Many families are building or in the process of building a home here in 2021. Unfortunately many projects and homes have been delayed at least once if not multiple times thus far. Usually people’s first reaction is to get upset at the builder! While this is perfectly understandable, it isn’t always the builder’s fault. There are so many things that are out of their control/power, and most people are just like you, doing the best they can given the current situation.
I have a real world example that we are working through right now on our new downtown community in Five Points, and thought it would be a great educational opportunity to inform ya’ll of what goes on “behind the scenes” in construction.
We got a call last week from the lumber yard, saying they are three weeks behind on their lumber delivery date for our urban community that they originally gave us. We originally purchased the lumber and were told it would take 2-3 weeks for it to be delivered to our community. From the time of ordering/purchasing it is going to take 6 weeks to receive our lumber!! This is definitely not ideal, and of course nobody likes to hear that their new home has been delayed.
I connected with our contact to ask what the heck is going on, and why is all this happening?! He shed some light on the whole situation that I think is very important to know!To start there is just a simple lumber/natural resource supply shortage due to things out of anyone’s control.
Louisiana was recently hit with a Hurricane that greatly impacted the state. They are recovering from that natural disaster and trying to get back on their feet and go back to “normal” again. California, has been consumed with forest fire’s for the past 2 years and has had a dramatic reduction in lumber output. Canada, the largest supplier of lumber, just opened their borders again after being shut down for so long.
In isolation these events don’t create the issues we face today, but compounded they wreak havoc and you can see the results of them in the construction industry today.
On top of the actual natural resource issues, there is a major workforce shortage around the country. Most of these lumber mill’s don’t have enough workers to process the lumber and are struggling to get guys into work. The few that are showing up are having to work absurd hours to try and keep up with the crazy demand.
Even when the lumber is processed and ready, there is a delay on the delivery of that lumber. Most companies are short on driver’s and can’t even come close to keeping up with the delivery demand by builder’s nationwide.
We are definitely in unprecedented times and it doesn’t look like things will be “normal” for some time. We are doing the best we can to have great communication with the family’s we serve,and be creative with our process to see what we can do to stick to the construction schedule as much as possible!
If you have any questions about building here in urban downtown San Antonio, want to know more about our process, or just have questions about building anywhere in town give us a call! We would love to serve you and guide you along your journey!
