Contractors see an upturn in work for 2008

By JEFFREY SAULTON, jsaulton@newsandsentinel.com


PARKERSBURG —The economy may be in a downturn and lenders are tightening credit.

But some local building contractors say they’ve been busy.

They report most of their work is remodeling or small additions rather than major additions or new houses. They report many businesses are turning their efforts toward remodeling and maintenance in lieu of new construction.

Rick Rieser, owner of Professional Contractors in Parkersburg, said he has seen business for remodeling pick up since March. He said the same holds true for some of his colleagues in the business.

“Last year we were slower than we are now,” he said. “This time last year it was slow but we are off to a better start this time. I guess people are remodeling rather than building right now.”

Rieser said January and February are slow months and he did not expect to have a lot of calls then. When March came he said he began to get busy.

“We start getting calls and we’re busy through May, but the calls fall off in June and July when most people go on vacation,” he said. “By then we have a backlog of projects and that keeps us busy through the early fall.”

Ron Frye, owner of Valley Builders, said most of the work he has been called about has been remodeling rather than new construction.

“We are seeing more remodeling right now; there isn’t a lot of new construction going on right now,” he said. “Right now money is kind of shy around here; most residential customers are not going for big projects.”

Greg Wilson, owner of Island Builders, said he has not seen a downturn in business this year. He said he and his workers have been busier than this time last year.

“I’d say it may be 10 percent higher than last year,” he said. “New construction is down, but remodeling is up and the projects are about the same.”

Frye said the cost of materials has gone up on some items but others have held steady.

“Metal has gone up; there has been some increase in lumber but it’s not a big deal,” he said. “Certain things are up and some things are down; it’s pretty close to average.”

Wilson said contractors have to deal with materials and supply costs changing due to demand.

“This runs in a cycle, in the spring there is an upturn in prices and in the fall it goes down again; it’s all supply and demand.”

Wilson said supply and demand is seen in the cost of materials at the start of the season. Overall, he said, the cost of materials has increased for some items.

“I have seen copper and aluminum costing more,” he said. “Everything else is about the same as last year.”

Rieser said he has not seen prices rise for materials but he has had to deal with rising fuel costs.

“I work a lot with Simonton Windows and Norandex siding and their prices have not changed, like we’ve all seen with the cost of food,” he said. “Our biggest cost is we run two trucks and we have jobs in Charleston, Clarksburg and Parkersburg and we are paying more to get there.”

Rieser said he has spoken with others in the remodeling business and he said they seem to be the exception to the downturn seen in other businesses.

Rieser said he thinks the area is faring better since West Virginia is a little different in that generally the state does not see the extreme highs and lows in housing costs seen elsewhere.

“We don’t get into the high peaks and low valleys that much,” he said. “It’s not like Florida where you can buy a house for $100,000 and sell it later for $300,000 or $400,000. Here it’s more like buy a house for $100,000 and then sell it for $150,000. We seem to have been the first to go into a recession and now the first to start to come out.”

Most residential customers are interested in smaller projects rather than large projects like a new house or major additions.

“They are doing smaller things,” he said. “They want to shop a bid with several contractors to try to get something for the cheapest price possible.”

Frye said he has a mix of commercial and residential projects and his business has started to pick up with the first few hints of warm weather. On the commercial side, he said there has been more remodeling than new construction.

“For some it has been remodeling and maintenance, but there have been no major additions,” he said.