DIY shops run out of materials due to boom in home improvements
DIY shops run out of roof tiles, timber and cement due to supply shortages after pandemic sees boom in home improvements
- Major DIY chains and builders’ merchants have placed strict limits on items
- Families stuck at home have diverted lockdown savings towards improvements
- The rush to carry out work has met with supply problems, leading to shortages
DIY enthusiasts and builders are having to put projects on hold due to major shortages of basic supplies such as cement, timber and roof tiles amid a boom in pandemic home improvements.
Major DIY chains and builders’ merchants have placed strict limits on the quantity of items each customer can buy – if they are even in stock.
Many families stuck at home have diverted lockdown savings towards extensions, new office spaces and freshly landscaped gardens.
The building boom has been fuelled by the housing market, which recorded its strongest April sales for 14 years last month
But the rush to carry out work has met with supply problems that have led to frustrating shortages.
One DIY builder described how he was forced to pause work for three weeks because ‘there’s no cement anywhere’ in the South of England. B&Q, Travis Perkins and Wickes have all reported supply difficulties and are either out of stock, or have restricted how many bags of cement customers can buy.
Reports suggest the wait for roof tiles has soared from a fortnight in normal times to as long as 20 weeks now. Orders of concrete fence posts can now take 16 weeks to be filled.
The supply problems started during the lockdown, with companies struggling to catch up with demand.
The building boom has been fuelled by the housing market, which recorded its strongest April sales for 14 years last month.
Last month industry groups reported that demand for builders was rising at its fastest rate for a decade, placing incredible pressure on supplies. B&Q is restricting sales of cement products to a maximum of five bags per customer. Its website states: ‘With the ongoing demand for building materials, there are now supply restrictions across the industry on certain products.’
Travis Perkins has warned that ‘due to high demand’ orders should be limited to no more than ten bags of cement, adding that deliveries are likely to be delayed.
A standard 25kg bag of general purpose cement was out of stock online on Wickes last night.
Andy Ellis, who is completing his own house build in Horsham, West Sussex, said: ‘I haven’t been able to get hold for cement for three weeks – you won’t find it anywhere in the South. It doesn’t matter if you’re an individual or a small builder, it is nigh-on impossible to get hold of cement. The bigger housebuilders are getting allocated it, but in any outlet that supplies small builders or individuals there is nothing.’
Major DIY chains and builders’ merchants have placed strict limits on the quantity of items each customer can buy – if they are even in stock
Other materials, such as tiles, insulation and timber are also in short supply because of the pandemic and transport issues. The price of timber has gone up 80 per cent in the past six months, while copper and steel prices have jumped by 40 per cent.
The National Federation of Roofing Contractors said its members are facing the biggest squeeze in ‘living memory’, leading them to issue guidance to roofers to ‘start talking to your clients about price rises’.
Figures from the Business Department show the price of all building materials increased by close to eight per cent in March, compared with a year earlier. Industry leaders have estimated a shortage of skilled labourers, exacerbated by the pandemic and Brexit, has also led labour prices to rise by around a fifth.
Jessica Levy, of the Federation of Master Builders, said: ‘Prices are rising and there is going to be a wait.’ Rico Wojtulewicz, of the National Federation of Builders, added: ‘Labour prices and material prices are up considerably.’
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