The construction industry is running out of materials - from plumbers to carpenters.
Many companies cannot plan delivery times or costs in a fixed manner and prices explode.
For everyone who is currently realizing their dream of owning their own home, this means pure stress.
Fürstenfeldbruck
- Markus Gross and his husband Fabian Gerum fulfill a dream: their own home, designed according to their own ideas.
You have a big project in mind.
A single-family house in Landsberied is being renovated and a new wing is being added.
The costs run into the high six-figure sum - at least that was the plan once.
The entire old building was gutted in a year and a half.
Everything went smoothly.
But when the new building was started in the spring - made entirely of wood in stand construction - the carpenter sounded the alarm.
"He warned us that solid structural timber was becoming increasingly scarce and that prices had risen by 60 percent in the last three months," reports Gross.
You have to order supplies quickly.
They did.
Nevertheless, Gross expects an increase in costs of tens of thousands of euros.
So back to the bank, top up the loan again.
“At some point you stop calculating,” says the 41-year-old.
"We are now hoarding everything that is possible, everywhere."
Unpredictable situation
It is an absolutely unpredictable situation on the construction site at the moment.
"I can't remember that it was ever this bad," says Thomas Vilgertshofer, head master of the Bruck building guild.
The craft came through the pandemic well.
And now this: Everyone in the industry is affected, not just the new building.
If the installer has no insulation for the heating pipes, he cannot continue.
There is a particularly serious shortage of Styrofoam and Styrodur (insulating material).
“Recently, people came to my company and asked if they could buy something because there was nothing left on the market.” Holz has an amazing lead time of several weeks.
In the case of structural steel, the price rose by 60 euros per ton from one day to the next.
How should the companies plan or write offers?
“It is also absolutely incalculable for the client.
If you write an offer for the fall, it is possible that prices will rise by 20 percent by then. "
One who is just as fully affected is the Olching-based building contractor Michael Minor.
"In some cases, delivery times are no longer given." There was no longer any question of a calculation.
“In the past, prices were negotiated once a year, now on a monthly basis.” Those who set fixed prices for construction projects are left with the increased costs.
Limited storage space
Hoarding material is difficult for various reasons: For example, storage options are limited.
Minor has been looking for more space for a long time.
However: “You have to fence and guard them at the moment.
Otherwise it goes faster than you can count to three. "
How did the serious deficiency come about?
According to the contractor Vilgertshofer, wood and steel go to America and China.
But the lack of Styrofoam or Styrodur?
“That is very strange.
Also that everyone in the industry really attracts with the price. "
The construction companies in the district obtain their materials, for example, from Baywa or from the Baustoff-Zentrum Olching (BZO).
Some shelves there are now empty.
BZO boss Christian Huber confirms: The situation is threatening the very existence of the companies.
It is particularly dramatic with Styrodur, an indispensable insulation material.
“If that doesn't exist, the construction site will come to a standstill.
Then nothing works. "
Huber has already heard of companies that send employees on short-time work.
The BZO boss also blames the corona crisis and the associated staff shortages.
But that is pure speculation.
At the banks
One thing is certain: the building materials crisis is already reaching the banks.
According to Tagblatt information, more and more builders have to readjust their loans.
The problem: a lot of people tend to be overbearing anyway.
In this situation, and with the immense land prices, this can lead to a financial catastrophe.
But that does not apply to the couple from Landsberied.
It has one major advantage: the builder Markus Gross is a specialist.
He is one of the owners of the Bruck construction elements company Bachhäubl OHG.
“I am well networked with local handicraft businesses.” It pays off that all trades are from the region and can thus coordinate at least at short notice.
The journeys are short.
Another plus point: Gross and his husband already live in their own home.
This gives you more flexibility when it comes to moving dates - should more nasty surprises follow.
