Drywall Cost Increases Coming

Hopefully you have your project plans finalized and are ready to go.  Whether you are finishing your basement or building a custom home, your drywall cost is about to go up.  Manufacturers have announced that drywall board is going up thirty percent around New Years.  So how does that affect your project and what can you do about it?

Drywall Cost Per Project Type

It doesn’t mean a whole lot to most people when you tell them their drywall cost will be going up thirty percent.  Their first question is…”how does that translate into dollars for my project?”  Here are the some average dollar amounts these drywall cost increases will add to your budget per project type…

New Home = $1500-$2500

Basement Finish = $175-$250 (depending on the basement wall height and ceiling finish)

Garage = $175-$200

Your Options

If you have a project coming up, you have a couple options for dealing with this drywall cost increase.  First, you can go ahead and sign a contract at today’s prices.  These price locks typically require you to take the material within a certain period of time.  If you aren’t sure you will be ready, this may not work for you.  The last thing you want is a whole house worth of drywall coming with no place to store it.

Another option would be to talk to your drywall subcontractor and see if they would be willing to stock it for you for a fee.  Sometimes this doesn’t make sense because of the extra handling of the material as it will need to be shipped to the subcontractor to be stored and then loaded on a truck a second time to come out to your new home site when you are ready for it.  The other issue is that some drywall hanging and finishing companies don’t have the capability to move these heavy loads.  Most drywall supply companies have special boom trucks to get the board up to second floor windows to stock the home.  Mind you, these aren’t pickup trucks that bring the drywall board out to the site.  They are extra heavy duty trucks to carry the enormous weight that comes with a whole house of drywall.

If you’re finishing your basement, go ahead and stock the material down into the space.  Be sure to stack it in the center of the room so workers can still function without moving it.  By ordering early, you will keep the drywall cost increase from affecting your budget.  With an addition two hundred bucks, you can add a wine fridge or a foosball table.

Why are Prices Going Up?

There are a bunch of reasons drywall prices can rise.  As with most commodities, increased demand or decreased supply can have an affect on drywall board prices.  In this case, neither of these appears to be true.  Manufacturers have seen a decrease in demand of 50 percent since the height of the building boom.  So, why are they raising prices?  The short answer is…because they can.  The big dogs have looked at their financials trying to figure out a way to become profitable again.  And the answer was…they can’t make it on volume, so the are raising pricing to improve margins.

Half of the battle in material cost increases is knowing they are coming.  You don’t want to set up your construction loan and then find out prices have skyrocketed for the building materials.  Plan for your drywall cost increases and you will have the money to finish your dream home with no hiccups.

Are you thinking about building your mancave this winter?  Check out these video resources on How to Finish Your Basement.  Or maybe you are planning your dream home…check out all of our free articles and videos here on How to Build Your Own Home.

Be sure to stop by our ESTORE as we have a sale going on for a limited time on The Complete Armchair Builder Product Package.  The products in this package will help you save both time and money on your building projects.

Michael Luckado has built, remodeled and repaired thousands of homes across the U.S.  He co-founded ArmchairBuilder.com to help you save money and hassles on your building projects.

 

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