The burgeoning cost of lumber has made it so coveted that homebuilders are having to take special measures to protect it.
Garth Babcock, a construction manager with Edmonton-based Akash Homes, told CBC News his firm has lost about $100,000 to theft. The perpetrators use the sites’ own equipment to load wood onto their trailers.
“They’re hot-wiring zoom booms on sites, taking product from maybe two or three builders in the same neighbourhood,” said Babcock. Akash Homes has responded with tighter security precautions, installing security cameras and spray painting materials with distinctive markings in case they turn up at other sites or for sale online.
