Pandemic leads to increase in home improvement

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Stuck at home in a paralyzing health crisis, people across America finally tackled long-delayed, home improvement projects that are giving a boost to the do-it-yourself and handyman segments of the U.S. economy.

In Louisville, Kentucky, the COVID-19 crisis has been a unexpected boon for Max Daugherty’s outdoor living contractor business. New decks, patio upgrades, backyard spruce-ups — the calls are pouring in.

His crew working in Louisville is booked through August, but Daugherty is still wary of what’s around the corner for deck rebuilds and other big residential projects in an economy rocked by the pandemic.

His guesses about how stay-at-home orders and restricted travel might shrink revenues were so dead wrong starting in March that he’s still inclined to play conservative now rather than expand the business.

“I prepared myself for the worst, and it was completely the opposite,” said Daugherty, owner of Max Building Designs in Charlestown, Indiana.

He’s now delivering 25 quotes a week for prospective jobs, compared with eight to 10 estimates this time last year. But “if we invest in another truck for another crew and things go bad, I’ve got an investment sitting there that’s not returning.” And he’d also face laying off workers he’d just hired on.

Such is the dilemma in the red-hot hardware, paint and home services arena around the country, as one of the world’s strangest second quarters barrels into its final month.

The pandemic has led many homeowners across the country to pounce on DIY home improvement projects during stay-at-home orders. And as a result, hardware, home improvement and farm supply stores — which the federal government deemed essential businesses — have seen a massive surge in demand for...