How Remodelers Are Handling Safety on the Job Site Now
Builders across the country are following expert advice to keep workers and clients safe during the pandemic
With most of the United States now open for residential construction, we checked in with remodelers about how they’re handling safety on the job site several months into the pandemic.
Their approaches varied, but one practice common to all of them was the use of masks on the job site. Another consistent practice was placing limits on the number of tradespeople working in close proximity in enclosed spaces to comply with social distancing recommendations. The pros we spoke with also looked to expert guidance to help shape their approach.
Read on for a sample of how pros are handling safety on residential construction projects, then share your own experiences in the Comments.
Their approaches varied, but one practice common to all of them was the use of masks on the job site. Another consistent practice was placing limits on the number of tradespeople working in close proximity in enclosed spaces to comply with social distancing recommendations. The pros we spoke with also looked to expert guidance to help shape their approach.
Read on for a sample of how pros are handling safety on residential construction projects, then share your own experiences in the Comments.
Trade Associations and Government Agencies Provide a Template
Rufino Labra of Labra Design-Build in Commerce Township, Michigan, works in a state that had one of the stricter coronavirus shutdowns. Because of that he could not get workers back on the job until May 7. When he was able to resume construction, he wanted strong safety protocols in place. So he looked to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the state of Michigan and homebuilders associations for guidance.
“I looked through a lot of guidelines, and they all seemed so similar,” he says. “I actually used a template from the [Home Builders Association of Michigan] to create our guidelines.”
Labra’s safety protocols focus on wearing masks, frequently washing or sanitizing hands, not sharing tools, frequently sanitizing tools and having a dedicated bathroom for the team that is not shared with clients.
Rufino Labra of Labra Design-Build in Commerce Township, Michigan, works in a state that had one of the stricter coronavirus shutdowns. Because of that he could not get workers back on the job until May 7. When he was able to resume construction, he wanted strong safety protocols in place. So he looked to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the state of Michigan and homebuilders associations for guidance.
“I looked through a lot of guidelines, and they all seemed so similar,” he says. “I actually used a template from the [Home Builders Association of Michigan] to create our guidelines.”
Labra’s safety protocols focus on wearing masks, frequently washing or sanitizing hands, not sharing tools, frequently sanitizing tools and having a dedicated bathroom for the team that is not shared with clients.
Social Distancing Guidelines and Common Sense Come Into Play
Cindy Aplanalp of Chairma Design Group in Houston says her firm has been working throughout the pandemic, as this was allowed in her area. “We were considered an ‘essential business’ since we do so much construction. So we never stopped working, which kept everyone’s attention focused on creating,” she says.
Safety protocols on her jobs are straightforward: “We limit the number of trades. Wear masks. Stand back from each other. And employ common sense,” she says.
Similarly, general contractor Machi Medrzycki of MLM in New Orleans says common sense prevails on his job sites. In the early days of the pandemic, his workers were extremely cautious. “Through the month of April we were limiting it to three people on a job site inside and three people outside — and this is when you’re talking about an 1,800-square-foot home where they can spread out and be in their own space. Everybody wore a mask at that time.”
Now his workers still wear masks but are more comfortable being in closer proximity. Medrzycki says wearing masks could become challenging for workers as the weather heats up.
More for Pros on Houzz
New NAHB Coronavirus Safety Guidelines for Construction Sites
Read more from our Resilience series
Learn about Houzz Pro business software
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
Cindy Aplanalp of Chairma Design Group in Houston says her firm has been working throughout the pandemic, as this was allowed in her area. “We were considered an ‘essential business’ since we do so much construction. So we never stopped working, which kept everyone’s attention focused on creating,” she says.
Safety protocols on her jobs are straightforward: “We limit the number of trades. Wear masks. Stand back from each other. And employ common sense,” she says.
Similarly, general contractor Machi Medrzycki of MLM in New Orleans says common sense prevails on his job sites. In the early days of the pandemic, his workers were extremely cautious. “Through the month of April we were limiting it to three people on a job site inside and three people outside — and this is when you’re talking about an 1,800-square-foot home where they can spread out and be in their own space. Everybody wore a mask at that time.”
Now his workers still wear masks but are more comfortable being in closer proximity. Medrzycki says wearing masks could become challenging for workers as the weather heats up.
More for Pros on Houzz
New NAHB Coronavirus Safety Guidelines for Construction Sites
Read more from our Resilience series
Learn about Houzz Pro business software
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
James Mansfield of West Village GC in Manhattan has nine residential remodeling or building projects underway in the city, where authorities allowed construction to resume June 9. Four projects were in an unoccupied building and could start right away. But to begin work on his five other projects, Mansfield had to get approval from each building’s board, made up of people who live in the building.
To persuade the five building boards, Mansfield shared his team’s detailed plan for COVID-19 protection and hygiene. West Village GC’s workers wear N95 masks and disposable latex gloves, and they engage in social distancing while at work. The firm’s protocol specifies details such as “limit workforce presence to no more than 1 worker per 250 sq. ft. on site, excluding supervisors” and “reduce bi-directional foot traffic by posting signs with arrows in narrow aisles, hallways or spaces.”
“We have a very robust hygiene protocol. How many people are in an elevator at a time. The elevator is wiped down after each usage,” Mansfield says. “My sister-in-law is an internal medicine doc, and she was running an ICU in New York for COVID. We’re using the hospital protocols, which seem to cover most eventualities.”
Mansfield expected two or three of his projects to go through with no issues, and the others to come back with changes the boards would like to see. He expected the back and forth to delay the restarting of some of his projects by at least a month. But he was pleasantly surprised when his safety protocols for all five projects were approved with no issues, and his teams could get back to work.