Jackie Poole has been slowly chipping away at revamping the central Queensland home she shares with her husband and two sons.
She says since the family bought the Rockhampton house in 2015, she has moulded it into her "dream home" — almost.
"We're hoping to get the kitchen renovated, which would include extending onto the deck and knocking down a few walls," Ms Poole says.
"We're also looking at changing the roof and flooring a bit."
But she says there is nothing the family wants more than a pool.
She says it would be ideal for her four- and six-year-old sons as the hot Rockhampton summer approaches.
"It's perfect timing," she says.
"The boys have both just learnt to swim and it'll start to get hot."
The family was so excited to build one, they had the hole for the pool dug in prior renovations in 2018.
But Ms Poole says her plans have since derailed.
She says she's struggled to find a builder to complete any of her renovations until the middle of 2024.
"I was shocked," she says.
"I had spoken to a builder previously and knew that there was a bit of a wait, but I didn't think it was this long."
Worker shortages, price hikes hinder industry
Mitch McDouall runs Acute Builders in central Queensland and services an area from Monto to St Lawrence and west to Alpha.
He says he is far from short of work.
"We're fully booked for at least two years," he says.
"The other day we booked a job in with a previous client for 2024 and that's probably a four-month project, so yeah, that'll take us through to sort of 2025."
Mr McDouall says he and many other builders are working through a backlog of work.
"It seems to be a weekly occurrence now that we're saying no to jobs," he says.
"It's certainly a hard conversation to have.
"But physically we can't get through any more work than we are at the moment."
He says a lack of labour is hindering the industry's ability to meet demand.
"Tradesmen and apprentices, they're both pretty hard to come by," he says.
"It's hard too because just a couple more guys isn't really going to make a difference; you need more supervisors as well as more tradesmen."
Mr McDouall says labour shortages combined with rising costs are making it a tough market for consumers.
"There have been a lot of people that are quite shocked by the amount of price increases, myself included," he says.
"Obviously, the longer people are having to wait for us to renovate, the more the prices are increasing.
"So, we're trying to get through it quickly and efficiently, then the better it is for them money-wise."
Unique time for builders
Master Builders regional manager Dean Phillips says, although consumers are paying more, builders are actually worse off.
"The perception is that because it's dearer to build, the builders are making more money — but it's the opposite," he says.
Mr Phillips says a shortage of labour and supply chain issues are contributing to building delays across the industry.
"The material and supply chain shortages that we've seen as a result of COVID haven't gone away," he says.
"And there just hasn't been trade availability to get on top of jobs as quickly as we'd like.
"There's a skill shortage in general and a major labour shortage."
But despite the struggles, Mr Phillips says it's a unique time to be a builder in the industry.
"They're kind of in the box seat, the trades have all the leverage when it comes to negotiations," he says.
"They're finally being paid what they deserve.
"If builders can collaborate and work together a bit more, that will definitely contribute to a stronger industry."
Ms Poole says it's not an ideal situation, but they are happy to wait to have the work done well.
"It does definitely come down to everything that goes on behind the scenes that we can't really have any control over," she says.
"I have no choice but to keep dreaming for a while.
"The hole [for the pool] has kind of been filling up with water, so I suppose we could probably have a swim in it if we were desperate."
