Maybe the Construction Industry can keep the economy going

[genxlib]

One bright spot that encourages me is that construction activity is continuing. Maybe it will keep at least a minor amount of economic activity going to get us through this.

In my corner of the world, Construction is considered an essential service so they are still at work. As a consultant to the industry, so am I.

In almost every case I am aware of, the pace of construction is actually accelerating during the shut down. The public is actually a major hindrance to construction so they are speeding up while the public is out of their way.

Highway projects are extending lane closure times due to the lighter traffic so they have more time to work. College campuses are working on buildings while the students out of their way. I have a project that is right in front of a major vacation spot hotel and they are hauling ass while they don't have to worry about the tourists.

I know there will be some reaction about the danger of having people breaking quarantine but the Construction industry is just about perfect for social distancing. As long as they can manage the food trucks and the portapotties, the chance for transmission is pretty low.

I know it isn't everywhere or every project but it makes me feel better about the economy that things are getting done.

[csziggy]

1. I know I am keeping the construction industry going!

Right now, we have a framing crew working on finishing framing the new carport roof and a roofing company taking the roofing off the house.

We've been planning this addition (new living room and two more spaces on the carport) for over a year. Hopefully, we can at least get the living room completely dried in - all we need is the front door and the new roof.

Plus, they are starting on the exterior trim and siding. It's an ICF (insulated concrete foam) house so even without siding, it will be dried in with windows and door, but the siding protects the foam insulation.

I'm really hoping we can finish without being shutdown.

The workers are happy to have work - especially the roofer. He had several projects with the state that are shutdown so having even a small project is nice to keep his workers on the payroll.

[RockRaven]

2. I know of at least 1 SF Bay Area town which shut construction down for 2 or 3 weeks,

and I assume there are more.

The original shutdown, which was at the county level, exempted construction as essential. And urgent/emergency repairs are still exempted by the city, but new construction and large remodel projects are halted -- enforceable using the city's authority over building permits/inspections.

[Tink41]

3. Ha! Good luck

Chicago is suffering a major downturn. Really started last fall. We acquired about 200 more people on the out of work list as of yesterday. which now tops about 1200. 600 people since Oct. And this is just one local, one trade. Also as of March 10 the local lost 37000 man hours due to trade shows cancelling.

[Chainfire]

4. I don't buy it

I worked in commercial building construction all of my adult life. Construction sites are very busy places where people are constantly interacting. There is no social distancing on a job site. The last job I worked on was a multistory chemistry lab on a major university campus. There were about 200-300 people working on a site with a small footprint, there would have been no avoiding close personal contact. Of course many of these people are young fit men, but being tough guys, they would come to work no matter how bad they felt, because no work, no pay.

[genxlib]

5. Point taken

All of my examples are in out door construction and results would vary depending on the project.