Worried About Material Costs and Delays? Here’s What You Need to Know

If you’re thinking about remodeling or building a new home, you’re probably hearing a lot about building material prices right now. What are lumber or material prices going to do? Go up? Go down?

It depends on who you ask, and that answer can change daily. There are a lot of industry experts doing what they can to influence prices and resources. Here at Zenith, we’re doing everything we can to help homeowners through this confusing time!

If you’re questioning whether you should start the building or remodeling process now or wait until prices potentially drop, there are some simple questions you can ask yourself:

1. HOW MUCH LUMBER WILL YOUR PROJECT NEED?

If it’s a pull and replace kitchen refresh, maybe your project won’t be affected as much. Even a basement finish doesn’t require as much lumber as you might think.

2. WHAT IS YOUR BUILDER’S TIMEFRAME FOR PLANNING YOUR PROJECT?

Any good builder should be busy right now! There is plenty of remodeling and new construction work to go around. Think about how far out you are in your project process from even ordering materials. This is when you need to worry about where prices are at.

3. CAN THE HIGHER PRICES OF MATERIALS BE OFFSET WITH OTHER SAVINGS?

A huge savings right now to jump in on is low-interest rates. The added costs of lumber and other materials could be offset by the savings on your interest over, for example, your 30-year mortgage.

4. IS QUALITY OF LIFE IMPORTANT TO YOU NOW, VS WAITING? WHEN DO YOU WANT TO ENJOY YOUR RENOVATION?

Maybe you need another bathroom, or you have fully outgrown your home altogether. Is a small increase on a monthly payment going to impact your life more than waiting for the perfect space?

START PLANNING NOW

In order to truly tell how much your project will be affected, start planning now. Have your renovation planned out enough to be able to determine what type and how much of each material will be needed to attain the look and function you’re after. Only then will you know how much your renovation will be affected by the increase in prices. Until you do this, your renovation costs will be truly just a guess. This planning process, from initial consult to design, could take 4-6 weeks depending on the complexity of the project.

Here at Zenith, we’re always transparent with our pricing and we do our best to honor pricing. And we work hard to find the best materials for the best price to fit within your budget, delivering the most that we can for your budget.

If you are ready to move forward with construction in late 2021 or early 2022, get started now. The best thing you can do for your budget is plan!