How Local Repair Companies Are Handling Increased Business Despite Lack Of Resources

Local home repair companies are planning for a long and busy winter after last week's storms.

The influx in the number of repair jobs, a short supply of material, and even staff is causing some repair jobs to take twice as long.

"Immediately Monday we started getting stuff from the Sunday event and it just kept coming," said Andy Crum, Owner of Pella Windows & Doors in Oklahoma.

Rounds of storms hit the metro throughout last week. The violent weather peppered homes with golf ball sized hail and strong winds ripped through neighborhoods.

When clouds cleared, many homes were left with blown out windows, cracks in the glass, broken frames, and damaged roofs. Since then, repair companies have worked around the clock to patch things up; but jobs that normally took a few weeks are drawn out longer.

"Now we're looking at maybe six weeks, or seven weeks, and eight weeks even," said Crum.

Windows are one repair job being hindered by supply chain backups.

"Maybe send out partial parts of the order just to try to take care of the customer the best way we can and then do another trip to finally fulfill the order," added Crum.

Jared Gray with Statewide Roofing said roof repair materials for homeowners aren't in short supply. But with so many Oklahomans in need of repairs, companies are struggling to keep up with staff.

"Our labor is just so spread out and that's just with every company so we can't put a specific date on when we can get to every single house," said Gray.

Some roofs slated to be fixed aren't even a year old.

"We've never seen a year like this where we've been pulled in so many different directions," said Gray.

Gray said for any repair job, it's a good idea to stick with a company with an Oklahoma address.

"You can always have someone from out of town come in here and do your roof, but you just want to make sure they're going to be around to back your warranty."

Gray added that homeowners should make sure whoever is hired to fix their roof, or any part of a home has a license, and to look up references and reviews for other jobs they've done in the area.