Renovating Your Home? These 4 Things Are In Short SupplyAnd Could Cost You Time, Money – Forbes

If youre renovating your homeor trying to build a new oneyouve probably already rammed into a barrier in getting things done: limited supplies.

Out-of-stock items arent just limited to toilet paper and anti-bacterial wipes. From refrigerators to doors to furniture, the supply chain for home building and renovation materials is stretched thin.

Its pretty basic economics. Its supply and demand, says Sucharita Kodali, principal analyst in eBusiness and channel strategy professionals at Forrester, a market research company. If everybody wants something at the same time theres just not going to be enough supply of it.

Plus, Covid-19 has snarled supply chains, starting with how materials and items are sourced. Whats more, changes enacted at manufacturers and in warehouses to keep workers socially distanced and safe may have interrupted or changed production timelines.

Its gotten so hard to source items and materials that Steve Cunningham, incoming chair of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodelers and founder of Cunningham Contracting in Williamsburg, Virginia, says his company is planning projects further out than it used tobecause of supply chain issues.

Sometimes when a contractor says they cant start for eight weeks, its not because they dont have room to put you on the books. Its that they cant get the materials, he says.Here are four common shortages.

Want to build? You may have to wait to start. In October 2020, the NAHB found that 77% of remodelers reported a framing lumber shortage, with 25% reporting a serious shortage.

As demand for new construction boomed, lumber supply chains took blows from multiple angles. Covid-related lockdowns and closures, followed by new safety measures taken for workers, affected lumber mills. Plus, 2020s west coast wildfires sapped supply. In Oregon alone, trees worth 15 billion board feet of lumber were destroyed, according to the Oregon Forest & Industry Council. Thats enough wood to build 1 million homes.

In response to low supply, lumber prices have shot up.

Following lumber, windows are doors are the second hardest items to find, according to the NAHB. Its survey found 65% of respondents reported a shortage, with 46% reporting a serious shortage.

Part of this is demand, of course, but Kodali says its also because there just arent many window and door manufacturers in the U.S. It also doesnt make much sense for manufacturers to expand their operations to meet what could be a temporary crush of orders.

They dont want to invest in a new factory because this pandemic is going to end and at that point, theyre stuck with this huge capital expense, she says. Manufacturers are more likely to build a backlog and tell customers you get your door when you get your door.

The best manufacturers can do is ramp up capacity at existing facilities so that theyre at 100% capacity, but thats about all you can do, Kodali says. Theres only so much thats changeable.

Meanwhile, Cunningham says his company builds a lot of three-season porches, and hes seen window lead times stretch from a typical three weeks to six months or more. They were that far behind. Its affected everything.

When it comes to doors, you can either use whatever is in stock at local home stores, or try to salvage a door from someone else whos renovating and doesnt need it anymoreor look to an architectural salvage company.

Windows are harder, especially if youre ordering custom sizes. Cunningham cautions to be very open to the timeline your contractor presents because theyre trying to be realistic with how long it will take to order things in.

If youre looking at a kitchen renovation, things like ovens, refrigerators and dishwashers are hard to find. You can get a date on when theyll be shipped or the possibility of being available, but there are a lot of people vying for those appliances, Cunningham says.

Supply and demand strikes again: More Americans are staying home and using their kitchens more often, which sparks renovations. This happened simultaneously to Covid-19 supply chain disruption, especially for appliances manufactured overseas or those that have parts sourced internationally.

In June, appliances shipments were down 7% compared to the year before, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM). That number is improving: shipments rose by a fifth in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Cunningham encourages clients to be flexible and pick a few different possibilities for what could work instead of becoming fixated on just one appliance model. Some customers are so frustrated by delays that they grab whatever is in stock at their local home or department store. Then they use that appliance until what they ordered arriveswhich works in a pinch, but isnt the cheapest option.

You also can look into used opens, or scratch and dent. These are new items that may have a small blemish but still work, or were returned but are now discontinued and cant be sold at full price. American Freight (which used to be Sears Outlet) is now online. You also can find some of these items on Amazon.

Furniture also is facing the same supply-and-demand crunch as appliances because of manufacturing disruptions. Some 97% of supply chain professionals faced a supply chain disruption due to Covid-19, according to the How Now? Supply Chain Confidence Index report.

As a result, 73% have been revising their supply chain strategies. But that probably wont help you if you need a couch, chair or bookcase right now.

You have a few options. You can scout local furniture store floor models they want to sell in order to make way for new items. For used furniture, you can go the usual route of Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. There are also websites like AptDeco and Kaiyo that link sellers of brand name items to potential buyers, or Charish for mid-century modern furniture.

You also can check out your local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. Many sell used items, but others, like the Habitat for Humanity of Burlington and Mercer Counties in New Jersey, only sell never owned (usually via direct donations from furniture companies of items that are dinged, returned or otherwise have a minor flaw).

Kodali suggests looking for local artisans who may be able to make custom items, too, and wont have the same kind of backlog as a national chain. You also can find vintage furniture and have those items refinished or have new cushions made for things like used couches and chairs.

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Renovating Your Home? These 4 Things Are In Short SupplyAnd Could Cost You Time, Money - Forbes