How Should Brits Tackle Boom in Home Renovations

The pandemic saw a record number of Brits applying for extensions and home improvements including door knockers, with 247, 500 consents for planning applications being granted in England last year – according to the latest official planning statistics. This boom in construction comes at a time where an increased demand on materials and a shortage of both skilled labour and HGV drivers have caused a surge in construction costs as well as long delays to projects. Research by machine learning start-up nPlan found that the median delay for projects completed before the pandemic was approximately 100 days, while pandemic-era projects have a median delay of more than 200 days.

In order to take some of the pressure off Britain’s homeowners, Fix Radio – the nation’s leading radio station for builders and tradespeople – share their top tips on how to mitigate the rising construction costs:

1. Make sure you have a large contingency budget
Although a decent contingency budget won’t help you save on the rising costs, it will help you cover any price hikes. We currently recommend a contingency budget of around 15-20% of the construction costs. Your contingency should be used not only for unforeseen structural, site issues or weather delays but to cover unforeseen price rises. If your budget will only cover the renovation itself and not stretch to a contingency, then it’s unwise to start your renovation project in the current climate.

2. Plan well and give yourself long lead times
Reputable builders can have lead times of up to one year in the current climate. Construction materials can also take several months to arrive, as well as kitchen, flooring and other interior products. It’s therefore so important to be well planned. Although a builder won’t provide a quote until you have structural plans, it’s worth getting recommendations and speaking to a few whilst your architect is drawing up the designs. That way you will have shortlisted your builders and understand their availability which you can factor into your plans. In terms of products, knowing the lead times of those that you have chosen will help ensure they are ordered in adequate time for your builder. Choosing products like kitchens, windows and flooring early on will help your builder avoid further delays. Once your builders have started they will be able to order the materials as best they can to arrive on time.

3. Be flexible
Of course there are many things that you have dreamt of that will feature in your renovated home, but right now you may have to be flexible to keep your project within budget and on time as best you can. For example, the architect may have included a glazed ceiling above your side return extension, however several roof lights might be a more affordable option when it comes to the actual build. Chat to your architect on ways to save on your renovation should the prices start to rise. Certain types of roof tiles may be taking longer to order than others, so choosing a different manufacturer may speed up the process. It might be that a particular flooring that you liked must be shipped from outside of the UK, so looking for alternatives that are more local may help reduce the lead times and cost.

4. Consider what you can delay
There may be parts of your project that you can delay until you have the budget or when the prices come back in line. This could be things such as rendering or cladding the exterior which wouldn’t impact how you live in your home day to day. Alternatively, you may want to split your project into phases to ensure it’s within budget.

5. Work together with your builder
As challenging as the current environment is for renovators, it’s also extremely hard for builders with many businesses finding it unsustainable. Builders are struggling to find skilled tradespeople and those that are available are charging higher rates. Furthermore, the impact of material delays is causing jobs to be cancelled or significantly delayed. Your builder might be able to recommend working on another project whilst they are waiting for a particular labourer or know of alternative products and suppliers that you can choose. They may be able to bulk buy some materials at the outset, therefore locking in the price. Keeping in close contact with them so that they notify you of any additional price rises too.

6. Don’t choose a builder that you are not happy with in order to progress
It’s understandable that you would like to push on with your project however don’t do it at the expense of the quality of the workmanship. You may find that less experienced tradespeople have more availability, however make sure you work with a builder who has the experience that you need, even if it means delaying your project by several months. Poor quality building work may mean you have to spend more in the future to fix mistakes.

7. Factor in additional time
Knowing from the outset that your preferred builder may not be available for one year will manage your expectations. It’s also sensible to expect delivery delays which will impact your project timescales. Being prepared for these will mean you won’t feel as frustrated when they happen and your project overruns.

Clive Holland, host of The Clive Holland Show on Fix Radio, shares his thoughts on how the labour shortage has affected the construction sector and Brits making home renovations:

“The UK construction sector is facing a huge skills deficit – experienced tradespeople left the sector in droves during the pandemic and efforts to recruit young people into the trades are failing.

“According to government figures the number young people entering apprenticeships has fallen by nearly 10% in the last year and the Construction Products Association estimated that over 220,000 workers have left the industry since the summer of 2019. The shortage of skills will make the building more expensive – last year saw 6% wage inflation!

“The construction industry is failing to address this growing problem. There needs to be a long-term strategy where construction firms and trade bodies work closely with the education sector and government agencies to achieve shared goals.”