If you’ve been following the news you might already know about the huge increase in materials costs. Due to COVID and a variety of factors, the cost of some materials has risen nearly 70%. This is a dramatic increase and affects the service industry including plumbing and plumbers in the lower mainland like Mr. Swirl. At a time when home renovations and commercial upgrades are in high demand, the perfect storm has brewed to increase the costs of these projects for small businesses. However, effects will be minimal for Mr. Swirl’s customers, keep reading to find out just what’s going on and what Mr. Swirl, the Friendly Plumber is doing to help you!
What exactly is going on?
Due to various reasons discussed below, material used to make plumbing products and all sorts of materials have skyrocketed. These costs mainly affect businesses as they embrace the cost but soon if not already, businesses will factor in these increases when charging customers. In plumbing, products like hot water tanks, fixtures, faucets, piping, furnaces, sheet metal and boilers have all seen this increase. Here’s the breakdown according to the U.S producer price index:
-Iron is likely to reach 150% of its original price
-Copper (Piping) and Cable has reached 135.6% of its original price
-Plumbing Fixtures have reached roughly 110% of their original price
-Steel prices have reached their double from just 6 months ago
-The Price of metal structure products increased by 15.4%
-The biggest increase of all could be lumber which has reached 173% of its original price
These prices will affect many, many service and production companies such as automotive, construction and of course plumbing.
Why?
A lot is going on in the world to affect these material costs. From the COVID pandemic to the cold snap of weather in the southern states, there are a lot of factors that drive the price of plumbing materials up.
When the USA and Canada shutdown in the beginning of the pandemic, the construction of homes and buildings halted. It took awhile to get construction projects back up and running due to the complexity of new staffing and protocols and by the time they were ready, demand was backlogged and all of a sudden people all across North America needed materials to construct again. We also had a cold snap of weather in southern states and especially in Texas. Since these states don’t have the infrastructure necessary to survive cold weather they needed a large amount of supplies to rebuild.
A trade war between China and the United States for these products has raised these prices. COVID has also caused more homes to be vacated and needing restoration or renovation increasing the demand for materials. More effects from COVID including shipping delays and staffing in production sites have all come together to brew this perfect storm.
Plumbing issue in Texas after the snowstorm.
Who is affected?
Everyone! Well, just about everyone. Raw materials are the foundation of literally any structure, business or home and when something fails and needs to be replaced or upgraded, you may be shocked at the prices.
Whether you’re hiring a contractor or buying materials to do a job yourself, you will see these effects. These increases are finding their ways to many different types and varieties of material too including sheet metal, plumbing fixtures, piping, steel, wood products, plywood, doors, windows and more.
Renovations
After spending the past year in our homes due to COVID, we’ve had the extra time to realize exactly how we want our homes to be. Since everyone has been having these realizations, the demand for renovations has also increased heavily. Homeowners that would be spending their money on a holiday, vacation or night out are instead using the cash to renovate their home. In a survey completed in Quebec, it was discovered that 2 out of every 3 homeowners wanted to complete a renovation by the end of this year! That’s a lot of renovations and renovations require plumbing!
How this affects plumbing?
As plumbers in Coquitlam, BC Mr. Swirl is doing our best to accommodate customers during this tough period (read below). Just like all pre-COVID material based services, the plumbing industry has been affected. Some products that have been especially affected are hot water tanks due to sheet metal, plumbing fixtures due to aluminum and metal prices and piping. Some other plumbing related pieces affected are furnaces, faucets and boilers. Even with this COVID-induced increase in price, Mr. Swirl is very resilient and is doing our best to accommodate you in these difficult COVID times.
When will these prices decrease?
Well, like everything these days it largely depends on the situation revolving around COVID. We all hope to be back to normal very soon, and things are looking up. It is possible that these increases might not go down for a long time or even increase more, but Mr. Swirl promises to stay on your side. We promise to be the best plumbers in the lower mainland!
What we’re doing at Mr. Swirl
At Mr. Swirl, we’re your friendly plumber, that’s why we’re letting you know now! Many plumbers, plumbing companies and construction companies are not speaking up about these changes and will expect you to embrace this price increase in your bill. Many companies will not even mention the increases and hide them in your estimate, but at Mr. Swirl we are honest about our pricing. You can expect to know where every cent of your project is going with us and plus we’re doing our absolute best to embrace the price changes on our end.
Mr. Swirl plumbing operates in Coquitlam, Burnaby, Maple Ridge, Vancouver, Langley, Surrey Richmond and the whole Greater Vancouver Area and unfortunately, this is a hotspot for these COVID increased material costs. Prices on material have already gone up nearly 30% but since we saw this change coming, we have previous stock already ready to go. Because of this, we’ve been able to take in the impact of these increases very softly. Keeping our customers first has always been our priority, and with the increase in demand for renovations, you shouldn’t have to hold off.
In fact, now is actually the best time to complete a renovation with Mr. Swirl. Getting your home up to snuff now before we are all back to our busy schedules is the perfect timing. Our pricing is cheaper than the other guys and we can get your home ready for summer. Book an appointment online right now or give us a ring at 6044354664 to get an upfront and honest estimate on whatever your project might be.
