Spring rush hits tradies

It’s a Kiwi truism that early spring is the time for sprucing up the house and getting it ready for Christmas and summer guests.

The ringing cell phones and overflowing in-boxes of tradies, contractors, and handypersons-for-hire are proof of that. And this year looks to be busier than ever.

‘‘This spring, we’re on pace to top 20,000 listed jobs,’’ said Jeremy WynHarris, managing director of Builderscrack. ‘‘That’s compared to about 12,500 last year.’’

Builderscrack is an on-line service that matches up homeowners with tradies. Think of it as a dating service for home-improvement projects. Wyn-Harris says November is the peak month for consumers to post jobs that need doing, and that painting is the most frequently listed home improvement project.

‘‘Last spring, painting - both interior and exterior - topped the list,’’ he said. ‘‘That was followed by floor and wall tiling, bathroom renovations, decking jobs and extensions.’’

Bruce Lindsay, co-founder of NoCowboys, says the 20,000-plus registered tradespeople on his site are feeling the rush, too. ’’ We noticed a bigger slowdown over autumn and winter, compared to this time last year; but now is when we get really busy.’’

Lindsay says he’s seeing more kitchen and bathroom renovations. ‘‘People are either fixing their place up to sell, or they’re planning to stay put and upgrading those rooms for themselves.’’

Whatever the size or scope of your project, it’s advisable to make the call sooner rather than later. ‘‘In time for Christmas and summer holidays is always the deadline,’’ says Lindsay.

Wyn-Harris agrees: ‘‘November is always our busiest month. Last year we had four thousand new jobs listed in that month alone.’’

Both men say that homeowners often underestimate the time that these home improvement jobs will take, and how busy tradies are in those two months running up to Christmas. The time to book, they say, is now.