Why the cost increase?


I went to buy materials for a speaker project. I also priced some T-111 siding on 8" centers, 5/8 thick, Ship lap.
I hadn’t picked up any sheets or anything in over 18 months.

48" x 96 x 5/8 wood siding was 19-26.00 and on sale 15-20.00 per sheet, NOW 74-84.00 per sheet.

MDF 3/4" 48 x 96" if you can find it. 45-55.00 per sheet it was 22.00 to 27.00 per sheet.

2x4x8 DF stud grade 1.99-3.00 per. Now 4-6.00 per stud,

There is no shortage but there sure is a LOT of price gouging. NOTHING changed. Just the price..

The quality is worse. The workers aren’t paid worth a crap...Why the increase?

I’m getting ready to finish my home out. WOW.. I might have to rethink this a bit..

The price all most tripled in 12-18 months.. This kind of stuff is NOT cool at ALL.

Just my opinion of course. Any projects you’re doing get put on hold or STOPED?

YES I’m very frugal. Money never came easy, and it leaves the same way..

oldhvymec
  • Hint: Expensive audio gear and tweaks are a VERY BAD INVESTMENT so just enjoy them.

If only I had stocked up on all of those garage sales Dyna ST 70s at 10 - 50 bucks a pop back in the early 80s. :-)

Frank 
How does $300/wk work out to $4,400 a month?

It can when the fed adds $600 per week to a state's current unemployment benefits.
buck goes down don't you see?
too much money spent on that crazy WHOever engineer.
My understanding of this rise in lumber pricing has very little to do with the availability of raw lumber.  During Covid shutdowns mills were forced to close.  In many cases the worker bees scattered.  Restrictions are then lifted and not only have some workers fled the area but many others don't want to go back to the mills as they are being paid to sit home.

Then there is a question of a shortage of actual mills, you would expect that with rising prices it becomes a safe bet to build a new mill.  But, that costs 10s of millions and takes a long time.  Whomever is deciding not to build new infrastructure has the reasonable expectation that it won't pay off in the end as we really are in a bubble. 

Same with chicken and pork (my fav) pricing.  Asked my butcher and he
impatiently explained that there are plenty of pigs running around and few
processing plant workers to process them.

Notice the Orwellian \8-) reference (Animal Farm) above.

I crack myself up sometimes!

Regards,
barts

They’ll be back as soon as the money dries up but I wouldn’t hire a single one of them. Prices will come down a little but will never be back to where they were. Inflation will catch up with them.
The funny thing is, we are all being screwed. Left, right. Black, White. All of us. We should all be on the same team not fighting each other. As long as the politicians keep us at each others throats they and their benefactors have total control over us. The American middle class is dying and without it so goes the United States. International corporations could care less. The funny thing is, in the end, nobody will be able to afford their crap.