Two weeks after a deadly storm devastated Ottawa, Essaid Bensoudane is still clearing fallen trees and branches in his bungalow in the city’s Grenfell Glen neighborhood.
The violent May 21 storm “damaged half of the house,” Bensoudane told CBC as he was outside his home surrounded by fallen rubble.
The house suffered structural damage and will need repairs to its roof, ceilings and drywall, Bensoudane said.
This could take months as the home repair industry faces a sudden increase in demand along with existing supply chain delays, rising material costs and a severe labor shortage.
“That could last all summer,” Bensoudane said.
Hundreds of calls
The week after the storm, the phone was ringing at the Roof Master.
“There were about 400 phone calls and about 200 online requests,” said William Hrynewich, an estimator for the Ottawa Roofing Company.
William Hrynewich says the phone has been ringing at the Roof Master. (Georges-Étienne Nadon-Tessier / CBC)
Hrynewich said labor shortages began early in the pandemic. Add supply shortages and shipping bottlenecks, and the industry has long been working to capacity, he said.
Since the storm, Roof Master has had to sort the calls instead of treating them in order of arrival, to help those most affected. That means those homes that suffered less severe damage will have to be patient, Hrynewich said.
“People can expect to wait a longer period of time to get the job done.”
Labor shortages continue
The storm could also worsen existing supply problems, said Pierre Lafontaine, chairman and chairman of the board of the Canadian Roofing Contractors 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 that even before the storm elements, such as screws and other fasteners, were scarce. That, along with labor shortages, and roofs have had to discard some projects, he said.
“The shortage of labor is important. We currently have about 200 workers working for us, coatings, roofs. [and] small construction. We could easily take 30, 50 more employees to get them up and running, ”he said.
Meanwhile, the phone is still ringing.
“I’ve been told by other local contractors that they are [receiving] about 100 calls a day, “Lafontaine said.” So I’m sure there will be a significant delay. ”
Material costs continue to rise
The industry faces another challenge: the cost of building materials continues to rise.
“This year, we’ve already seen two 10 percent price notifications …,” Hrynewich said.
He said the price of metals such as aluminum and steel has almost tripled, as has the cost of plywood. As a result, roofs are forced to raise their prices.
Hrynewich said a possible price hike is also a concern.
“It’s definitely something to keep in mind,” he said. “But the answer to that is always to get more than one opinion and get more than one quote.”