances. We're all in this together – and we shall get through it together!

If you should have any questions at all, please call the office (or click the button below) and Paul will answer them for you as soon as he possibly can.