Research site Expertise.com surveyed 810 American homeowners who either started or considered starting a home improvement project earlier this year a variety of questions on how lumber prices affected their projects.  

Here's what it found:

• 77% of home improvement projects started in 2021 ended up costing more than expected due to the price of lumber.
• Of home improvement projects that cost more than expected due to lumber prices, the average increase was 205% and the median cost increase was 40%.
• 68% of those who started a home improvement project but saw the cost increase ended up delaying the project. When factoring in the projects that didn’t increase in cost, 55% of all home improvement projects were pushed back due to high costs.
• 65% of those who delayed projects due to the high cost of lumber are restarting them soon now that lumber prices have dropped.
• When asked if they're worried about a home professional entering their home in the pandemic, 36 percent said yes and wouldn't allow someone in, 40 percent said yes but would still allow it, and 24 percent said they're not worried at all.

"Our study shows that most homeowners who started home improvement projects in 2021 saw the costs increase considerably, leading many to delayed projects," says Expertise. "Of those who did delay projects, nearly two-thirds are planning to restart them now that lumber prices have fallen."

Check out the full survey results here.