Two weeks after a deadly deer storm tore Ottawa apart, Esaid Bensudan is still clearing trees and branches that fell on his bungalow in the Grenfell Glen district.
The May 21 violent storm “damaged half the house,” Bensudan told the CBC as he stood in front of his home, surrounded by fallen debris.
The house has suffered structural damage and will need repairs to the roof, ceilings and drywall, Bensudan said.
This could take months as the home repair industry copes with the sudden surge in demand, combined with existing supply chain delays, rising material costs and severe labor shortage.
“It could take a whole summer,” Bensudan said.
Hundreds of calls
The week after the storm, the phone rang without the hook in the Roof Master.
“There were about 400 phone calls and about 200 online requests,” said William Hrynevich, an appraiser with the Ottawa Roofing Company.
William Hrinevich says the phone rings without the hook in the Roof Master. (Georges-Etienne Nadon-Tessie / CBC)
Hrinevic said labor shortages began at the start of the pandemic. Add a shortage of supplies and bottlenecks in supply and the industry has been operating at capacity for some time, he said.
After the storm, Roof Master had to sort the calls instead of treating them first-come, first served, to help those most severely affected. That means those whose homes have suffered less severe damage will have to be patient, Hrinevic said.
“People can expect to wait longer to get the job done.”
Labor shortages continue
The storm could also exacerbate existing supply problems, said Pierre Lafontaine, president and chairman of the Canadian Roofing Entrepreneurs Association.
Pierre Lafontaine, president of the Canadian Roofing Contractors Association, says many of the problems facing the industry existed before the May 21 storm. (CBC)
Lafontaine, who is also with Raymond Roofing, said even before the storm, as screws and other fasteners were in short supply. This, combined with labor shortages, and roofing workers had to abandon some projects, he said.
“Labor shortages are a big thing. We currently have about 200 workers working for us, siding, roofing [and] small construction. We could easily take another 30, 50 employees to get things going, “he said.
Meanwhile, the phone keeps ringing.
“Other local artists told me they were [receiving] about 100 calls a day, “Lafontaine said.” So there will certainly be a big, big lag. ”
Material costs continue to rise
The industry is facing another challenge: the price of construction materials continues to rise.
“This year alone, we have already seen two announcements of a 10 per cent price,” Hrinevic said.
He said the price of metals such as aluminum and steel has almost tripled, as has the price of plywood. As a result, roofers are forced to raise their prices.
Hrinevic said the potential rise in prices was also a problem.
“It’s certainly something to watch out for,” he said. “But the answer to that is always to get more than one opinion and get more than one quote.”
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