Calgarians may be noticing more hammering and sawing around their neighbourhood this spring, as people turn to home renovation projects during the COVID-19 crisis.
The pandemic has left many with more time on their hands, and a lot of people are using the time to tackle jobs around the house.
Vivian Breneol was preparing for her project by shopping for supplies like sandpaper and brushes at The Cedar Shop building materials store in southeast Calgary.
A couple of aisles over, Ross Rayment was looking for the right piece of piece of lumber for a small repair job near the roof of his house, after a woodpecker left a small hole.
“I’ve got some time on my hands and it seemed like now is the time to get some of those little projects taken care of,” Rayment said. “It’s tough for me to stay in the house all day, every day.”
When people leave the house in search of materials, they often find long lineups at the big national chain building supply stores.
The Cedar Shop said it’s doing twice as much business as it did at this time last year, with about a quarter of its customers taking advantage of the store’s free delivery service, and the rest stopping in to shop.
It can be tough finding some building supplies and shoppers looking for popular items sometimes find empty shelves.
Stores are getting used to making quick adjustments during the pandemic.
For many customers, taking on a home improvement project is a big part of coping with the COVID-19 crisis.
“As long as I keep myself occupied, I’m OK,” Tom Viggars said. “It helps a lot.”