Chris Munro from Munro Designed Homes on one if his building sites in Coorparoo. Picture: Josh Woning
Award-winning builder Chris Munro has called for patience and understanding in the wake of the three-day rain bomb that has displaced thousands of Brisbane residents and is set to throw project delivery times into disarray.
Before the deluge floods, delivery times had already blown out from six months to nine months, but that’s all about to drastically change, the director of Munro Designed Homes said.
Once insurance companies start putting out tenders to repair thousands of flood-affected homes and buildings, the impact will be felt throughout the building industry and current or projects in the pipeline will be impacted, he said.
Award-winning builder Chris Munro has called for all clients, not just Munro Designed Homes customers, to be understanding of the implications of the flood on current and in-the-pipeline projects. Picture: Josh Woning
“Before Covid, we were delivering homes within six months and during Covid, but before the weekend’s floods it, was on average, eight to nine months,” Mr Munro said.
“We are going to struggle to get carpenters, painters, plasterers and electricians which there was already a shortage of and they are very important. You can’t finish jobs without them.
“So, our delivery times will be affected, but by how much is unknown and everyone who has a project, not just with me but every builder, needs to be understanding of the situation we are all facing.”
Before the weekend’s deluge, Mr Munro, whose company won the Master Builders Qld award for individual homes category in 2018, was working in reverse to deliver a house because of a shortage of materials and labour.
Painters are expected to be in huge demand following the floods, says Munro Designed Homes director Chris Munro. Picture: Stock image
Instead of ordering the concrete slab for the foundation, he would first need to organise the roofing frames and roofers because both were hardest to source.
“We are having to work backwards and we book the roof before the frame and then the slab,” he said.
“Now with the floods, you may not even be able to book concrete three months ahead, so there is going to be a knock-on effect.”
Mr Munro says he is upfront about delivery times with his customers and it almost cost him a client, but he would rather tell the truth than offer empty promises.
“I almost lost a client by being honest by saying it was going to be nine months and they went to a project builder who said it was six months but they came back to me,” he said.
“I’d rather lose a job being honest than lie about a time, everything is just taking longer.”
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