By Claire Mitchell – Published: April 7th 2022. Updated: April 7th 2022. Posted to the blog.
Headline: Eye-watering price rises continue in the home improvement sector. Some trades report 75% year-on-year price increases with the cost of extensions and big projects bearing the brunt of skyrocketing costs in 2022.
Job Prices is an independent price research website that collects pricing data from tradespeople, home improvement businesses and national companies within the UK’s home improvement and home repair sectors. The price guides displayed on the company’s website are updated yearly and provide consumers with a snapshot of how much projects will cost. The primary goal of Job Prices is to help consumers avoid firms that overcharge by providing them with real pricing data from hundreds of submissions.
2021 and Into 2022
Job Prices reports that from 2021 and early 2022, the industry saw double-digit price rises in all sectors within the home improvement/repair industries.
Key points:
- Roofing projects increased by 67%
- Bricklayers charging 74% more
- Bathroom installations now cost 55% more
- Double glazing window installations cost nearly 30% extra
Not all industries are seeing skyrocketing price increases; sectors that require few building materials and are labour intensive are seeing price increases of around 10%:
- Domestic cleaning: 11% more
- Professional cleaning, inc driveways, patios, roofs, windows and commercial: 17%
- Landscape gardening excluding materials and plants: a 14% increase
Below is a snapshot of the price increases for popular projects (inc labour & materials):
| Project: | 2021-2022 Price Increase: |
|---|---|
| Replacement roof | 67% |
| New plastic gutters and roofline boards | 41% |
| Double glazing windows | 29% |
| Patio sliding door | 31% |
| CCTV cost | 18% |
| House rewires | 32% |
| Drain unblocking | 8% |
| New toilet | 28% |
| Landscape gardening | 36% |
| Garden wall | 74% |
| Roof cleaning | 17% |
| Conservatory cleaning | 11% |
| New kitchen | 43% |
| New bathroom | 55% |
| Home extension | 67% |
It’s worth noting that in late 2020 prices were already increasing due to the fallout from the pandemic; the increases above are from early 2021 to early 2022.
Raw Materials, Energy, Fuel, Labour Demand and Supply Chain Issues Lead Prices Higher
The prices of raw materials have increased significantly over the past 12 months, but supply chain issues, fuel and labour demand are also factors in the pricing surge.
Snapshot of Raw Building Materials Price Increase
Eurocell is a UK based supplier of Upvc pipes, rainwater water goods and roofline boards to trade and domestic customers.
As a snapshot, their price for a length of Upvc fascia board increased by 51% between 2021 and 2022 (according to the Internet Archive).
On November 25th 2021, they released this statement:
As we have pointed out previously, there is unlikely to be any relief from this pricing until the Americans resume supply into Europe, thereby putting supply and demand in balance which will likely cause a reduction in prices. At this time a number of European producers have further increased prices substantially with an energy surcharge, but this has not yet fed through to our supply. Whilst supply of resin to make Profiles is expensive, for the most part it is available. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the foam resin used to manufacture our Build Plastics. Whilst we have been shorted through the last month a number of our competitors have found themselves without any supply. We have worked hard to source alternative product but have only been able to do so at hugely inflated prices hence there is a differentiation in the surcharge necessary for Building Plastics. We believe that it is vital that we maintain supply, even where the cost to do so is markedly different.
Fuel Prices Stabilise After Weeks at Record Levels
Fuel prices are also applying pressure to the costs of materials and labour in the UK, and in March 2022, they stabilised at record levels after the fastest increase on record.
Diesel prices have historically been similar to that of petrol with only a few pence difference, but 2022 saw a divergence with diesel costing up to 17p per litre more.
As diesel powers almost all delivery trucks, commercial vehicles and ships in the UK, this has added extra costs to importers, suppliers and distributors.
Labour Demand and Wage Increases
As the UK exited the Covid lockdown periods, demand for labour increased dramatically with reported shortages in several sectors, including:
- Bricklayers
- Delivery drivers
- HGV drivers
As a snapshot of wage increases in the UK:
1) The Unite Union secured a 14% price increase for HGV lorry drivers at Heathrow.
2) In an attempt to retain their HGV drivers during this period of unprecedented demand, Plymouth Council increased the wages of their HGV drivers by £3000, equal to a rise of over 12%.
3) In kent, there is a shortage of bricklayers, which has led to delays in completing several housing projects.
Energy Price Increases
Prices for gas and electricity are soaring in the UK, and the FT reports that a 50% jump in energy prices is having a knock-on effect in the construction sector, with insolvencies increasing by over 20%.
Most home improvement projects have considerable embedded energy costs, with cement, steel, and aluminium requiring significant amounts during the production process.
National Insurance Rise
The recent 1.25% rise in National Insurance didn’t just affect employees as employers must also pay an extra 1.25% in the form of employer’s NI contributions.
According to the Guardian, the tax hike is set to raise £8.8billion for the exchequer coffers in the first tax year.
See How Much Extra Consumers Are Being Charged For Home Improvement Prices in the UK
The team behind Job Prices is in the process of updating their cost guides which you can find here.
This article was written by Claire Mitchell and posted to the blog.
