Building boom

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jan 11, 1999

Winter usually is the slowest time for home remodelers, but self-employed La Crosse carpenter Paul Nichols is booked up for the next two months thanks to a continued strong economy and low interest rates.

"I've been in this for 22 years," Nichols said last week. "I've had one month in that time when I thought I was going to starve, when I didn't have any work."

But that was long ago. The local home remodeling industry has been strong in the past decade, Nichols said, and he's been especially busy the last two years.

"Right now if someone calls me and I ask how soon they want (a remodeling job) done, I tell them I'm booked up to the middle of March," he said. He's been booked two months ahead for the past two years. Before that, he usually was booked one month ahead.

Nichols is one of a dozen small, independent contractors who get leads from Kratt Lumber Co., a local retail lumber company that specializes in home improvements and does some types of projects with its own crews.

"Most of the contractors that work out of here are booked into spring," owner Mike Kratt said.

In La Crosse, homeowners who have made last minute decisions to remodel have had a tough time the past couple years, Kratt said. "The homeowner has had to be a little better prepared, to plan ahead, because contractors are so busy. And electricians are booked up, plumbers are booked up, heating and air-conditioning companies are booked up.

"It's boomed for about the last 10 years," Kratt said of residential remodeling in the La Crosse area, partly because of the strong economy and low interest rates. "The other thing is La Crosse is a place where people move to and stay," he said. "So people are more inclined to fix up their places."

His company's sales hate tripled in the last nine years, Kratt said.

"I think both new construction and remodeling have been really busy," said Bruce Henslin, who owns Oakwood Construction Inc. in Onalaska and is president of the La Crosse Area Builders Association.

"I'm already booked up until May or June," which is unusual, said Henslin, who builds frames for new homes and additions. "I would look to stay-busy all through 1999."

The amount of new home construction and remodeling in the La Crosse area has increased steadily in the past 15 years, Henslin said. "The way these new subdivisions are getting developed, it's incredible."

Home remodelers are likely to stay busy, even if construction of new homes slows in coming years, said Miles Wilkins, manager of home improvements for The Board Store Home Improvements in La Crosse. Remodelers are less affected by downturns in the economy, he said.

"My expectation is we'll see a positive market for the next several years," Wilkins said. "I'm an optimist at heart. When times are good, people fix up. When times aren't so good, people tend not to build (new homes) and they fix up."

His company is still able to do most of its installations five to eight weeks after the customer orders the work, Wilkins said.

The Board Store started doing home improvement work nine years ago with two employees, and now has six to seven crews of one to two people each, Wilkins said. "The bulk of the (home improvement) industry is made up of firms with maybe one to five employees or subcontractors."

Remodelers across the nation have had a difficult time finding qualified people to add to their construction payroll, Wilkins said. "I think part of it is because there's a big demand," he said. "There's the positive employment market. And it may be there are fewer people entering the trades."

Having a good work force is very important, Wilkins said.

"The biggest source of complaints (in the industry) is not typically product related," he said. "Number one would be not showing up when you promised. And number two is leaving a mess, or a lack of concern for the customer's property. The two biggest sources of compliments are the opposite of those- hey were timely and neat."

"It's very difficult to get additional qualified help," agreed Larry Taff, owner of TZ of Madison Inc. and president of the Madison, Wis., chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. The chapter has about 170 members, including some in the La Crosse area.

"I think in general everybody is very busy," said Taff, who is a general contractor. In the last six months, he said, many contractors in his chapter have been booked up at least 60 to 90 days for major remodeling projects. Before that, many were booked up for a minimum of 30 to 60 days, he said.