what happens to price of building materials?

jo70mo

I am not sure if this is the right place to ask but just wondering how the recession has affected building materials.
We are just awaiting planning permission on a single storey granny flat extension which includes extension of our dining kitchen.
When we had a builder price up the plans in october just to see if they were feasible it was going to be slightly too costly to get our part of the work done but we put in plans for the full lot so we had the option of doing it in future.
We are just wondering if the price of building materials has changed either up or down since then and how they might be affected over the next 4-6 months.
We will be getting full quotes from more than one builder when the planning permission comes back.
However we may have to amend the plans and encroach on some of "our" space to build the granny flat - so extending our kitchen space would be a bit more important then.
It would be handy to have a feel of the direction things are going and have gone since last October.
Thanks for your help
Jo x

socrates

Tr y this one on the DIY board as well - always a couple of builders lurking!

mark5

Are all the materials manufactured in the Uk?, if not it might be more expensive with a weak pound!

PasturesNew

Top Tip: Save on the cost of building a granny annexe by making the granny work as a labourer for the builder. With so much spare time, grannies can work gruelling 16 hour days mixing cement and shifting materials about the site where they're needed.

Robert_Sterling_3

The price of bricks keeps building up.

piggeh

Would be interesting to know - brick manufacturer in kent have stockpiled bricks in their carpack and now finished production I believe, so they have a few spare they'd probably want to shift!

I'd imagine builders will be prepared to tender at lower cost though.

deepintrouble

I sell drainage for a living (exciting I know!). we had a price increase last autumn, but there has not been any talk of when the next one will be. I have friends in the cement industry. They had a 20% increase at the beginning of the year. Time will tell how much it sticks though. As for other materials I'm struggling a bit.

bo_drinker

Definately deals to be had on materials if the job is a good size one, as for Granny flat I doubt there would be much negotiation. They are bread and butter jobs.

zarazara

if firms go bust nd their stuff is sold t auction then there could be some bargins to be had.

novazombie

Builders are all having their work dried up just like everyone else.

The local builders merchants are not having much custom, they will lower prices or go under.

hethmar

Stainless steel costs rising all the time.