More than two years of an Upper Cumberland building boom are continuing as best as possible through a March tornado and the current COVID-19 outbreak.
Josh Stites, President of J&S Construction, said one of his main problems is getting supplies.
“Our supply chain has been disrupted in a few places, and it’s caused supplies we normally get immediately are now taking weeks or even months to get,” Stites said. “We either have to accept that delay or we have to find a work around.”
Although some projects have been put on hold, Stites said the building trend does not seem to be slowing down.
“Our projects, with the exception of four, have been moving along,” Stites said. “We have a lot of work we do in senior living facilities, and all of those have been put on hold, as well as those inside of food manufacturing facilities and distilleries. We have continued to see a lot of churning in the market, and a lot of interest in our clients to proceed with their capital improvement projects.”
Stites said the recent boom has been good to everybody in the construction business.
“We’ve had a really good run of about 18 good months in the construction industry,” Stites said. “Probably longer than that actually, but it’s been a good time for us, just like it is for everybody that does what we do.”
Stites said builders are trying to help those affected by the local storms. He said it’s important to focus on the people struggling in a new situation.
“Our people are going through some of the same hardships that our community as a whole is going through,” Stites said. “When we start talking about rebuilding, we have to keep in mind that our team is often times going through some of those same difficulties at home that we’re helping others, our clients, at their homes.”