By Richard Wall
When the people of New Orleans return to the Superdome for the first time since Hurricane Katrina for a non-sporting event, they'll have shelter on their minds. But this time around, that's a good thing. Record attendance is expected at this year's New Orleans Home & Garden Show, which organizers hope will help kick-start the sluggish pace of rebuilding.
"The timing is right. After 18 months, people are focusing on their renovations and building new, and we're going to have a multitude of opportunities for them to see innovative products and techniques," says Jon Luther, vice president of the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans, which owns the 50-year-old show, the largest home show in the Southeast
Exhibitor booths are sold out, more than 600 of them — up from 350 in 2005. Companies are eager to get the attention of this home-show crowd like no other — a high percentage of attendees at the March 29-April 1 show will be in the market to renovate or rebuild. An estimated 40-50% of New Orleans' homes still need to be rebuilt.
Not a Wave But a Ripple
Rebuilding the city has been a one-step-forward-and-two-steps-back proposition, says Luther. But in the last three months, significant progress has occurred with many problems that have previously inhibited rebuilding:
- Louisiana Road Home program money to homeowners for rebuilding has been agonizingly slow, but is now picking up speed.
- A long-awaited citywide plan for rebuilding is nearing completion.
- The city's huge backlogs of building permits are decreasing.
- Construction labor is problematic, from lack of workers to lack of housing for them.
- Home insurance costs, often up 200 percent over pre-storm levels, prevent many from rebuilding.
- Construction costs have risen about 38 percent in the last year, particularly hurting people who settled insurance claims early and now face higher costs.
- Regulatory issues remain fuzzy, with some parishes saying they will ignore FEMA building-height requirements and some saying they will follow them.
Local builders have shifted their perspective accordingly. "Forecasters here say they're not expecting to see the big wave of construction yet, because a lot of factors are keeping many people from being ready to rebuild," says Ronnie Wirth, owner of Homes by Wirth in New Orleans. "It's going to be more of a ripple of people rebuilding, a series of ripples."
The theme is green
A strong emphasis on green building makes this show different from past H&G shows in New Orleans (no show was held in 2006). The recent adoption of IRC 2006 and the high wind-load requirements in the area are forcing stronger building and energy efficiency to some degree. HBAGNO and its members see this as a perfect opportunity to push further into green, and the show's Building Greener Showcase will help get that message across.
"With so many houses to be rebuilt here, our home builders association is taking a lead role in promoting green products and techniques," says Wirth, who is exhibiting as a green builder and says he's finding near 100 percent support for green among homeowners ready to rebuild. "We're hoping New Orleans can be rebuilt as one of the greenest cities in the country."
Unique circumstances make green a more appealing option. Wirth says that high construction costs and limited finances have already driven down new home sizes to about 2,200 square feet today from the 3,000-square-foot average before Katrina. Green techniques in rebuilds and renovations will likely come in degrees, due to cost constraints. "It'll be better if 10,000 homes adopt some aspect of green, rather than just having a few completely green homes," says Wirth.
Many new presenters at the show will offer green solutions. New roofing and insulation techniques will be on display. A concrete house is going up by the Superdome entrance, and three homes will be built inside the Dome: a steel-framed Cajun cottage, a New Orleans-styled modular home, and a structural insulated panels (SIPs) demonstration home, all new to the show.
Home Schooling
HBAGNO members will educate attendees on a variety of rebuilding issues, and many will take CEU courses themselves, including a four-hour class on new codes and one on dealing with OSHA. Builders and renovators will also school homeowners one-to-one about their rebuilding projects and concerns at the "Ask a Builder" sessions.
"We're expecting to be swamped at Ask a Builder,"says Frank Castjohn, owner of Renovate, Inc. and chairman of the HBAGNO's NAHB Remodelers. "There are so many people around here, particularly the large population of elderly, who are worried about what the contractor is going to do to them."
Unscrupulous out-of-towners, shady handymen and get-rich-quick contractors have swindled a lot of people since Katrina. "We keep working to promote professionalism with these contractors and trying to tell the consumer about what to look for," says Castjohn. "Ask a Builder is another way to do that, and these people are eager to learn."
Luther says there is unprecedented interest in the show, and the HBAGNO is maximizing the opportunity to educate homeowners. While New Orleans residents would like a whirlwind of rebuilding activity to happen all at once, builders don't see that happening.
"If we don't slow down and make sure that everything is going to work, then we're going to wind up having to come back and redo it," says Castjohn. "So let's take our time and do it right."
Freelance writer Richard Wall has written several stories on New Orleans recovery efforts for HGTVPro.com.
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