LUCASVILLE, NS – Another rite of Spring has been delayed, thanks to the late Winter weather. Home construction is usually in full swing by now, but the industry has suffered setbacks and delays due to snow.
A huge mound of snow had to be cleared from a property in Lucasville before any construction could begin. “We had to get an excavator to come in just to get the snow,” says Gerald Mitchell, the owner of Gerald Mitchell Contracting.
“We couldn’t get lamp poles put in just because of the amount of snow in the woods.”
“As you can see from the snow bank behind me, this is what a lot of builders face when they go to building sites,” said Paul Pettipas, the CEO of the Nova Scotia Home Builders Association, standing in front of a 12-foot pile of snow.
Mitchell says after pouring the foundation for this Waterstone Run residence under construction, they called for an inspector, but it snowed. It had to be cleared and the inspector rebooked. When the first floor was laid it snowed again, before the roof was put on. All adding on time.
“To frame a home like this here it would take 40-45 hours and we’re pushing probably 60 hours – probably another third of the time extra,” said Mitchell.
With all the problems home builders have been facing over the past couple of months, Mitchell is hoping new home owners will have a little patience.
“We’re running about a month behind,” said Mitchell, “We have a couple of places we’re going to start over in Kingswood and we were anticipating to have excavations dug out by this point and people are calling us and saying when are you going to get started.”
Pettipas encourages people to stay in touch with their contractor and prepare now for when the building season gets into full swing.
“Visit some of the open houses,” said Pettipas, “Talk to the builders because now they’ve got time, go over your set of plans, make your decision because when it becomes your time to go, you’ve got your work done.”
A shorter building season is also complicated by rising costs. Mitchell says a building permit for this 800-square foot home cost 16-hundred dollars less than two years ago. It now costs 62-hundred.
His company used to build an average of 30 homes each year. He expects he’ll only get 24 done this year.
“People are going smaller. They’re asking for unfinished basements now,” said Mitchell.
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