Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 34F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph..
Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 34F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph.
Wake Up Montana Billings Reporter
BILLINGS, Mont. - The price of construction materials jumped 17.5% from 2020 to 2021. That is the biggest year over year increase since 1970, according to the US Census Bureau.
MHS Construction Owner Rich Naylor said the rising cost of materials and supply chain delays have been a challenge.
"I've seen our basement remodel total cost per square foot go from $60-75/ square foot, to now, we're reaching almost $100," Naylor said. "Overall, every component for the remodel or construction process has increased in price. It's been a challenge."
"We've seen lumber packages double, triple, and even quadruple, in some cases," he added.
Naylor said OSB, a sheathing material similar to plywood, has gone up a lot in price:
"Back in 2020, I remember seeing a sheet of 7/16 OSB going for $8- $10 a sheet. Nowadays, we're talking five times that, at $50 a sheet. I've even seen and paid personally $70-$80 for a sheet of OSB in the height of that OSB market. It's been a very interesting dynamic to budget and plan."
Habitat for Humanity in Mid-Yellowstone Valley said the rising costs are affecting how many homes they can build in a year.
"We're slowing down," Construction Superintendent Tim Hayes said. "We're not building as many homes as we could in a year."
"The cost of building these homes for us has gone up so much, that we can't afford to build more than three in a year right now," he added.
Both Naylor and Hayes said the supply chain delays have been challenging as well.
Hayes said Habitat customers are picking out cabinets before he even has a city permit now, just to ensure the cabinets arrive in time:
"Before I have a city permit, we're picking out cabinets and they're ordered. If anything falls through, we've got a set of cabinets. We better build that house and somebody better like those cabinets."
Wake Up Montana Billings Reporter
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