Construction work was deemed essential in Horry County but the industry still faces challenges
In Horry County, construction is one of the biggest employers outside of tourism in the private sector. And for now it is allowed to continue operating while many other industries shutter due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A road widening project continues on in Carolina Forest. Houses are still being built, and new construction permits can still be applied for from Horry County Government. Basic repairs — from plumbing to roofs — is still needed as people spend most of their time indoors.
Gov. Henry McMaster said construction work was essential and could continue during the pandemic. Also hardware stores remain open for home projects, but furniture stores and home furnishing stores closed.
While construction companies are still able to operate, the economic downturn is hurting the industry. Although the service industry has been the hardest hit, the medical and construction industries have seen some of the most layoffs, according to the Department of Labor.
The National Association of Home Builders reported widespread downturns in home buying, remodeling projects, delays for inspections and difficulty in getting loans.
Locally, custom home building is somewhat isolated from the economic down turn, but larger subdivision home builders are seeing immediate challenges as speculative loans are harder to come by, said Jason Repak, vice president for the Horry-Georgetown Home Builders Association.
Repak said the longer the coronavirus impacts the economy, the more layoffs you will begin to see in the industry. But he thinks construction work can help keep the economy active in Horry County and prevent a long-term depression.
“We’re definitely starting to see some impact from the regional home developers and tract home developers who are not eager to start the next house until we get a little better idea of what’s going on with the restrictions,” Repak said.
Local governments have been doing a good job in helping home construction continue, Repak said. The City of Conway, for example, is considering limiting its inspections policies to just new construction or outside work, following other governments across the county.
“However, we are giving ourselves the ability to refuse inspections if there are multiple people occupying the same dwelling and making it unsafe for our inspectors. We haven’t had to do it yet, but it is a possibility,” City Administrator Adam Emerick said.
Despite economic and procedural setbacks, construction work is still keeping people employed locally. For workers still on the job, he said the Home Builder association is asking to keep employees on a worksite to a minimum, restrict sharing tools and to always have protective equipment on.
Rob Clemons with Monarch Roofing said many of employees wanted to keep working even though there were clear worries from the staff about potential exposure to the virus. Some employees were allowed to work from home.
Staff meetings were held to discuss new procedures. Ladders are cleaned after every use and employees’ tool kits were expanded to include more protective equipment.
Consultations for projects are still moving forward, but they’re being done remotely instead of in person.
“We’ve embraced that and I think it made our employees feel safer coming to work,” Clemons said. “Obviously we didn’t want to be the company that only did things because the governor forced us, so we really tried to be proactive.”
He said roofing work is essential because it helps keep homes safe from mold, leaks and wind damage with hurricane and rain season just on the horizon.
Repak agreed that housing provides shelter and allowing home builders to do repairs can help keep people safe. He also thinks when the local economy reopens, construction work will be an early industry to start getting people back to work.
SCDOT will be taking advantage of fewer cars on the road to allow for safe road work without the threat of employees getting hit. Some projects will be accelerated to take advantage of road conditions.
Both state projects, and road work paid for by Horry County’s RIDE III referendum, will continue through the pandemic.
“We’re going to continue working on road and bridge projects until it’s no longer safe or effective to do so, but right now there are no disruptions on worker availability or supply lines,” said Leland Colvin, SCDOT Deputy Secretary for Engineering.
