What stands out on a restoration estimate is the rate for wallpaper and flooring. Since the start of 2026, though, the thing most likely to stop a job has been the material that is not the lead role.
Wallpaper paste, floor adhesive, adhesive for skirting, sealant. What the trade calls ancillary materials.
What is happening
Interior material manufacturers have announced order suspensions, shipment limits and price rises on adhesives and ancillary materials one after another. Reported cases in the first half of 2026 alone include the following.
- Sangetsu: acrylic floor adhesive temporarily suspended for orders from 11 May
- Wakai Sangyo (Cemedine): orders suspended from 20 April, reopened on 18 May at revised prices
- Sekisui Fuller: price revision of 10% or more on shipments from 15 April
- Aica Kogyo: supply of some wall board adhesives restricted for orders from 30 April
In each case it is less that the product does not exist than that the manufacturer is limiting how much it releases.
The cause is naphtha
Most ancillary materials are petrochemical products. Follow the raw materials back and you arrive at naphtha (the base petrochemical feedstock refined from crude oil). The resin in adhesives, sealant, the PVC in wallpaper — all the same.
And naphtha rose sharply through 2026. According to Nikkei, the price of domestic naphtha for the April–June quarter of 2026 hit a record high, roughly doubling on the Middle East crisis.
The manufacturers all give the same three reasons for the increases.
- A steep rise in the benchmarks for crude oil, naphtha and other petrochemical feedstocks
- Supply chain disruption caused by tensions in the Middle East
- The weak yen and rising logistics costs
None of this is something a contractor’s effort can bring down.
What it means on site
If ancillary materials do not arrive, the work itself stops. Wallpaper cannot be hung without paste; flooring cannot be laid without adhesive. And because ancillary materials are usually swallowed up in a “one lot” line on the estimate, it is hard to see from outside.
These are the things we watch in practice.
Secure materials as soon as the start date is fixed. “Order it just before the work” no longer always arrives in time. Once the dates are set, we go and secure everything, down to the paste.
Plan on the assumption that a substitute may be needed. Insisting on the same product code from the same manufacturer is what stops a job. We keep alternatives in hand — a different code or a different maker of equivalent performance — so the work can go ahead.
Say so the moment we know it will not arrive. This is the one that matters most. A material delay does not resolve itself while we stay quiet. As soon as the schedule looks likely to move, we tell you and talk through rearranging the dates.
What we would ask of property managers and owners
Slack in the schedule gives us more options.
Where the deadline for the next listing is fixed, waiting on materials turns directly into vacancy. Conversely, if the start date can move by a week, we can rebuild the sequence around the materials we can actually get.
If you can tell us at the enquiry stage when you want the unit handed back, we can work backwards from that and start arranging materials. We will not turn a job down for being urgent. Start by telling us the situation.
Sources
- Notice regarding the revision of transaction prices｜Sangetsu (13 April 2026)
- Domestic naphtha hits a record high as the April–June price is fixed, doubling on the Middle East crisis｜Nikkei
- The impact of building material price rises and order suspensions｜Teigaku (dates of each company’s order suspensions and shipment limits)