Rising lumber prices a pain in the pocketbook, push new house prices up $24,000

Construction is seen at Bakery Square in Pittsburgh’s East End.

Construction crew at work in Pittsburgh’s Strip District on March 23.

A construction worker puts up a wall on house being built along Harrison City Road in Penn Township on March 16.

Employee James Clepper loads pine lumber onto a fork truck Wednesday at Stanford Home Center in Allegheny Township.

Bill Patterson of Patterson Construction in New Kensington works on a roof in Brackenridge on Thursday. Replacing plywood on a roof could more then triple in cost of a roofing job, Patterson said.