General Contractor with several active residential jobs, mostly second homes.
1 reply
Mar 30, 2020
Residential construction seems to be allowed under Governor Cooper's Executive Order No. 121 in response to this coronavirus outbreak, to some degree. Under that order, any business who can successfully implement social distancing will be considered "essential." Plus, regardless of distancing, the order specifically states that those in construction will be considered essential if the work is necessary to maintain the "safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences..."
Obviously, if work is being done on a second home where no one is residing, there's a strong argument that it's not essential. But, for a business who wants to continue work, there's plenty there to argue the work should continue - especially when it's easy to implement social distancing (which will be the case on many construction sites).
Keep in mind that information and guidelines are regularly changing, so be on the lookout for state and local announcements which may affect what's considered "essential," as well as federal announcements. Further, this tracker is being regularly updated by the Levelset team and should be useful: Can I do Construction Work In my State?