Material costs rising- what would you buy now to hedge inflation

[LS Tractor Owner]

It does pay to shop around.... I needed about 750 metal roofing screws. I went to TSC and they only had one box of 100 for $9.99......
So I then went to the local lumber/hardware store..... they had "bulk" bags of 250 each bag. I grabbed 3 bags and went to the register..... $168.00 +tax !! Needless to say, I left them there.

Looked up the same screws on Home Depots site... $13.99/ per 100.

Then called a metal roofing center.... $8.00 per 100. I went there the next day when I was in town going right past them.

BIG difference in price bet suppliers.

I'm glad I finished building our house 2 months before all this price gouging started!

My advice.... shop around for what you know you will need, order the materials at the best price you can find. I think lumber prices will continue to fall (at least a bit), but other materials are not in the same "commodity" type of price structure.

 

[NoTrespassing]

An article from 6/9/22

Lumber Price Crash Good for Homebuilding Stocks

Falling lumber prices are benefiting homebuilders and those with exposure to the very strong entry-level segment look particularly good.

finance.yahoo.com

Lumber Price Crash Good for Homebuilding Stocks​

From a level of around $1,500 per thousand board feet in March 2022 to about $600 today, this isn’t any ordinary decline, but can be called a crash.

 

[5030]

So lumber is cheaper but the labor to install-erect it is way up. Sort of tit for tat I'd say.

 

[jyoutz]

It does pay to shop around.... I needed about 750 metal roofing screws. I went to TSC and they only had one box of 100 for $9.99......
So I then went to the local lumber/hardware store..... they had "bulk" bags of 250 each bag. I grabbed 3 bags and went to the register..... $168.00 +tax !! Needless to say, I left them there.

Looked up the same screws on Home Depots site... $13.99/ per 100.

Then called a metal roofing center.... $8.00 per 100. I went there the next day when I was in town going right past them.

BIG difference in price bet suppliers.

I'm glad I finished building our house 2 months before all this price gouging started!

My advice.... shop around for what you know you will need, order the materials at the best price you can find. I think lumber prices will continue to fall (at least a bit), but other materials are not in the same "commodity" type of price structure.

Lumber prices are definitely down and falling. The WWPA lumber price index shows a drop in wholesale prices. It will be interesting to see if retailers will pass on these decreases.

 

[ultrarunner]

Lumber prices are definitely down and falling. The WWPA lumber price index shows a drop in wholesale prices. It will be interesting to see if retailers will pass on these decreases.

Exactly and time to shop because expensive cost of goods are often slow to be marked down.

 

[philnsherrylowe]

Be careful if you use the shipping container for storage. Be sure it is raised and force ventilated (solar fans or wind turbines, etc) other wise the humidity will corrode what you store. Also, insulate the inside roof if possible to keep condensation from dripping on what you store.

Hello:
We are in Northwest Georgia and have considered purchasing a 40' shipping container to store our push mower, weed eaters, zero turn mower and Kubota tractor. Have read a couple of articles that advises against storing any type / amount of fuel in a storage container due to the high heat during summer due to risk of explosion. (even the small amount stored in fuel tank only)
Have you had any issues with this at all?
Before we purchase just want to see if this is working out for others and what type of ventilation will keep the temps at a safe level. Shipping container by far is the cheapest storage building we have found from research.

Thank you in advance for any insights, ideas or experience.

 

[Root Cause]

I started this thread about 2 months ago. If I am remembering correctly, the cost of 12/2 and 14/3 has already jumped over 40% more since then. Lowes completely screwed up my online order and gave me a nice discount to boot so I don't have a receipt to show for it but thinking it was around .50/ft.

That isn't much though to hedge a whole house build. I am watching lumber prices. I won't sweat trying to catch it at the bottom but I will buy bulk OSB and 2x4's when I think they are close.

