The Real Deal: Frost Line Likely to Cause
LATHAM - Home construction season will get off to a slow start as builders and contractors try to deal with the brutal winter we've had. In some local communities the ground is frozen more than 3.5 feet deep which means digging basements, foundations, putting in porches and decks is going to be slow-going.
Most local home builders have been working through the winter but it hasn't been easy, "it's been tough, it slows things down, it's tough on the equipment, it's tough on the guys, it adds cost to the house for temporary heat and additives you have to put into the concrete," says Adam Leonardo, Vice President of Rosewood Home Builders. For homeowners who are currently in the middle of a build, "it could be a little bit longer before they get into the house because you're working around the weather conditions it's a delay on the homeowner sometimes to close," Leonardo adds.
If you've been waiting for spring to start building a home or add an addition, chances are it'll be a slower start to the season, "usually, you do get a thaw, you'll have that cold spell and then you'll get a thaw...we just haven't had that The frost has just gone so deep and it's a lot of banging and pulling with the machines to get it out," says Leonardo.
Smaller contractors who don't have the equipment to get through the frost may have to delay projects until the ground softens.