Whether it be homeowners, contractors or hardware stores, everyone is feeling the spike in the cost of lumber. The pandemic spurred home improvement projects or people buying houses, which has led to price increases for materials. For lumber, those price increases land in the ballpark of 250% according to various estimates. That then affects anything that has to deal with wood, from your do-it-yourself home improvement project to matching the high demand for housing. The National Homebuilders Association estimates the spike has added $35,872 to the price of an average single-family home in the past year. So what led to this? There are a number of factors, including tariffs, wildfires and labor demands. But one notable challenge was the demand increase came just as sawmills were temporarily closed because of the pandemic.