There is a shortage of building materials in Victoria – so how do you manage your Melbourne home renovation, extension or new build project?
With a nation-wide shortage of building materials impacting the construction industry in Victoria, many homeowners are now experiencing significant delays and price increases to their home renovation projects. As Victoria continues to experience border closures and restricted supplies from overseas, builders are facing an increased pressure to deliver on their projects. There are less tradies available, less supply deliveries, and an increased shortage of building materials including timber, bricks and windows.
If you’ve been thinking of starting a Melbourne home renovation, a new home build, or a home extension project – then you might be in for a bit of a bumpy ride. Whilst it’s not impossible, there’s a few things you need to be aware of that will get you prepared for your project to go as smoothly as possible.
Here are 3 top things to consider when working with Custom Home Builders in 2021…
Tip 1: Allow for Time Extensions
According to Master Builders Victoria, the wait time for key building materials has been delayed by as much as 16 weeks.
It’s important for custom home builders to manage time expectations with their clients. A lot of builders out there certainly have the best intentions to quote reasonable time frames for their builds. But right now – there’s a lot of elements out of their control that can unfortunately push standard time frames out.
As a consumer – it’s a good idea to be realistic of the current environment and create yourself a ‘buffer’ when calculating expected time frames for your home renovation, or knockdown and rebuild project. Work closely with your custom home builders to manage these expectations for yourself and your family.
At Dymond Homes and Renovations, we understand how important time frames are with your building project. Especially when it comes to your family home. Depending on the scope of your project, this can impact your financial budget and your living arrangements. We do our very best to give you a realistic time frame for your project, and keep you informed of any changing circumstances along the way.
Tip 2: Be Aware of Price Variations in your Custom Home Build
Don’t spend all your budget on your home renovation project. A lot of tradies, and a lot of builders, are quoting for jobs today based on today’s material prices. But as building materials continue to increase in demand, so too do their prices. The knock-on effect is that the homeowner has to pay the difference in premiums. And unfortunately a lot of home owners haven’t accounted for this in their budget.
With timber shortages, and predicted increases in interest rates – it’s so important right now for consumers to ‘over-budget’ for their home renovation and custom home build projects to avoid any nasty surprises.
But it’s not all doom and gloom – there is some light expected at the end of the tunnel. Housing Industry Australia chief Economist, Tim Reardon, expects timber demands and prices to level out over the next 6-12 months. Hopefully this is a sign of brighter days to come in the house building industry.
In the meantime, remain vigilant and work closely with your home builder to stay across any expected price increases throughout your project. At Dymond Homes, we are very transparent in our custom home build pricing. Your dedicated project manager is continuously working with you throughout the project to help deliver your finished home as close to the anticipated budget as possible.
Tip 3: Have Transparency with your Custom Home Builder
We can’t say this enough when it comes to working with our clients for their custom home builds – Communication is absolute key between us as their Melbourne Custom Builders, and them as the homeowner.
We want your project to be delivered on time and on budget. And with over 30 years experience in the building industry, we’ve delivered this on projects of all shapes and sizes across Melbourne. We’ve seen the downturns of the economy in the past, and have been able to manage building projects for our clients through the good times and the bad.
Unfortunately, there are many builders out there who will just tell you what you want to hear. But the end result is a frustrating build with a lot of extra surprise bills. Here at Dymond Homes, we’re as upfront as possible with our quotes. We are constantly communicating with our clients any potential moving variables, such as the current shortage of building materials. We will tell you what you need to know upfront, and what’s to be expected throughout your project.
Here’s a simple example – Say you own a Victorian house, where the property is located off a lane way, or on a narrow block of land. The tradesmen need to offload timber for your building project, but they can’t fit a trailer/truck down the lane way. As a result they need to manually carry the timber onto the property… Now 1 day’s worth of work turns into 3 – and your time and financial budget has increased. Most custom home builders won’t tell you this – but here at Dymond Homes, we do!
Using a Melbourne Custom Home Builder to Navigate Turbulent Times
Even though we are certainly experiencing a challenging period that is impacting many builders and homeowners across Victoria – we know what it takes to navigate through the turbulent times.
If you’re considering a home renovation, home extension or knockdown rebuild – then be sure to pick your custom home builder carefully. Have a chat to our friendly team today about how we can help navigate your project. We are vigilant with our selection of engineers, tradespeople and suppliers, and are completely transparent about how we can get your project delivered.