Planning a backyard project? Be prepared to wait

Retailers on P.E.I. are reporting a big demand from people doing backyard projects, and some are saying the wait for some supplies is getting long.

Islanders appear to be looking quite literally to their own backyards for their holiday plans, with travel options shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even basic materials such as pressure-treated lumber are in short supply.

"It seems like everybody wants to build a deck or a fence, or they've put a new pool in and they need to surround the pool with a nice deck," said Mike James, owner of Spring Valley Building Centre in Kensington.

Suppliers are struggling to keep up, said James, and he's heard some lumber-treating facilities, are running 24-7. Contractors are also busy, he said. Some are booked into 2021, and it's hard to find anyone for small projects.

Statistics Canada released its retail sales support for April on Friday. While sales were down more than a quarter overall compared to April 2019, sales for building material and garden supplies were up 8.5 per cent.

At Live For Today Pools, Spas and Saunas, co-owner Virginia Weir said people are still coming in and asking about pools and hot tubs. She says people who are only booking now won't be swimming until late summer. 

"Pool orders are backed up to August and the wait for a hot tub is running into October," said Weir.

While the pandemic has created financial hardship for some, it has left others with extra money to spend.

"If they had travel plans for family vacations planned off-Island and they're not going to do it, they want to do something with the funds they've save up," said Weir.

But she is still taking orders, she said, and will catch up eventually.

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