Why higher diesel prices may increase the cost of your next home project

If you’ve been gritting your teeth while filling up at the pump lately, you’re certainly not alone. 

The cost of fuel has skyrocketed over the past year – and that doesn’t just impact your daily commute. In addition to making groceries more expensive, and it pricier to heat your home, higher fuel costs also affect what you’ll pay for home repairs and renovations.

This is because the contractors who drive heavy-duty trucks – which typically take diesel – are paying more than ever to fuel up, and that can trickle down into what you’ll be paying them.

While all types of fuel have seen price increases, diesel – which requires special refinery processes – has been especially affected, with the average cost per litre up to $2.69 CAD, a 75% increase year over year. Unleaded gas prices have risen 40% over the same time frame.

That translates to about $145 more to fill up a 130-litre diesel tank compared to last November, when diesel was roughly $1.58 per litre (costing $349.70 for a full tank today versus $205.40).

Quartermaster chatted with a few GTA-area Pros on how rising diesel prices are impacting their costs – and what that means for homeowners.

Diesel costs are “100%” driving up operating costs for contractors

Not surprisingly, having to pay hundreds more at the pump is having a real impact on operating costs for Pros. 

Pros who need to drive to give quotes – such  as roofers – are among the hardest hit, as they need large vehicles with the capacity to carry materials like shingles, flashing, and other tools, and pull trailers loaded with debris. The nature of their work means they’re frequently travelling between multiple job sites, often over a large territory.

“It’s a lot of up-front costs with these big trucks now,” says Tyler Piercy of Piercy Bro’s Roofing & Exteriors. “Roofing in general demands a lot of fuel; towing and travelling.”

“On jobs where we’re just going to quote and price it out, we're wasting a lot of fuel on those, so when that [gas cost] goes up, our bottom line really gets hit.” 

Matthew Santos, Director and CEO of Cinema Works Ltd., which specializes in services including TV mounting, smart home setup, and camera installation, says he’s also constantly on the move – and higher diesel prices are “100%” impacting his business costs.

“It’s costing over $200 to fill a tank, easily,” he says.

Diesel is also pushing material costs higher

The impact of higher diesel prices isn’t just being felt on the road – interconnected supply chain issues have driven up prices for materials as well.

“From an installation perspective, the cost of material definitely goes up because of gas,” says Santos. “Lumber is through the roof because of the transport for lumber and availability. The factor is mainly the parts, so a lot of parts and items you buy are mainly based on logistics and transportation, so gas does impact all of that.”

Multi-trip jobs may come with a price premium

The Pros we spoke with say they’re doing their best to absorb costs where they can rather than passing them down to homeowners, but this really depends on the type of job and the distance travelled.

Santos says he tries to map out his day to concentrate jobs in one specific area to save on travel and fuel costs, but it’s not always possible, especially if a job requires multiple site visits.

“If it’s a job where we're doing a renovation for a basement or drywall patching, or something along the lines of that, that will impact the cost for sure, because you have to make multiple visits, multiple trips,” he says. “So we’ve got to be mindful of that, especially with diesel, because all of our trucks run on diesel – and diesel is insane right now.”

Same-day service can be more challenging

Santos adds that this has made him less able to take on urgent jobs, especially if the homeowner is located further away.

“So before, when I had specific jobs, I would take any and everything – I didn’t care about the territory and where it is, I would travel to it,” he says. “Nowadays, sometimes for same-day installs, I'll get clients that ask me, ‘Can you come tonight, or can you do this,’ and then they’re on the complete opposite side of town. I can't get to them.” 

Pros may offer fewer free inspections and on-site quotes

Stephen Shum from A Plus Roofers says he does his best to absorb his gas costs, because he doesn’t want it to impact his competitive roof replacement pricing. However, services like roof inspections or on-site quoting no longer come for free.

“Let's say we sign a deal and we have to go to Windsor,” he says. “But at least we’ve already made that deal, we are going to make some profit already, so we don’t mind. But when someone asks, ‘Oh, can you go there and just take a look for me, but I'm not going to pay you…’ With that kind of stuff, we're going to lose 100%. That's the difference [with higher gas prices].”

Homeowners may notice Pros asking them more questions at the quote stage, in order to give an accurate ballpark on cost without having to do a site visit. If they can’t get all the info they need, they may make the trip while charging the homeowner a diagnostic fee that includes travel, and include it in the final project cost if they’re chosen to do the work.

Pros may now stick with smaller territories

Given it’s tough to justify passing on higher costs, some Pros purposely stay local, and it can benefit homeowners cost-wise to find someone in their own neighbourhood. 

“There's a lot of handymen that can do different services in Toronto and it's down the street for them,” says Santos. 

“For somebody like me, it's harder because I have a large work truck – I don't bring a car, I have a sprinter van – so if I'm even going to do a small little service call, it's the same amount of fuel as if I were to go do a large installation downtown. And sometimes I lose that job because the customer doesn't understand that, and it's no fault of their own. In some cases, they need to change a pipe or vanity or something, and it just makes sense for them to use somebody local, regardless of how many reviews I have, or regardless of my personality.”

How homeowners can keep costs lower as diesel rises

1. Hire locally when you can: Contractors who work close to home burn less fuel, and some Pros deliberately stay in smaller territories because it’s hard to justify passing travel costs on to customers. For smaller jobs, a neighbourhood handyperson often makes more financial sense than someone driving across the city, because you may pay more for that travel.

Need to find a local Pro? Connect with the ones your neighbours already hire and trust.

2. Expect to pay for quotes and inspections, and budget for it: Some Pros who used to offer free on-site visits no longer do, since unpaid trips are a steep loss when fuel is this expensive. If you’re collecting multiple estimates, consider narrowing your list first (by reviews, referrals, or phone and photo estimates) so you’re not paying for or requesting more site visits than you need.

3. Bundle work and minimize repeat visits: Jobs that require multiple trips are the ones that can see prices rise considerably. Plan with your contractor to see if it’s possible to group tasks into fewer visits, have materials and decisions ready before work starts, and combine smaller projects into one booking where possible.

4. Be flexible on timing and understand the price bumps: Contractors are less able to take same-day or last-minute jobs, especially far from their base, so planning ahead and offering flexible scheduling can help you get a better fit.