HOWARD, Wis. — A lot of people want to talk bathrooms with Josh Russell these days.

Just to be clear, the conversations revolve around remodeling and renovations.

What You Need To Know

  • Renovators and remodelers have been busy for the past year

  • People in the industry say they expect that trend to continue

  • There are delays in getting some products — like windows and siding — due to high demand and production delays

  • If you’re planning a remodeling or renovation project later this year, start lining up your contractors early​

“Right now I think I have eight pone calls on bathrooms in the last week,” Russell said while working on a — you guessed it — bathroom renovation in Howard near Green Bay.

Russell is owner of Builders Command in the Green Bay area. For the past year he and other remodeling and renovation specialists have been just plain busy.

The pandemic has more people working from home, learning from home and, frankly, just looking at their homes and planning changes.

“It’s been good because it keeps me going. It’s bad at the same time because I know I can’t reach everybody,” said Russell, a Rhinelander native and U.S Army Veteran who launched the business the January 2020.

The demand for this kind of work isn’t expected to let up anytime soon.

“We’re probably talking four to five months out before we even start work. And if it’s a large project, that can be the design process,” said Diane Welhouse, executive director of the Milwaukee chapter National Association of the Remodeling Industry. “Everybody right now is booked out significantly and we anticipate this to be the trend through 2021.”

Additionally, the industry is facing delays and shortages in a number of materials.

“Windows are three to four months out right now where they use to be four to six weeks,” Welhouse said. “ Siding is the one that has really dialed back on color choices. Where they may have been 15 choices available, they’re down to six just to meet demand.”

Russell has work already booked into the early summer and said the best way to make sure a project happens is to plan well in advance.

“The further in advance you know you want something done, go ahead and make the call,” he said.