shortage of manpower in the building industry

[SoWalSally]

Walton Sun editorial

A crisis in the building industry

You hear it from builders. You hear it from homeowners. It?s no April Fool?s joke.
There is a serious shortage of qualified manpower in the building industry and it?s not just a local issue.
You can see it in the help wanted pages. Row after row of help wanted ads ? carpenters, plumbers, electricians. You see it in the cost of construction, any construction. At Monday?s school board meeting five bids were received for three major projects. Normally, you would see twice as many and for a great deal less money.
These, however, are not ?normal times.?
Many in the Gulf states were still awaiting repairs from damage done in 2004 when last year?s storm season roared in with unprecedented frequency and strength. Katrina sent the cost of labor and supplies skyrocketing. As one national builder told us recently, ?It?s hard to hire people when they can go to New Orleans and make $30 an hour.?
And what do you get when the pay is $8 and $9 an hour? The hope is you get hardworking, honest men and women with limited work experience but an eagerness to learn, or hometown people that just don?t want to leave regardless of the money. The reality, however, is sometimes quite different.
Anytime there is a labor shortage regardless of the industry, it is the crooks, cheats and incompetents looking to get by on a little knowledge and a little charm that rush in to fill the void.
We don?t know what the solution to this current crisis is. All we can do is offer a word of warning.
Know who is working for you. Check out their skills, reliability and who they have working for them. Make sure the helpers on your job are more than just warm bodies. Make sure they have insurance and are bonded. Make sure they have a license.
Now more than ever, whether it is a small repair job or the construction of your new home, make sure you have the right people working on it. You may have to wait a little longer for the right people, but your patience will be rewarded with quality work and the timely completion of your project.

 

[SHELLY]

Walton Sun editorial

A crisis in the building industry

You hear it from builders. You hear it from homeowners. It?s no April Fool?s joke.
There is a serious shortage of qualified manpower in the building industry and it?s not just a local issue.
And what do you get when the pay is $8 and $9 an hour? The hope is you get hardworking, honest men and women with limited work experience but an eagerness to learn, or hometown people that just don?t want to leave regardless of the money.

 

[Dbaby]

The shortage of manpower and the high cost to build is a major issue. It is why I have waited to build on my lot in Watercolor. I think that St. Joe and other community developers need to relax the build out time until we can see things in the building and labor industry get back to a more normal level like before Ivan, Dennis, Katrina, Rita. They show no mercy. They have not given in at all on the build out. All they care about is to make sure the community is built out on their time frame. I think you will see people build the minimum just to meet their deadline.
St. Joe thinks that they have given some concessions. They offer a 6 month extension for your build out time if you give them $2,500 per month. That's extortion!

 

[dsilvar]

The thing that strikes me as being odd is that you can build a home in Texas for $100/sqft all day long. And that includes the lot. Houses are popping up all over Houston and nary a complaint about manpower or materials. Homes are being completed on time..as far as I can see.
A few hundred miles east should be relatively unscathed.
Methinks its the builders that are fleecing their clients with $200-$300/sqft prices and sell their BS by pointing to the cost of materials and the lack of manpower.
I too will wait until all the hype has settled down and builders start begging for my money. Then I will build.

 

[Pirate]

I build in Georgia and Florida. Houses on the coast cost more to build... period. Materials are more volatile than ever but I really haven't seen a huge change in the cost of labor, maybe 10%, in the last year. Materials have fluctuated to as high as +40%. Don't even get me started on insurance premiums, mine have more than doubled in 2 years.

There simply will be more labor involved in the construction of a coastal home and more material is used to build a generally stouter structure.The largest added cost of a coastal home is the manner in which they are usually built. If the $100 a foot home from Houston was built on the coast, it would never pass inspection. If it did the first tropical storm that passed would show the difference to everyone. A quality home is very difficult to build anywhere for $100 a foot minus the lot.

I also thought I might point out that I pay the workers that are cleanup crew employees more than the mentioned pay rate and so does every builder that I know. Maybe the reason the author can't find workers is because they don't exist at that pay rate. How are you going to pay someone $8 an hour and then expect them to pay 30% of that in insurance? I can see that discussion "I want you to build me a fence, I will pay you $10 an hour but first I need to see your workers comp certificate" :rofl:

If you think there will be more labor available shortly you may be disappointed to know many national companies are setting up shop in LA and MS and should take up any slack that is available. I wonder if $200 a foot might seem like a bargain when they get rolling in the Big Easy.

If you really want to see what it costs to build your home there I would recommend a cost plus situation for your construction where you can track costs directly. Then you will know it isn't the builder "fleecing you". It seems to me the most artificially inflated cost is the land and only a few people here realize it or maybe some simply refuse to accept it.

 

[SHELLY]

If you really want to see what it costs to build your home there I would recommend a cost plus situation for your construction where you can track costs directly. Then you will know it isn't the builder "fleecing you". It seems to me the most artificially inflated cost is the land and only a few people here realize it or maybe some simply refuse to accept it.

Hell...all one needs to do is go take a stroll through Home Depot! Makes me swallow hard each time I've gotta buy a 2x4.

And for those who DO have a clue...if you think plywood is expensive now...just wait till the first hurricane of the season forms in the Atlantic! The price will tick up faster than the price of gas--but that's another thread. :shock:

 

[DuneDog]

I too have often wondered about the difference in pricing as well. I personally spoke to some builders in 2005 who told me they would not touch a project unless they could make $100k on it (2000 sq ft houses). I am certain some of these residential builders (not all) were making as much as easily as possible during the boom time.

Builders will do the same as some lot owners, investors and developers and decrease their margins as necessary to remain active in the market. The worst thing for a builder is to be idle.

Building on the coast certainly adds cost ... but not that much. Tie down straps, threaded rod bracing, etc just isnt that much in relation to the overall framing costs. I know that I can get a quality house built right now for about $150/sq.ft in SoWal.

 

[dsilvar]

I know that I can get a quality house built right now for about $150/sq.ft in SoWal.

Can You share this information with me/us?

If the $100 a foot home from Houston was built on the coast, it would never pass inspection. If it did the first tropical storm that passed would show the difference to everyone. A quality home is very difficult to build anywhere for $100 a foot minus the lot.

I just had a home built in Houston. 40000sqft for $285K. Rafters were 2x6 construction, so were the outer walls. Everything was strapped to the foundation. Roof has 50 year 125mph+ comp shingles. My lot in SoWal is not gulf front but across the street on higher ground about 250 yards from the beach but with views of the gulf from the 3rd floor
I'll wager that my Houston home would do comfortably well in any SoWal tropical storm, the way its built.
However I've seen foam mold reinforced concrete construction in Destin that I'm in love with..wonder how much that would be..

 

[Miss Kitty]

Can You share this information with me/us?



I just had a home built in Houston. 40000sqft for $285K. Rafters were 2x6 construction, so were the outer walls. Everything was strapped to the foundation. Roof has 50 year 125mph+ comp shingles. My lot in SoWal is not gulf front but across the street on higher ground about 250 yards from the beach but with views of the gulf from the 3rd floor
I'll wager that my Houston home would do comfortably well in any SoWal tropical storm, the way its built.
However I've seen foam mold reinforced concrete construction in Destin that I'm in love with..wonder how much that would be..

40000 sq ft??? I hope you meant 4,000!!! Where in Houston? That is my hometown!

 

[dsilvar]

40000 sq ft??? I hope you meant 4,000!!! Where in Houston? That is my hometown!

Sorry. .just 4000sqft...and thats big enough!!
We live down in Sugarland. Shall be moving to SoWal in June.Moved to Houston in August last year. Houston is too large for us..