New Beith resident Trent Kerr is the tradie who cannot find a roof repairer.
It is a weird situation he finds himself in after major storms swept through the regions last year, causing hundreds like him to shop for a new roof.
His damages were non-critical, but his insurer insisted on a whole redo even though he is still able to live in the house.
“My insurance company offered me a cash settlement to do it myself, but when I went to book in quotes to do the work, I couldn’t find someone to come out and do it,” he said.
Mr Kerr, a licensed builder but painter by trade, is the general manager of Ardina homes. He is also the Logan Chamber of Commerce advocate for construction and trades.
The process has been long even with his contacts and expertise.
And he is still looking 6 months on.
“I just had a builder come out and give me a quote, but the whole situation sucks at the moment,” he said.
He was hardly surprised having seen the spike in demand last year’s storms and prices have gone up as a result.
“The prices of roofing are ridiculous,” he said.
“They were charging between $15 and $20 a square metre and now they’re charging up to $29 per square metre.”
Now he is playing the waiting game.
“A mate of mine who is a roofer said the best thing is to wait another six to 12 months until the repair work is starting to slightly dry up, so we can get a better price,” he said.
Matt Barrowcliff from Southern Cross Roofing said wait times have increased due to storm damage and roofers overloading themselves with work to optimise COVID grants.
“Both of those at the same time have hit the market,” he said.
