Renovate or wait? | The Press

After freezing in the early days of the pandemic, theHomo DIY fell back on its nest the following month so as not to put down its round saw. Despite soaring prices and the shortage of materials, the intention to renovate is still just as strong among consumers, to which a general contractor replies: “Attach your hat! »

Isabelle Morin
The Press

In the summer of 2020, Stéphane Gonnard and Mélissa Davies sold their condo in a few days to buy a single-family home with a ground floor to renovate. At Christmas, the project got under way. Word of mouth and luck, the targeted entrepreneur was available the following May. In two weeks – the time to evaluate other quotes – its order book had filled up until mid-August.

“At the beginning of the renovations, the deadlines were well respected, but thereafter, the manager no longer had control over the situation, observes Stéphane Gonnard, without however laying charges. The availability of materials was an issue. “The delivery of the windows initially chosen stretched until 2022. Interior doors returned two months later and appliances, ordered in advance, to plan for the blow, were still unavailable after a year.

The apartment, initially rented from August 9 to September 15 for the duration of the works, was able to be occupied for another month. “Then, as it still wasn’t ready, we decided to live in the basement with our teenagers until mid-December to save costs. Under market conditions, the couple did not attempt to negotiate, he says, but rather revised their choices. “At one point, I was a bit too pushy. I was told that if I was not happy, we could stop everything. As a customer, we walk on eggshells. »

An industry on the alert

The pandemic has turned the usual cycles of the market upside down and caused an explosion in demand for materials and supplies for renovation or construction, reveals Richard Darveau, president of the Quebec Association of Hardware and Building Materials (AQMAT).

The industry has struggled since to bail out its shelves. Never seen.

A combination of factors would explain this bubbling: first, the desire to improve one’s home where one spends a lot of time, but also a greater availability to do so and a redirected leisure and vacation budget, for some, towards renovation. Add to this mix interest rates at historic lows. Incorporate other imponderables: accumulated delays on construction sites during confinement, issues of transporting goods, a reduced workforce due to COVID-19, factories paralyzed or mobilized by the manufacture of sanitary products and disasters of the order of those that have affected the timber industry in particular. Mix it all up and you get a perfect gap between supply and demand.

No one escapes this new reality, not even the giants of the industry. Several products appear to be unavailable until an indefinite date at IKEA, including kitchen supplies and mattresses, “despite extraordinary measures taken by the company, such as the purchase of its own containers and the reservation of cargo space on ships, says IKEA Canada spokeswoman Lisa Huie. Continued supply chain disruption, port congestion and unprecedented demand in the brand’s history have created an imbalance that persists.” In the circumstances, the customer is asked to be patient.

The big end of the stick

“Every day, I receive at least one e-mail or a phone call to get either a new house, an extension or a renovation,” says builder Pierre Boivin, whose construction sites for high-end homes stretch from Montérégie to Eastern Townships. “Since the pandemic, it’s been madness. Before, I had an order book of six to nine months. Now we are talking about two years. »

The costs of carrying out his projects are around $400 and more per square foot, more than double what they were 10 years ago. Client budgets, he finds, are getting bigger and bigger. “It’s going full throttle. It must be said: the pandemic has benefited the construction industry enormously. Without wanting to seem drooling, I choose my clients and my projects. »

Turnover increases, of course, but not without a juggling exercise to deal with shortages, delivery times, budgets and the lack of manpower. “I recruited a lot of employees, but I could hire 25 more tomorrow morning, assesses Pierre Boivin. And for materials, we work a lot upstream. We used to do it before just in time [juste à temps], now it’s just in case [au cas où] ! I’d rather reserve for 1 million materials than run out. » But not everyone can afford it, he agrees.

General contractor and founder of Point Carré David Tiedje drives with a team of three employees. It takes two years to book his services. “We are experiencing a major loss of control over budgets and deadlines. A project that took 8 months before now takes 14. For my family situation and to put less on my shoulders, I chose to take on fewer clients, but to be able to deliver. »

Patience, Foresight and Adaptability

In the state of the situation, “patience” is the word to remember. “Foresight” and “adaptability” follow closely.

Three out of four entrepreneurs say they need to recruit, according to the Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ). Incentive measures undertaken to replenish the pool of artisans are gradually bearing fruit, but the needs will not be appeased in the short term. You have to book your teams well in advance, advises the president of the APCHQ, Paul Cardinal. The artisans of the industry are also in the driver’s seat: closed contracts for budgets, as much as for deadlines, are not in tune with the times.

For materials and supplies, going ahead is obviously a winning strategy. Spring could further warm up demand, according to AQMAT. Also expect to be flexible along the way: while a company normally offers ten colors to choose from, they may only have four left. If we stick to our initial choices, we will have to be patient.

Material costs have risen 10% every year since the start of the pandemic, reaching 20% ​​more in 2021. before the pandemic, says Richard Darveau. Will they come back as before? I would not bet on this eventuality, ”he replies. With the increase to be expected on the side of interest rates, we also risk losing on one side what we are trying to get on the other, believes Paul Cardinal, of the APCHQ.

For those who wait for the perfect moment: no one can predict the future. “But the industry is better vaccinated to face a new reality and is adapting. Over time, we can also think that we will learn to live better with this pandemic and the idea of ​​renovating will become one activity among others, projects the president of AQMAT. The price of materials, labor issues… all of this should stabilize in the coming years. But will we want to wait until then to realize our projects? If so, a little coat of paint is sometimes useful to change the evil place while waiting. »