I feel sorry for our local self employed builders that are really struggling for supplies and cannot afford to forward bulk buy in the aftermath of Covid.
+1
It was bad enough a few weeks ago. We partially re-deployed the refund from our 40th Anniversary holiday for a new patio and a new fence. The chaps that did the work had a real struggle. One merchant rationed them to 10 bags of cement a day (just enough for them on our job). Another increased cement from £4 to £5 a bag overnight. Then they had to wait a week extra for the fence panels (having ordered them just as they started our project.
They completed the whole project and then honoured the price quoted in March. Their margins must be suffering. Needless to say, when we got the final bill (exactly the same as the quote) we paid instantly.
