LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — If you’re in the market for a new roof, you might need to dig a little deeper into your wallet.
"I think it’s just kind of like the perfect storm," said Kevin O'Connell, owner and operations director of Joyland Roofing in Elizabethtown. "There’s so many variables driving prices up and up”
Oil is one of the key things in asphalt shingles, and as we all know, the cost of that ingredient is skyrocketing.
“The first three, three and a half years I was in business, you could go out and get a bundle of shingles for $30," said Cody Helm, owner of Helm Construction Company in Providence Township. "Now you’re around $43 to $45.”
Helm calls it complete sticker shock.
“We used to have our bids be good for up to a year and now unfortunately it’s two weeks, 30 days," said Helm.
O'Connell says it’s a double-whammy having to absorb higher prices for materials and fuel costs for his own vehicles.
“We’re trying to see how efficient can we be with that?" he said. "Do we need bigger vehicles? Can we get away with less fuel-consuming vehicles, trucks? Can we be more efficient with the routes we’re taking?”
Contractors are being forced to pass some of the cost through to customers.
“We can’t just swallow all this and keep our doors open," said O'Connell.
He explains it’s a daily balancing act.
“We get huge price increases on material or gas spikes overnight, we can’t just directly charge the customer for that right away," said O'Connell. "So we try to plan how can we ease into this? How much can we take care of ourselves?”
Both men tell FOX43 the price spikes don’t seem to be having much of an impact on demand.
“That’s the crazy part about it," said Helm. "With everything going up, lumber, oil prices, you name it, it doesn’t seem like demand has gone down. I think that’s what’s saving everybody.”
O'Connell adds that many times, a roof is a necessity.
“It’s protecting your investment, one of your largest investments, if not your largest, your home, so whether that’s a repair or the roof is at the end of its life and it’s a replacement, it needs to be done," he said.
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