There’s obviously never a good time for your home to be hit damaged in a natural catastrophe. But last week’s tornado in southern Moravia hit roughly 1,200 homes at a moment when the construction industry has become nearly dysfunctional. High demand and sporadic supply in recent months have sent prices for basic materials and labor through the proverbial roof. The situation is so serious that some project managers are refusing to sign price guarantees with investors because they have no certainty from their own suppliers.
Vít Kutnar, founder of the materials company DEK, says he’s ordered his people to focus on orders from around the Hodonin area. “Some of our employees lost their homes,” he told Hospodářské noviny. “We’ll be helping them and others. Our main role we see in ensuring that there are at least some construction materials. There’s no no roofing wood because wood has been getting sent primarily abroad.”
Radim Maštalíř of Hypoteční bank estimates that costs for work on family homes will be 20% higher than it was last year. The bigger problem, reports HN, could be the delivery times, which are now calculated in weeks and months. Roofing crews are currently booked for six to 12 months ahead. “There are few free specialists,” says guild master Ivan Dvořák. “I don’t think it’s realistic to expect that it will be possible to finish all the damaged homes by fall. A lot of people will have to do it themselves at least at the beginning.”
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