Inflation, Covid related shortages or profiteering?

[ossie]

As suggested Covid had a massive influence as production basically stopped world wide last year. Then we had the container crisis where containers were left all out of sync .

Now the trades are rushed off their feet playing catch up (family in the building trade), people are spending on home Improvements like no tomorrow.

The perfect storm. We've been advised to delay our new kitchen until next year as kitchen manufacturers are still struggling to cope with demand. Its not just the building trade, the car market is on its knees world wide. They never really recovered from manufacturing closing due to Covid, now there's a world shortage of microchips, second hand prices have gone through the roof.

All of these issues are not unique to the UK, so that tends to take Brexit out of the equation. Germany has the same issues.

https://www.ifo.de/en/node/63317

The EU as a whole is suffering

https://www.ft.com/content/5d6f2dee-c84 ... 2d3844f698

[merseymouth]

Hi, Then of course with many listed buildings there is the problem of the right mortar? Not that I'm up with it all, but a chum of mine actually got into how to make the ancient lime mortar, which many need to employ. Apparently it "Breathes" differently?? MM

[Oldjohnw]

Hi, Then of course with many listed buildings there is the problem of the right mortar? Not that I'm up with it all, but a chum of mine actually got into how to make the ancient lime mortar, which many need to employ. Apparently it "Breathes" differently?? MM

We used to live in a Grade 2 listed - like most houses in the centre of Berwick. A previous owner had rendered a wall with modern cement which we had to remove and then resurface to enable it to breathe and to clear the damp. It was difficult to find a builder able to do this. I think they are more available now as local authorities take an interest and regulate the materials to avoid the mistakes of the past.

[Paulatic]

Heard yesterday, not 20 miles away from me, a group of builders have been laid off. Just can’t get enough materials to keep them busy.

[Jdsk]

All of these issues are not unique to the UK, so that tends to take Brexit out of the equation. Germany has the same issues.

As above there are multiple factors, and I don't know how to determine which are causing how much of the problem.

But the observation that it's affecting other countries doesn't mean that the effects of the UK choosing to raise barriers to trade aren't contributing. The two that are mentioned most often in the trade literature are the shortage of commercial drivers and something to do with certification of timber products which I don't understand... but we have an expert...

Jonathan

[thirdcrank]

A couple of things which must affect listed buildings.

The first is de-skilling. If building methods are continually simplified to save labour costs, then there will be fewer tradespeople with the once-normal skills. Our house is some 50 years old and it was around five years old when we moved in. The windows had cement instead of mastic, and we later found that the "shelf" which should protect the windows from water running down inside the cavity wall was missing. That's not de-skilling, of course, just cutting corners but I've discussed this with qualified tradesmen. One told me about a joiner, newly working on a local Barratt's site who began preparing the wooden window frames - a process known as "lugging." When he explained to an impatient, baffled foreman what he was doing, the foreman remarked that the only lugging of window frames on that site was getting them from the delivery truck to the house, and they employed labourers to do that.

Then, local sourcing of materials is no longer routine. eg Most stone came from local quarries; I believe a lot is now imported from India. With a listed building, it presumably will need local stone if any needs replacing but the quarry will have closed. Ditto local brickworks.

[Stevek76]

It was difficult to find a builder able to do this. I think they are more available now as local authorities take an interest and regulate the materials to avoid the mistakes of the past.

It's becoming more common in/on normal unlisted Victorian (ish) houses as well as people realise the mistakes of the 'chemical DPC & hide the problem up with cement screed long enough for the damp proofing company to have 'gone bust' to render any guarantees irrelevant' mess that has been done to many.

Still daftly expensive if you don't do it yourself as the plasterers/builders willing to use it is small. Which really puzzles me as anyone with the ability to plaster gypsum can do lime as well