What blows my mind here is that I can order custom sized, dovetailed, hard maple, milled for undermount, drawer boxes for less than the cost of the materials to make melamine drawer boxes, not including labor.?
I suspect there's several factors going on here, everything from uninformed buyers, to buyers who own a very large home who want the fancy counter tops and paver driveway, but otherwise can't afford to furnish their large home with decent quality components. Some of these homes have three kitchens (one on each level). Quantity over quality.?
That being said, let's not forget that in addition to materials cost going through the roof, that labor is ferociously expensive, if you can find it. I received a quote to remove/replace the asphalt roof shingles on my modest 2 bedroom home, the (wholesale, contractor) price was in the ballpark of what a modest bathroom gut/remodel would cost at the beginning of my career.?
All that being said, I suspect these construction labor costs will become the new normal. We (the trades) lost a lot of people in 2007-2008, and I keep hearing that the average age of many licensed trades workers are in the 50s and 60s, which jives with my experience of seeing a lot of white- and silver- hair when my plumbers and electricians are on-site. I suspect that we have a generation or so to build back the labor pool, in the mean time I expect there will be a lot of folks experiencing some serious sticker shock when they see how expensive home improvement projects have become, never mind that many folks lack the basic skills to affect lasting, durable home repairs themselves.?
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Tom Gensmer
Heritage Home Renewals, LLC
Minneapolis, MN
Tom Gensmer