The manager at McMunn and Yates Building Supplies says with lumber prices soaring, people are looking for innovative ways to save money.

Corwin Penner says the spiking lumber prices is driven by a number of factors including incredibly strong housing markets in both Canada and the US, a number of mills operating at reduced capacity due to COVID, and a shortage of truck drivers.

Despite the rising costs, Penner says he isn’t surprised that people continue to move forward with their construction projects.

"Everyone is looking forward to getting out there and doing stuff and since they are not spending their travel dollars, they are modifying their houses, they are building that deck they wanted to do, finishing their basement, doing all of these small projects that maybe they would have allocated toward travel budgets."

Penner notes this is a phenomenon seen in other sectors as well with the sale of things like appliances and campers going gangbusters.

That said, Penner says the skyrocketing cost of building materials has pushed people to find alternatives to traditional products.

"We have done some of those projects where we have supplied the Styrofoam insulated concrete forms to people. They are using that for the walls right through to the roof. We have seen other products that are going to replace things at a reduced cost, be that shop-grade OSB or even the fiberboard which you might remember is the old buffalo board which still passes code and is significantly less money. Some people have decided to go that route for their exterior wall sheeting."

Meanwhile, Penner says their team over at McMunn and Yates has been very busy over the last few weeks getting their warehouse ready. He notes as of Monday, they opened it up as a makeshift storefront to be used until their new building is ready.

"We want to open up for the public so we can get their projects on the go for the long weekend. We couldn't be more happy to open to the public again."

Penner adds the demolition of the burnt-out building could start as early as mid-June.