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Many home builders are experiencing high demand, supply issues and increased costs, and for customers, that can result in delays in important home projects.
Larz Forsyth has owned Mohawk Valley Contracting for about four years. Not knowing how clients would feel about having contractors indoors at the time, Forsyth changed his work model when the pandemic started.
“We focused on exterior remodels, and we went back to our roots, and did a lot of masonry, a lot of hard-scape, a lot of landscape. Everything we could pretty much do outside, and we found great success in that,” Forsyth said.
Steven Coglitore, the owner of SJC Remodeling, said his business adapted and was able to continue with projects through the pandemic, but there have been, and still are, challenges with things like materials.
“You can’t close a building in if you don’t have windows, or you can’t do that if you don’t have insulation. So there are some things of that nature which are becoming kind of tricky. There’s a lot of lead time, a lot of figuring out how soon you have to get materials ordered, and in some cases, it’s four months or five months,” he said.
For a handful of reasons, in some areas, homeowners may have a tough time finding a contractor who can help with emergency repairs.
“It’s tough,” Coglitore said. “You could have a two-day job or a three-day job, and you might have to wait for material for that job for certain parts of it, it could be a month and a half.”
Coglitore said it’s important for people involved to be patient and truthful.
“Homeowners, clients and contractors, I think everyone has to be upfront and honest. I think that’s gonna be the biggest thing,” said Coglitore. “Where are the pitfalls in your specific project, right? So is something going to come from overseas? Do you have something special that needs to be here at a certain time?”
Forsyth said homeowners should talk to their insurance agency before calling a contractor for an emergency repair. He said agencies may have preferred contractors they recommend, and that could help the process.
“A lot of homeowners that I’ve ran into, they’re not contacting their insurance immediately. I think they don’t even see it as an option, but I know that when they call me, that’s the first thing that I recommend,” Forsyth said.
Coglitore said there is also a workforce issue, as many contractors are aging and retiring.
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