Encountering a situation on the job site that you can’t get essential products is now commonplace. Previously the supply chain on these products was almost perfect. You could get anything from stock and if there was no stock they’d bring it quick so you’d rarely face a holdup. At this time, giving anyone a fixed price job and a finishing time guarantee is totally foolhardy. I certainly won’t be entertaining any deals like that. It just takes a few material delays to have all the dominoes fall, even if you have reliable labour, which is a second but equally intransigent dilemma. A recurring problem has been the specialty makers of coatings or chemicals like acrylic stucco. With no stock you can’t complete essential work and it makes a big problem at the site. With our limited warm season these delays can make for big problems. It seems like the response is always the same, issues with production at the factory in the states. This is what happens when very little is actually manufactured in Alberta.
Roofer can’t roof because he has no shingles. Stucco guy can’t stucco because he’s got no acrylic. Windows taking forever. Hard to get stones for the outside. Concrete company short on mix. Metal products having major cost increases that compound on themselves. All of this makes for a huge problem when it trickles down to the job site where we live.