If it’s been said once, it’s been said a thousand times; COVID-19 has changed our world in undeniable and unexpected ways. You may be wondering if it is even safe to remodel your home during a global pandemic.
The key to your success will be finding a remodeling company that takes COVID seriously, and will work as hard as you to keep your family safe.
Keeping Your Home as Germ-Free as Possible
The best way to protect against COVID-19 is to be proactive in disinfecting and keeping everything clean. During a remodeling project, this can seem hard to do with the amount of your home that may be impacted.
Be sure your contractor has a detailed plan to clean and disinfect all areas of your project. A detailed daily checklist will help everyone be more thorough, and there should be several additional COVID-specific tasks such as disinfecting tools, iPads, doorknobs, and other often-used items.
Know Who’s Coming & Going
Even when there isn’t a global pandemic happening, knowing who is coming and going from your home is vital for safety. Now with COVID, it’s even more critical than ever. Ask your contractor how they track who is coming in and out of your home.
Daily temperature checkpoints and sign-in sheets are an excellent way to keep track of the health and identity of those coming into your home. A contractor should also seal your project, and have access restricted to everyone except authorized employees and trade contractors. This allows for complete control over the amount of traffic and possible contaminants that can enter your home.
Safety of The Extended Team
While in-office staff may not come in direct contact with you, they do interact with field staff and may send items to your home. Because of this and their safety, contractors should take office safety just as seriously as on-project safety.
Like tools, team members should sanitize all regularly used items such as doorknobs, copiers, and keyboards every day, along with bathrooms and kitchens. In-person meetings should be eliminated unless absolutely necessary and should keep a distance of six feet if unavoidable.
The way a company treats its employees is an excellent insight into how they might treat you. If they aren’t wearing masks or keeping a safe distance from each other, that might be another red flag to consider.
A Vigilant Approach to Safety
It’s clear to see within our nation that while we all try our best, unfortunate outbreaks can still occur. In situations like this, it’s best to catch it early and respond quickly. By taking temperatures every morning and encouraging their employees that feel sick to stay home, contractors can be proactive in slowing the spread and protecting your family. These procedures allow a company to increase the chances that any illness can be contained.
Be Ready to Do Your Part
Your help is needed in the fight to stop the spread. Here is a compiled list of ways you can help keep a remodeling staff and your family safe.
- Do not touch tools, materials, or equipment on the job site.
- Maintain a 6-foot distance away from employees and trade contractors.
- Inform the company immediately if you or any family member are showing symptoms.
- Limit access to the work site as much as possible. Keep out children, pets, or any visitors to the best of your ability.
If you feel unsafe at any point during your remodel, do not ignore that feeling. Your contractor’s priority must be to keep everyone safe, and will welcome any comments, questions, or concerns you may have.
Where You Can Learn More
So can you safely remodel during COVID-19? Creative Contracting has been adjusting and implementing changes to ensure the answer to that question is “yes.” We have taken every precaution possible to make continuing with your home remodel plans as safe and enjoyable as they can be. We are doing our part to protect our staff, you and your family, our community, and our future by implementing these Creative Contracting mandatory guidelines.
Knowledge is power, and we encourage you to check out these other resources for more information about how to stay safe during these alarming times.
