Anyone holding off on projects?

[dancingirl21]

We have gotten quotes for a new driveway. We currently have an asphalt driveway and are planning to change it to concrete. We live in an area where sidewalk is also our responsibility and we need a new curb poured. Quotes are coming in $12-15k. It seems like so much money for not a big driveway. We also had quotes last fall and prices since then have gone up 10-15%. The sidewalks are crumbling and need to be done pretty soon. If we are doing those, we should do the rest at the same time. We are considering holding off until the fall/next spring to see if prices come down. But if they continue to go up we will kick ourselves.

Anyone holding off on projects?

[Susie]

We need windows for the whole house, and I'm definitely twiddling my thumbs a bit on that one.

[penguingrrl]

We want to put a small addition on to make our house handicap accessible (H has an autoimmune disease that may require this in the future) but we’re waiting because prices are just too high.

[tacokick]

I know I am! We need work on a bathroom, a ceiling (just cosmetic) in the living room and some other odds and ends. The quotes are so high! We did do the roof and front steps for obvious reasons but the rest can wait.

[icedcoffee]

We just did a side yard project we had been holding off on. Otherwise we’re not doing anything. Nothing is urgent. But..it sounds like prices won’t come down and that makes me nervous because I just don’t see how we can ever do work again. 😬

[libbygrl109]

We had an estimate to get our attic sealed and insulated back in January. We were going to wait until we were done with the kitchen to do it. I’m afraid to know how much it’s going to cost now.

[ewall]

Nope, it’s full steam ahead over here. Between us and our two neighbors, I’m pretty sure we are keeping the local economy going. What’s happening this year between the 3 of us: finished basement, deck, driveway, poured patios x 2, bathroom remodel, major tree removal, gutters x 2, windows and doors.

For us, we deferred projects for too long so we are playing catch up now.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I'm not even considering doing anything that is cosmetic only right now (IE I want new counter tops in my kitchen but the ones we have are totally functional, but wouldn't actually NEED replaced probably for the life of the house. Same with I would LOVE to tear out the jacuzzi tub in our master bath that we have seriously never used, replace it with a much smaller free standing tub, and expand the shower). But these are things I'm probably going to wait at least 5 years before even seriously considering doing.

Honestly, my take on things is that the price of goods and labor are going to continue going up for at least a while and then hold before going down at all, if they do at all, so if it is something that's going to NEED done at some point in the near future, I'd go ahead and do it now if you can get someone who seems reasonable and like they will actually show up in a timely manner to get it done.
This is just from talking to people I know in the trades (though mostly about lumber). We are currently getting bids to have our roof replaced and feel your pain.

[ellipses84]

I honestly don’t think prices are going to go down a lot, unless there’s a big recession and a lack of work in the construction industry. However I’ve heard there’s a concrete shortage in my city due to lack of silica that goes in the concrete mix. If it needs a concrete truck, it may not be a huge difference between the size of your job and once twice as big, it’s full all the same steps to do it just material and labor, but they may not be able to do any other jobs in the same day. Maybe hold off a few months and/ or see if you can get a deal for scheduling it months in advance, being flexible on your dates or paying cash.

[ellipses84]

To answer your actual question, I’m only holding off on projects because I don’t have the time or money to deal with them right now, and nothing major needs to be done.

[dancingirl21]

Apr 13, 2022 10:38:37 GMT -5 ellipses84 said:

I honestly don’t think prices are going to go down a lot, unless there’s a big recession and a lack of work in the construction industry. However I’ve heard there’s a concrete shortage in my city due to lack of silica that goes in the concrete mix. If it needs a concrete truck, it may not be a huge difference between the size of your job and once twice as big, it’s full all the same steps to do it just material and labor, but they may not be able to do any other jobs in the same day. Maybe hold off a few months and/ or see if you can get a deal for scheduling it months in advance, being flexible on your dates or paying cash.

Thanks. We will pay cash. DH is a GC (works for a large national firm) so on the one hand we want construction to keep climbing. On the other, it’s hard when you need personal work done!

We’ve decided to hold for the moment. We may regret that later, but oh well.

[sandandsea]

We are full steam ahead on our landscaping. I don’t see prices falling in the next few years, inflation is rising, raw materials cost is rising, supply is still an issue, etc. we’ve saved for the project for years and have been planning for years and want to be able to actually enjoy the fruit of our labors so now makes sense. That being said, we’ve been planning this for 5 years and started the design stage 2 years ago so it seems like it’s been forever.

If we thought prices would change soon, we’d wait but I just don’t see it “correcting” in the next couple of years and think this is the new normal.

[macmars45]

Apr 13, 2022 14:47:07 GMT -5 sandandsea said:

We are full steam ahead on our landscaping. I don’t see prices falling in the next few years, inflation is rising, raw materials cost is rising, supply is still an issue, etc. we’ve saved for the project for years and have been planning for years and want to be able to actually enjoy the fruit of our labors so now makes sense. That being said, we’ve been planning this for 5 years and started the design stage 2 years ago so it seems like it’s been forever.

If we thought prices would change soon, we’d wait but I just don’t see it “correcting” in the next couple of years and think this is the new normal.

Same with housing. It's not going to crash like in 2008. Hopefully the upward climb in prices will steady out somewhat for both though.

[glw]

I currently am. Any advice on whether to keep holding out on redoing a bathroom? I don't expect that labor costs will go down, but if materials are still unusually hard to get/super expensive, I'll keep waiting.

[definitelyO]

nope - jumping in head first on kitchen remodel in a month.
I'm ahead of everything so won't have the supply chain issues (or so I keep telling myself) and am using a work bonus from 2020 to pay- as I also keep it will keep going up.

[simpsongal]

No, but I wonder if the increase in interest rates will impact our plan to use the HELOC for a future kitchen renovation
DH will probably push for more in savings first. I'm vacillating on the plan anyway....looking like it'll be a 2024 project, rather than 2023.

[deadwing]

I was holding off mostly because I did a massive project last year. The young, three-leggeddog I adopted in the fall managed to flip herself over my (admittedly terrible) fence yesterday. So now replacing the fence is a priority. I had quoted this 2 years ago and decided not to move forward. The pri e difference is going to be interesting/depressing.

[KellyEasterbrook]

Yep— we’re holding off. We bought a couple years ago and the house needs major updating but it’s liveable (though I think some people would disagree with me!). We had been hoping to replace the 1980s carpeting with a new subfloor and hardwood. However, we don’t know how long we will be here and we could sell as-is for at least $300K more than we bought. I’m not sure any updating would be worth the cost or stress. If we thought we’d be here for at least five more years, I’d go ahead and start updating.

[pugz]

We are going ahead with projects and have been since 2020. We got our driveway and front steps/porch done in 2020 and it was $8k (driveway fits 4 cars, with a very small skirt down to the road). No sidewalk but the porch/steps was like $3k of it.

[k3am]

We're holding off. We've had three contractors ghost us just in an attempt to get bids and decided that neither of us are up for the hassle of trying to be on top of contractors that are clearly incredibly busy.

[mrsukyankee]

We are, but only because of weird inheritance laws in the UK while living with a relative.