 

[Raul-02]

Right now, I wouldn't buy any commodity as an investment.
Probably the only safe bet is high-end fine arts.
They are recession and inflation-proof, they are proof against supply chain issues. Art outperforms the market.
There is a substantial barrier to investing though.
First, you need the money
Then you need to know the hot artists.
The latter is particularly difficult because the people who make artists hot tend to move in very rarified circles. You have to make a study of it.

 

[Diggin It]

I was paying around $20/ bag of 250 screws from a local roofing supplier, but that was over a year ago. Don't know what they are now.

As noted on the longer Lumber thread, the market price was up over $1,600, then dropped to around $400 before jumping back up over $1,300. Don't get too confident with $600

One thing that bugs me is when the exact same item, same brand, same style, same quantity varies so much in price between stores. 'Through The Roof' silicone roof sealant in 10 ounce caulking gun tubes is around $10 in many stores, closer to $7 in other stores and under $6 at that same local roofing supplier.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

What bothers me most is that the local lumberyard pushed the price of 3/4 and 1/2-inch MDO, up to three times what it was, and since I’m basically the only guy in town who buys it, I know that the roughly, half a bunk of each they have left, is what they have left from, the full bunks they got in 8-years ago.

And, I doubt they will lower the price ever.

 

[Root Cause]

Huh?

Well, it makes just as much sense to discuss buying art when the topic is house construction but I just play on a plain chess board. That 3 dimension stuff is just beyond me so I just stay out it when it comes along.

 

[Snobdds]

Right now, I wouldn't buy any commodity as an investment.
Probably the only safe bet is high-end fine arts.
They are recession and inflation-proof, they are proof against supply chain issues. Art outperforms the market.
There is a substantial barrier to investing though.
First, you need the money
Then you need to know the hot artists.
The latter is particularly difficult because the people who make artists hot tend to move in very rarified circles. You have to make a study of it.

I have been bombarded with advertisements saying this same stuff lately...

Are you a bot?

Do we need to verify you are a real human?

 

[Raul-02]

Huh?

that was in response to this:
"Have read a couple of articles that advises against storing any type / amount of fuel in a storage container due to the high heat during summer due to risk of explosion. (even the small amount stored in fuel tank only)
Have you had any issues with this at all?"

 

[Raul-02]

have been bombarded with advertisements saying this same stuff lately...

Don't buy anything they are selling. Ever~!! You need to make a serious study of yourself if you hope to invest in art.
You've never seen an advert for the Mona Lisa or a Picasso or a Katherine Levin etc...

 

[jyoutz]

that was in response to this:
"Have read a couple of articles that advises against storing any type / amount of fuel in a storage container due to the high heat during summer due to risk of explosion. (even the small amount stored in fuel tank only)
Have you had any issues with this at all?"

I don’t have a metal storage container, but have a metal barn that gets hot in the summer. No issues after 17 years.

 

[Raul-02]

No issues after 17 years.

Are you saying you never once walked in to find it was 474.8F inside? Imagine that?

 

[Fuddy1952]

Certainly fine art can be a good investment, but like everything you have to know what you're doing plus it most likely is going to be expensive to start with. Then, like anything you buy it must be insured, a risk of theft, damage, etc. Then you pay an auction fee when sold.
Getting to the "Root Cause" I was thinking (post 1) "So, I was supposed to build a house this year." he was asking the best time to buy material. If one has a good clean dry place to store it, buy what you need at a good price.
Recently I had a few projects and as example bought 27 sheets of OSB for $24/sheet. The project is done, I'm not looking back. If it goes to $10/sheet doesn't matter. I lost $378 but it's over & I'm happy.
I got lucky our horse stable completed right before Covid. If I had waited a few months the contracting company said price would be DOUBLE.

 

[bmaverick]

Are you saying you never once walked in to find it was 474.8F inside? Imagine that?

Underground storage works very well, even in the summer heat. It's the reason why fuel stations have tanks in the ground. For the farmer, an old home heating oil tank in the cellar works nicely. Most of the time these have screw on filters. Diesel storage becomes simple. Bought a bunch at $2.79 months back.