BUILDERS’ SUPPLIES SHORT

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 February 1940, Page 2

BUILDERS’ SUPPLIES SHORT

REQUIRED IN BRITAIN. , /The shortage of various type's of builders’ hard\yare, is . rapidly becoming acute, according to prominent fjVellington importers. Almost all Grinds of iron and copper goods were said tb'be-idifficillt : 'tb"'6bfain. It was emphasised that the difficulty qf obtaining supplies- Ijy. no means Wholly'caused by'restrictions in New Zealand.;, Indeed,.,in <maiiy' eases as much difficulty was experienced in obtaining a licence to export the articles .or' 'materials from England as in ; obtaining a licence to import into New. Zealand.

,; .Shortage of roofing iron and similar materials, for instance,'was caused- at (Present by the heavy demand--in-Eng-land for these materials in the- con-s-truction of A.R.P. shelters and bombproof places of refuge. Other materials were being'diverted to. the manufacture of armaments. Copper and copper wares; for instance, .were practically unobtainable, as all supplies in England were required for war purposes. | Roofing iron, nails and screws, household metal fittings and galvaniseddron pipes were stated to be particularly scarce. One merchant exhibited a thick file of letters, answering orders with the phrase that “supplies were unprocurable.” It was stated that such a ■;shortage of vital materials had a tendency to nullify the value of 'ample supplies of other materials. It was-’nd good- having large stocks of wall-board, when itj was almost impossible to get the •nails with which to fix it-to the walls. It was no good having baths, basins j

ana sanitary appliances ot local manu facturey -if-there were -difficulty in installing them for lack of plumbing. It was no good being able .to build a house, being able.to roof it and complete it. It this "shortage lasted, it would be necessary to extend New Zealand’s manufacini®SLiCt/lirovide ; substitutes', utilising such materials as would continue to be available. Otherwise the buildlng’ti'ade'would BeTfbugEreventually to a standstill. There was no doubt that, in any shortage 3f materials would •be reflected' in a modification of house types—for instance, there wap r likely to be &•!)*£ mcrease in the popularity of tile roofs, ind it was highly-p.r.obable that if the might lead to a ■evival of such old-fashioned, roofing ®chniques as. even and ihatching, to conserve materials and mable.thp manufacturing industries to 3oncenjyate«on -more -essential :prolucts. And the same tendency, would io observed in many other "branches >f the building trade, ' / * ,