Page 23 - BusinessWest August 17, 2020

Ger Ronan says people have been spending more time at home — and finding more reasons to invest in their home.
— and, in some cases, increased over last year. Back in December, Ger Ronan, president
of Yankee Home, organized what he calls a ‘mastermind’ group of 11 home-improvement companies from all over the U.S. The point of the group is to network and share ideas about what’s working and what’s not.
“In the early days of the pandemic, members of the group came together and wanted to help in any way they could,” he said. “I got lots of
ideas and strategies from companies much larger than mine, and they really helped.”
Ronan expressed a common observation as to why home renova- tion work has picked up. With people spending so much time at home, they are looking at faded siding, worn-out roofs, and other needed repairs. On top of that, fewer people are going away on vacation this year, opt-
ing instead to invest money in their homes.
With everyone staying put, homes are simply getting more use — and attention — than in the past.
“There’s more wear and tear on rooms in the house, especially bath- rooms,” he said. “Our bathroom-reno- vation sales are really strong.”
Scott Keiter, president of Keiter Homes, said his company is work-
ing on a wide range of home projects. From new additions to kitchens, bath-
rooms, and especially outdoor living spaces, he said people want to make their houses more user-friendly in this time of increased isolation.
“We’re doing a huge deck for a client who just had a swimming pool installed,” Keiter said. “Because they are spending so much time on their property, I think people are reinvesting in their homes for their own enjoyment.”
Safety First
All three contractors follow state guidelines for COVID-19 in terms of masks, sanitizing worksites, and keeping a safe distance from cli-
ents. They also emphasized the importance of safety for their employees and clients.
“Every morning, we give all of our employees the option to not work that day if they do not feel safe,” Rudd said. “That’s become part of our
“Every morning, we give all of our employees the option to not work that day if they do not feel safe. That’s become part of our daily routine, and it’s worked great.”
daily routine, and it’s worked great.”
When working on exterior projects such as
siding and roofs, Keiter said, it’s fairly easy to maintain a safe distance from the homeowner.
“It’s a little more complicated when we have to work inside the home,” he said. “A simple solution like a plastic partition wall allows us to segregate our work area from the client’s living space.”
Yankee Home uses red carpets to protect cli- ents’ floors when working inside the home. In addition to having the carpets cleaned frequent- ly, Ronan said, project managers from his com- pany visit every job site to make sure all safety
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