Does this seem fair or am being ripped off?

[Lorddenning1]

So we received a quote in January 2021 for work done on our house, this has been a project we have wanted to do for years. It's a front and back dorma on our bungalow and also a single story extension to the rear, we was happy with the quote, that also included bits in the house too, we are around 5/6 weeks from finishing the house, it was started in April, and our builder pulled me to one side yesterday and said as the price of wood has gone up massively he is going to need to add an extra £3000 to the build price, you could tell he felt bad about it but I also feel a bit miffed, does anyone know if the price of wood has changed since January to now to justify this increase, we have to pay it as we want tie finished but we would of also increased our mortgage if we knew it was going to cost more, now I feel like we have to skimp on things in order to get all the inside done, we even allowed some extra for the garden so the kids will have a nice area to play in and now I don't think we will have any left.

Yes prices have increased as everyone is doing work in their home and garden as they aren't going on holiday. We had to wait weeks for the timber for our decking as the suppliers were finding it hard to get hold of it.

We’ve just had our stair case redone and the guy said to us that wood had gone up in price-not sure by how much though or the time frame

www.google.com/amp/s/www.homebuilding.co.uk/amp/news/construction-materials-shortage

Ah where have you been? Building materials have gone up MASSIVELY! A combination of shortages due to pandemic shutting down manufacturing, demand, and goodness knows what but no he is right things have gone way up.

Yes wood and other materials have risen considerably for a variety of reasons including supply and shipping , think figures of 20 to 30 % iirc, builders are currently writing into contracts that costs may vary due to this as a contingency against further hikes

Yes all materials have increased in price enormously. And tbh, you should have added in some contingency to your borrowing. Big building projects frequently go over the initial budget.

Depends if you agreed a fixed price beforehand?

Been lots in the press about increases across a number of building materials including wood.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/08/cost-of-building-work-on-uk-homes-to-rise-as-price-of-materials-soars

Thank you for confirmation, the dormas upstairs are all made out of wood and there is a lot of it, roof, walls frames, floor etc so I understand but I'm just wondering did he not factor the price increase of materials into his quote in the first place or has he done this already and cashing in on the increase now and adding more to the price to chance it, I would like to think he hasn't and we trust our builders and apart from an extra steel beam we haven't had any extra cost, which I'm told is a good thing when you do a major build.

Yup - building costs have gone up hugely in the past 12 months. Pre covid they were increasing 10% year on year but post covid prices have gone crazy due to so many people being at home and getting work done. And material shortages due to factories closing.

@Clymene I know and I could kick myself for not doing this more, think I have been a bit naive going into this, this is the first time I have ever had any experience in having something major done.

@drpet49 yeah we have an agreed price, a written quote for all the work done.

I work for a company in the construction industry, materials are going up massively, there are shortages of some items as well.

Yeah prices shot up massively if the guy doesn't pass the cost on basically he's worked weeks for nothing .
Disappointing I know but i couldn't have a person working in my house and knowing I wasn't paying them for there work .

Echo what others have said. We had quotes that have increased by 50% due to cost of materials (work hasn't started yet)

I doubt he's cashing in on the increase unless he has storage to buy ALL the wood upfront and store it.

I don't think anyone in the building trade could have foreseen such massive increases in material, shortage of some things and labour issues with lots of skilled labour leaving the UK.

He should have kept you abreast of these costs through the project but I don't think it's an unreasonable increase

@rwalker I know and you could tell he felt really bad about telling me, he called me round to talk about the price and he kept stuttering a bit and it just felt really awkward, he did say he would throw in fitting a new radiator for us for free, I just think he wanted to leave the room and get back to his work, but I just wanted to check in and see what other people thought.

He may not have fully realised before now, if he has an account with timber merchant which he settles at intervals?
And yes, timber has gone up significantly - my DH has noticed just for DIY projects in last few months.

We have just put in a new fence, BIL is a joiner. Wood has easily went up 30% from last year. Not sure the rise since Jan tho.

The price of building materials has sky rocketed. My husband is a builder and he's saying that even just basic wood has doubled in price.

[quote Lorddenning1]@Clymene I know and I could kick myself for not doing this more, think I have been a bit naive going into this, this is the first time I have ever had any experience in having something major done.[/quote]
Sorry that was really unhelpful
Hopefully in years to come, you'll be so pleased with all the extra space that the £3k will pale into insignificance

The prices for most building materials have gone up massively in the past 6mths
Massive global demand, shortages due to shutdowns, shipping issues, Covid and Brexit has lead to the perfect storm hitting the construction industry globally.
Most projects are being hit with delays and price rises and it's mostly out of the builders hands. Timber is one of the worst hit materials with rises of between 50&80% over 6mths and that's if they can get it.
I'm an architect but I'm also building my own project (currently waiting for delayed timber windows) so can see it from both an industry and client perspective and believe me it sucks for everyone.

Getting new gates and the chap I used also apologised for the price. Said timber here is up 30% minimum and he’s scheduling jobs as supplies come in. Probably gone up even more if you need a prioritised delivery. He also said concrete was ridiculously short supply as been redirected to government projects so what’s left is in high demand (hits roofing tile prices etc). Having also done a big build, if he’s only gone £3k over especially in current climate then I think you’ve got a great deal, there’s usually unexpected items which crop up which is why you should have 10% contingency (ours took c5% on a £130k build but that was years ago)

@Livingintheclouds

Ah where have you been? Building materials have gone up MASSIVELY! A combination of shortages due to pandemic shutting down manufacturing, demand, and goodness knows what but no he is right things have gone way up.

This is what I came to say!

I bought some sleepers for a garden project months ago, only just got the project done and builder said sleepers are now double what I paid.

My brother is an electrician he thinks building work will massively slow down soon due to lack of materials and cost.

I work for a builders merchant. Prices have gone up massively on timber, cement, plasterboard and plaster as there are huge manufacturing and supply issues.