Mild Calgary winter results in extra building time, cost savings for construction sector

Calgary's unseasonably warm weather may be taking a turn, with a forecasted cold spell heading this way — but the construction sector has made good use of the mild winter so far.

Industry experts say the warmth has made for safer working conditions, extra time to move projects along and even some significant cost savings.

Bill Black, president of the Calgary Construction Association, says the typical cold comes with challenges.

"When you start getting into this sort of –15, –20 [Celsius] and you've got some wind chill out there, it's just plain unsafe. In most cases, work will not happen on-site and in some cases, sites will be closed down until it is deemed safe," said Black.

That hasn't been the case this winter.

Calgary had its warmest December and second warmest year on record in 2023, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Black says the recent warmth has made some of those operations possible and other operations easier.

"For instance, concrete can be a lot easier applied in this weather — it's not subject to as many measures that need to be taken — as well as roofing and exterior cladding."

Plus, productivity is faster when people are working with less layers on and aren't depending on temporary heating to keep buildings and workers warm, he says.

It also means workers have had an extra couple of months to get caught up on unexpected delays, and, in some cases, get ahead of schedule.

Black says it's been especially good for hourly workers.

"They are getting hours of work that they would have likely not been able to obtain under normal winter conditions. So it's a bonus for the workers, it's more compensation for them. It helps them in their earning capacity, and it shows that this is not an industry that shuts down for the winter."

Weather comes with cost savings

Shameer Gaidhar, chair of the Calgary Inner City Builders Association and president of Millenium Plus Homes, calls it an extended construction season.

He and his staff are busy working overtime while the weather allows, and, as a result, he says some projects are ahead of schedule.

"It allows me to deliver product, allows me to get some rental units out so we can create some homes for people," said Gaidhar.

At the same time, it also comes with some big cost savings.

He says heating is a significant expense when they're building houses in the winter.

"We've been really lucky in a sense because we haven't had a huge amount of heating bills and heating costs because the weather has been very co-operative."

Being able to work through the winter saves money, too, says Gaidhar.

"It's $500 a day for every project that sits empty," he said. "We still have to pay property tax. We still have to maintain the property, we still have insurance, we still have opportunity costs, we still have interest costs — all of that."

However, he says many workers are over-exhausted from working non-stop, while they can, to get homes built.

For now, Gaidhar says, he's preparing some builds for the cold temperatures — with lows forecasted to reach –23 C early next week — and accepting that he'll be hit with some larger bills in the coming weeks.

"At least we've had more warm days so far than cold."