Homebuilders are waiting as long as three months for roof trusses in the St. John's area. (CBC)

A scarcity of roof trusses is frustrating families and homebuilders in the St. John's area, as waiting times have multiplied over the last year.

Heavy demand for trusses, an integral ingredient in building any new home, has far outstripped the available demand.

"We started off with two or three weeks in April and May," Denis Galway, president of Terra Nova Trusses, said of waiting times last spring.

"We went to four to six weeks, six to eight weeks and eight to 10 weeks. So those times have been extending [and] right now, for example, we're taking orders for the end of January," said Galway.

"So, it's been an extremely busy year."

Galway's Mount Pearl-based company has upgraded its equipment with new tools that have boosted productivity by 30 per cent. Even so, the company's order book is full.

Apart from an unprecedented construction boom across the northeast Avalon Peninsula, delays are also partly due to more complicated roof lines, which take longer to build.

Al Spurrell, an official with Octagon Development in Paradise, said a shortage of trusses has a direct effect on the housing business. His company, which is building homes in the Elizabeth Park neighbourhood, waited for up to six weeks this summer for truss orders.

"Obviously, if you're going to be four, five weeks waiting, then that causes a big delay on your closing date," Spurrell said.

"It's kind of hard to pick up that on the way through on a project," he said.

While Spurrell said that a lack of trusses at this time of the season is not an issue for his company, Galway said his other customers are still being told they will need to wait 10 to 12 weeks for delivery.