Broken Supply Chain - To Panic or not to Panic!

Anyone who has ever done building work knows that it never goes entirely smoothly. There are always unexpected problems to deal with. It's all a question of degree - real schedule & heart stopping surprises, down to minor inconveniences. It's all a question of how you deal with the unexpected. Are you a lateral thinker, are you positive, do you look for solutions, are you prepared to compromise?

If you aren't, don't even get started, because the stress will get to you.

My timing is dreadful. This is not a good time to be doing a big renovation & extension. The building trade is in crisis. The supply chain is broken. Materials are in short supply & have increased hugely in price. It doesn't matter what you need, there are long lead times & suppliers are fraught. Getting hold of people is a nightmare, despite the fact that this is 21st century communication. I'm tired of phone menus & music, voicemail, being cut off, non response to emails, people not doing their job.

Not everyone. Some do their darndest to help you through the issues - Bless them all. But they are in the minority.

So last week was a shocker:-

• The order for the ultra modern metal cladding for my extension, which should have been confirmed at the beginning of September wasn't. So now the company can't do it until Feb / March 2022.
• The bifold doors & windows, also for the extension, which I ordered a couple of months ago & should have been ready within a few weeks, are not even on the horizon. The lead time suddenly stretched to 16 weeks - February 2022. They must have known that before now!
• The company who are supposed to be fitting my sliding sash windows this week are not answering the phone or responding to answerphone messages. The plastering can't be finished until the windows are done.
  
• I've been waiting on accurate measurements so I can design my kitchen for months.

There is progress. The foundations are being built & the extension itself should be quick to build. It just won't have any cladding, doors, or windows. The flooring I ordered is coming this week, so the bathroom can be installed. The garden & groundworks are a sea of mud & rubble, but have been cleared. The shed I have ordered is coming this week - really looking forward to that. (Just need to find someone to erect it). The company I found to strip all the internal doors is collecting them this week. I really want to re-use them. They are original & solid wood, but are thick, sticky, smoke grimed paint.

Literally every single thing from the floor up to the loft, in both the renovation & the extension involves choices & costings. The only way to deal with it all is to be organised & ahead of the curve. I'm trying to plan the kitchen - need to get to grips with the sorftware. Ditto wardrobe planning software. I have a notebook & pen beside my bed so I can write down the things that spring into my brain in the middle of the night. How obsessive is that!

But - and it's a big but. This is only a house. It isn't COP 26. I don't live in a war or famine zone. There are more important things than my home.