JB Insulation & Drywall LLC of Oakland, New Jersey, recently met W&C at this year’s ICAA Annual Convention & Trade Show. Its owner, Jonathan Belanus, took time to speak with the magazine on how business is, the market and more.

Founded in 2015, JB Insulation & Drywall performs residential and commercial installation of fiberglass batts, blown cellulose, spray foam and firestopping, as well as drywall and finishing.

“My grandfather owned an insulation company, my father got into the business and took over my grandfather’s business, and I started working for my father when I was about 16,” Belanus says. “Today, we do all types of work on all types of projects, but our main area of business is large, custom-built homes.”

The contractor currently has 40 full-time employees, in addition to a group of trusted subcontractors it consistently works with for drywall projects.

Belanus says that since the company started almost 10 years ago, it has grown every year.

“Business is good now — not quite as good as it was the past few years,” Belanus says. “I can feel it slowing down, and the market is getting much more price-sensitive than it has been the past three or four years.”

Belanus says that construction has been doing really well in the company’s market the past few years since COVID started, until about nine months ago. Then, there was more work than JB Insulation & Drywall could keep up with. Changing market conditions, increasing construction costs and higher interest rates are slowing the market.