Note: This interview took place before Washington's full "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order came down, so some of the information is outdated. However, we felt it important to share the journey of our customers through the path of COVID-19. We hope this article will still be helpful to you in navigating your own best practices.
Many businesses—including restaurants, beauty salons, and offices—are closed due to COVID-19. Fortunately, Dunn Lumber is considered an essential business, and we have been proud to remain open and continue serving our community during this uncertain time. However, many of our contracting partners are struggling with learning how to navigate their remodeling businesses to keep their workers and customers safe amidst changing best practices. To help companies gain a better understanding of the current landscape, Pro Remodeler, a professional builder magazine, is publishing a series of interviews with remodeling companies in which they discuss how closures have affected the companies’ teams.
The magazine recently published their interview with Irons Brothers Construction, one of our customers based out of Shoreline. In an effort to bring you the most consistently updated information we have, we’re republishing the interview, with Irons Brothers President Joseph Irons, below. We hope Joseph’s answers help you navigate your own contracting business.
Here’s Joseph:
“Since early March, our community and state have implemented increasingly aggressive measures to combat the spread of the virus, including the closure of the building department (though inspections are still being conducted). As it is currently, schools are closed, as are all restaurants and hair and nail salons, and public and private gatherings of more than 10 people have been banned. COVID-19 has understandably made homeowners nervous.
Our priority has been reassuring our clients and staff that safety is our first and foremost concern. We’ve emailed all scheduled appointments into early April, as well as our staff and all trade and design partners (with scheduled meetings onsite at our current projects and/or design clients’ homes), to let them know we are following the recommended health and safety precautions and procedures.
We’ve requested our own staff review local Public Health Department guidelines and distributed information so they know what actions to take in the event they exhibit COVID-19 symptoms, including self-quarantining. We also distributed safety equipment to our production team, including gloves, disinfectant, spray bottles, hand sanitizer, and more. For our office and jobsite, we’ve put together a document with entry procedures, which we’ve also shared with our local industry associations as a resource (see below). We are expecting Shoreline to impose stricter shelter-in-place rules for residents and are currently drafting a protocol for how to handle this eventuality.”
For more tips on running a successful contracting business, read master carpenter Daniel Westbrook’s overview of a good business skill set, his guide on tracking business expenses, and our podcast on managing financials for your contracting business.
