Rising construction costs on Long Island leave homeowners facing higher bills

And Long Islanders looking to renovate or build are facing sticker shock as well. News 12's Tama Ponton reports how high those costs are going up in Taxing Long Island. From the outside to the inside, from the wood to the wall to the windows, almost all the materials being used to remodel this home are more expensive now. Everything's high because the cost of gas and the cost of oil is high. When that goes down, the product drops about 7%, but it never really goes back to where it should go back. Longtime Nassau contractor Skip Murphy, whose dad started this business over 40 years ago, says if you're trying to decide what would be less taxing, remodeling or building from the ground up. Sooner than later. You wait till next year, you're guaranteed another 10 to 15 percent. If you renovate and get an estimate of, say, $420,000, Murphy says putting it off until next year could put that estimate in the $500,000 range. Every year it increases, and it's pricing it to the point where we're so competitive as it is, we're not making any more money. The consumer's paying more money. Murphy says building from the ground up will save you money in the long run because newer materials give you better insulation. But get ready to spend 30% more on materials on average building new if you can find the space. It's too expensive to move and to knock down and start over. There isn't really a lot of property left to do that. You could also try this Long Islander's suggestion. To keep the costs down, I usually do everything myself. So it's cheaper to do things by yourself. I'm Tama Ponton, News 12. All right, watch News 12 Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 5 a.m. for more of our Taxing Long Island series.