Couple more thoughts on the island repairs:

A lot of the repair schedules will vary and will depend on what is actually being done. The big resorts and apartment complexes are more “Heavy Construction/Commercial” in nature and will take the larger construction companies to perform to work. Their workers are going to be the most skilled and most trained on the island. It would not surprise me if they don’t import companies/workers. None of these resorts are going to want to “wait in line” to be next.

The smaller projects like most of the restaurants, homes, beach bars, etc. will probably be rebuilt with the “local labor”. These types of projects or more “residential” in nature (Yes, a restaurant can be considered residential construction because they are built mostly like a house anyways). These projects can be completed with whatever labor they can get their hands on. Things may not be perfect when done, but this is a Caribbean Island and from what I have seen in the past, most of the structures are built far from perfect.

The big resorts are going to be mostly specialized materials. They will special order most of their materials (trusses, roofing panels, windows, furnishing, etc.). These repairs probably won’t affect the overall schedules of the smaller building repairs since the larger companies that will do this work already have lines from Suppliers. When you order 100’s of windows, TV’s, doors, etc. you buy directly from the manufacturer (not the local suppliers) to get the best pricing.

Materials for the smaller projects will be more of an issue. These materials will be more “generic” in nature and snatched up by the locals as soon as they arrive for their repairs. There will be a lot of waiting for materials and you will probably see a lot of structures half completed while they wait for supplies. You will probably also see a lot of “just make it work” type of repairs (tarps for roofs, mismatched colors, temporary wood structures, etc.). Which will work OK considering that the labor force doing many of these repairs will probably be the unskilled laborers.

All in all, repairs will probably be happening every day for the next 2 to 3 years. You will see many folks opening for business with half completed structures just to earn money so they can finish. Who can remember Pedro’s a couple years ago that went thru the high season with a blue tarp for a roof?