蜜桃传媒app continues, but pace has slowed in wake of coronavirus
While many other businesses in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado have either closed or greatly diminished their operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic, commercial and residential construction continues 鈥� although industry executives say some changes to how their work is done may linger long after the coronavirus crisis ebbs.
The time a project takes to complete has been most affected, they say.
鈥淭ime is the biggest loss across the board,鈥� said Hannah Long, co-owner of Loveland-based H3 蜜桃传媒app and Design. 鈥淯sually we could have several different contractors working on the project, but now we can let in only one subcontractor group at a time鈥� because of social distancing. Among other things, she said, that means residents or businesses displaced during a remodeling project are displaced longer.
All flat surfaces and handles need to be sanitized during construction or remodeling work, Long said, 鈥渁nd I鈥檓 OK with that. We鈥檙e working on a fire station in Milliken. It鈥檚 an eight-month job, and we have two months more to complete it. Those firefighters need to be there and ready to go 鈥� but what if one of our subcontractors went in there with the virus and infected everyone in there?鈥�
Those heightened cleanliness standards are likely to stick around after the pandemic ends, she said, since COVID-19 has 鈥渂rought a lot of awareness to the general population about daily activities.
鈥淔or me, cleanliness is always No. 1 when your company鈥檚 name is on a project,鈥� Long said. 鈥淵ou want your job site to look slick.鈥�
Another change that might stick is how building inspections are done, since in-person visits present some obvious hazards.
However, some inspections are being done virtually using video-based apps such as Zoom or Facetime.
鈥淥ur building inspections are continuing all per normal because we鈥檝e put systems in place for electronic inspection requests and checking,鈥� said Brad Mueller, director of community development for the city of Greeley. 鈥淔or occupied interiors, we have that video option that homeowners can request, and it also allows inspectors to be comfortable knowing all they need to know.
鈥淔or new construction, though, they have to go out there in person,鈥� he said. There鈥檚 no substitute for seeing it in person.鈥�
鈥淥ur scheduled inspection walkthroughs have all been Facetimes,鈥� Long said. 鈥淪ometimes they are accepting pictures. It could be done on a tablet or by project managers with their phones. It actually works pretty well.鈥�
蜜桃传媒app remains classified as an 鈥渆ssential鈥� business in Colorado, and the Associated General Contractors of Colorado has worked to keep it that way and keep the state鈥檚 nearly 180,000 construction workers on the job. On March 18, the AGC board of directors and management staff crafted a plan to protect and promote the industry during the pandemic. The plan included addressing reports of building and fire inspection suspensions, establishing industry best practices, and addressing business continuation needs including cash flow for companies that experience project shutdowns.鈥�
Could the governor鈥檚 office tighten the list of 鈥渆ssential鈥� businesses if the pandemic continues to worsen?
鈥淚 believe they could shut us down two weeks, and I鈥檓 sort of on the fence about that,鈥� Long said. 鈥淚t would slow us down, but I feel like we鈥檙e going to follow whatever the government tells us we have to do.
鈥淲e鈥檝e passed out the handouts to our subcontractors, we鈥檝e limited sites to one subcontractor at a time, and we鈥檙e getting in another shipment of masks for our subcontractors and requiring that they mask and glove up.鈥�
Long noted that lumber prices have fallen because of lower demand, but other costs for materials seem stable.
Long said business dropoff because of the novel coronavirus has not been anywhere near what the company experienced during the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
鈥淓verything鈥檚 been so 鈥榝at鈥� in Northern Colorado for the past five to seven years,鈥� she said. 鈥渂ut I think we might see some changing priorities when this is over. Maybe a return of more cost-effective projects. We might be doing more house calls, more smaller jobs.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just going to have to bend with the market,鈥� Long said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 always how construction鈥檚 been.鈥�
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