During COVID-19 you may be wondering what you should do about your home remodeling project. Construction businesses are considered essential in Delaware, so if your project is currently underway, you can continue with it.
Even though you can, should you? Ultimately that decision is one you have to make, but here are some of your options:
Option #1: Pause
You could wait to finish your project in summer and fall when this has passed. While that may leave your home improvement project unfinished longer than you would like, sometimes the peace of mind is more important. Our team is operating with utmost caution for your health and safety as well as their own, which I’ll get to in a bit more detail below.
Option #2: Permit
You can continue with the design and permitting phase and wait on construction. Permitting is taking a bit longer currently so we recommend that you continue sending us the information and approvals we need from you so that we can file permit requests and keep that portion of the project moving. Until we have permits approved, we are limited in how much we can move forward. Once your permit is approved, you can decide whether or not to start construction now or wait until this has passed.
Option #3: Proceed
You can continue with the design and pre-construction phase as well as the construction phase since construction is an essential business in the state of Delaware. We are able to provide the same services while taking additional health and safety measures.
Additional Safety Precautions We Are Taking
Currently we are operating in a strategic way to keep our team and our clients safe and comfortable. Below are our protocols to take care of you and our Bromwell Construction Company team members:
- There would be a maximum of two trades personnel on site at any given time besides Frank Sr. or Frank Jr. managing the project.
- All trade partners, delivery drivers, and Bromwell Construction Company staff are required to call the office prior to entering a job site to check in so that accurate records of who was where and when are kept.
- Each of them are required to wear a N95 safety mask throughout the course of the workday, as well.
- We request that all trade partners, vendors, and Bromwell Construction Company staff who have traveled further than 50 miles in the last two weeks to self-quarantine and refrain from visiting or working on job sites.
- Each employee is required to wear disposable gloves during the course of the work day.
- Each employee has access to his/her personal hand sanitizer and is instructed to sanitize frequently.
- All door knobs, handrails, etc., that were touched in our work area will be wiped down at the end of each day.
- We can and will schedule client meetings through phone calls, Zoom, FaceTime, and Google Docs.
- When we work onsite or at our shop, we practice social distancing.
- As our client, you can choose to speak with us in your property location or communicate with us through phone calls, FaceTime, text, email, or Zoom.
Beyond these common-sense protocols, you should know that we provide a strong benefits package to our Bromwell Construction Company team members that give each a reassuring level of security. We also provide paid sick leave so that if an employee feels sick he/she can recover at home.
Why It Is to Your Advantage to Continue with Your Home Remodeling Project During COVID-19
You should be aware that things are going to get super busy for contractors when COVID-19 cools down and your project may take longer to complete because of the postponed workload nationally for contractors and their subcontractors. Since our teams are utilizing proper health and safety precautions, we recommend you continue allowing the work to be done rather than waiting.
Permitting still takes time (and permitting offices will also get overwhelmed when COVID-19 cools down) so it is best to apply for permits now and keep the design and pre-construction phases moving forward. You may be the owner of a commercial property waiting to collect delayed rent payments in order to start your remodeling project. In either case, if you’re planning to finance your project, right now you can take advantage of lower risk financing options as well.
Further, if you’re considering a home remodeling project but haven’t yet reached out to talk your ideas through with an expert, you can still meet via virtual tours to show Bromwell Construction’s team the room(s) you’re hoping to remodel. Large parts of the design and pre-construction phase can be accomplished through virtual meetings and online communication, which will leave you one step ahead of those who wait to get started and as a result is dealing with a longer project duration to account for pent up demand.
Many we have spoken with had dreams of whole home remodels but are going to now focus on one room at a time since there are many uncertainties in light of COVID-19, and that’s a good option too! At the end of the day, our team is here to help you remodel however much or little of your home you hope to transform right now.
Schedule a Virtual Consultation to get started today!
