Building Blocks of Your Future Home May Not Stack Up

It could delay your move-in date if you are not careful.

Construction crews have laid the foundation for Susan Pepe's new home. By agreeing to her second choice in the style of brick, she laid the foundation for an on-time completion date.

"The more we picked out and said that we liked, a lot of them were temporarily discontinued. If they didn't have them on hand, they couldn't guarantee us a delivery date," said Pepe.

Pepe found out what many other home-buyers are learning. Brick manufacturers are having a hard time keeping up with the demand.

North Carolina companies, including Triangle Brick, are adding plants to expand their brick-making capacity, but builders say the supply is still not enough.

"A lot of the styles that have been produced in the past may not even be in production now just because the manufacturers are trying to focus on the more popular lines to keep some brick available," explained builder Mason Williams.

Williams says some bricks could take as long as six months to get.

"It's something you don't want to let wait until the last minute and then find you can't get but one brick or that you don't have but one choice because of time constraints," said Williams.

Pepe settled for a popular brick that only took the builder four weeks to get. That should help her family settle into their new home in time for the holidays.

Since North Carolina is the largest brick-producing state, the shortage is not affecting us as much as other places.

Many manufacturers here are limiting the amount of bricks they sell out-of-state.