Saturday 11 June 2022 04:37 PM Rising prices, heavy rain and effects of Covid shutdowns leaves building ... trends now
A combination of increased prices caused by global supply chain disruptions, continual rain and lingering effects from Covid-19 shutdowns has left the Australian building industry in crisis.
The effects of the nationwide shortage of building materials and the resulting rise in prices was highlighted in a TikTok video from a Melbourne carpenter.
The clip by Robbie Wright, who runs Wrightway Carpentry, shows how some builders are changing their construction methods due to rising price of timber.
'Look at the timber crisis we've got here in Australia,' he says in the clip as he walks through a partly built home.
'Everyone's starting to join [wall] studs with gang plates.'
Wall studs are vertical pieces of wood or metal which help form internal frameworks of a building.
The studs are made up of long singular pieces of timber, but those inside the home filmed by Mr Wright were separate pieces joined by gang plates, which hold wood trusses together using steel teeth.
In his TikTok clip, he explains the technique has become common as the industry endures testing times.
Carpentry Australia said the video highlights a real problem being faced within the construction industry.
'It is hurting all involved, not least being the carpenters, builders and consumers,' a spokesperson told news.com.au.
'While the product might actually be structurally suitable in this instance...the method provides a less desirable outcome during construction, and is in fact more time-consuming and expensive to produce.'
Times are tough for builders - even for TV identity Scott Cam, with The Block host stating he feels for Aussies who will struggle to get 'small home renos' completed, with materials increased in price by between 30 and 40 per cent
The crisis has even affected Channel Nine's
