Great Solutions

Kansas City Remodeler Talks Business Adjustments During COVID-19

April 7, 2020
4 min read

In three weeks, 101 recorded U.S. cases of COVID-19 ballooned to more than 33,000. As of April 7, the country has more than 369,000 confirmed cases—more than any other single country. Streets are empty, businesses are closed. People can’t go to work, or congregate too closely. One in five Americans have been ordered to stay home, according to reporting from The New York Times. Goldman Sachs projects the country’s GDP will drop 24% next quarter as a result. That would be the worst GDP drop in U.S. history, by a lot.

The outbreak’s impact on everyday normalcy in the U.S. is unprecedented, as is it’s impact on the remodeling industry. There’s no guide for how to navigate a remodeling business through a global pandemic the scale that we’re experiencing. With that in mind, we’ve reached out to a number of remodelers and industry organizations to get a better understanding of how COVID-19 has impacted their markets and how they’re responding as a result.

We will be publishing their responses in a series of posts that will extend the length of the crisis, however long that proves to be.

Architecural Craftsman

Kansas City, Kan.

Responses from from Mary Thompson, owner of Architecural Craftsman.

How has COVID-19 impacted your market and your business?

Our phone has continued to ring with new prospective clients, as it usually does this time of year. However, this has all been evolving so rapidly, it's hard to predict what the next week or day will bring. Since the metro Kansas City issued a "Stay-at-Home" order, it has gotten a bit quieter. We have encouraged our contacts to keep moving forward with design decisions so that when the situation improves, we'll be ready to start construction. Most of our area showrooms are either by appointment only or our sales reps are working from home, using virtual showrooms. There has been a lot more communication via emails and platforms like Zoom or Google Meet. The Stay-at-Home order exempts the construction and maintenance of homes as an essential service. We wrestled with our role in this, and have decided to keep working as we follow CDC guidelines of social distancing, cleaning hands, etc. We have three projects in vacant houses and homeowners that are paying two mortgages plus construction costs andwant us to keep working.Still, we evaluate this decision daily.

Has your company had to make any adjustments because of COVID-19?

Yes. We have encouraged our workers to remain on the jobsite as much as possible, limiting their trips to the hardware store and elsewhere throughout the day. We have implemented delivery services when possible. If they need to go into stores, they wear latex gloves and use the self-check lane. When returning to their truck, they remove the gloves inside out, use hand sanitizer, and wipe down anything they've touched with Clorox wipes.

Overhead expenses don't take a holiday, or sick leave.

What is your biggest business concern during these times?

The uncertainty of the duration and intensity of the virus impact. It's difficult to plan for the future when every day is different. Also, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act is something new to consider. It extends the protections similar to the Family and Medical Leave Act to employees affected by COVID-19, allowing job protection for up to 12 weeks sick leave: two weeks (40 hours) paid and then up to ten more weeks of unpaid sick leave. It is unclear to me whether our small company could be exempt from this. If not, it will be a financial hardship for us and for our employees. Overhead expenses don't take a holiday, or sick leave. We have applied for the SBA disaster loan program, in case we need it.

How and what are you communicating to your clients during these times?

We use Co-Construct to communicate with our clients, employees, and suppliers and subcontractors. Where we might have had face-to-face interactions in the past, this platform works great for communicating at a distance. We have told our clients that as long as we have the support of our subs and suppliers—and we remain healthy—we'll continue to work on their projects. We have prepared them for potential delays, but we will do our best to keep on schedule.

Mary Thompson is the owner of Architecural Craftsman in Kansas City, Kan. 

About the Author

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TOP 30 INDUSTRIAL ARCHITECTURE FIRMS Rank Firm 2015 Revenue 1 Stantec $52,108,714 2 BRPH $40,130,326 3 Ware Malcomb $15,715,366 4 Gresham, Smith and Partners $13,206,000 5 Epstein $12,204,600 6 Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon $8,950,000 7 Guernsey $6,253,390 8 Bergmann Associates $5,052,840 9 Leo A Daly $4,638,562 10 Clark Nexsen $4,360,000 11 Harley Ellis Devereaux $3,800,000 12 STG Design $3,420,000 13 HOK $3,356,000 14 Beck Group, The $3,219,199 15 RSP Architects $3,013,000 16 Albert Kahn Associates $3,000,000 17 RS&H $2,700,000 18 DGA $2,567,994 19 Moody Nolan $2,300,000 20 CTA Architects Engineers $2,143,194 21 Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood $2,052,384 22 LS3P $1,579,623 23 Gensler $1,500,000 24 Marshall Craft Associates $1,457,373 25 SMMA | Symmes Maini & McKee Associates $1,433,399 26 Morris Architects $1,395,000 27 Kirksey Architecture $1,330,761 28 Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners $1,195,208 29 Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor $1,129,100 30 NORR $1,052,433 31 ATA Beilharz Architects $1,034,431 32 Environetics $742,792 33 OZ Architecture $657,387 34 Heery International $614,490 35 Emersion Design $610,030 36 Baskervill $578,905 37 Rosser International $556,321             TOP 80 INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION FIRMS Rank Firm 2015 Revenue 1 Fluor Corp. $1,223,010,000 2 Walbridge $999,000,000 3 Gray Construction $895,611,108 4 Turner Construction Co. $879,478,116 5 Clayco $648,000,000 6 Hoffman Construction $617,703,678 7 Yates Companies, The $572,800,000 8 Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The $546,445,294 9 AECOM $534,140,000 10 DPR Construction $485,090,000 11 Alberici-Flintco $400,426,832 12 Gilbane Building Co. $394,703,000 13 LPCiminelli $392,302,000 14 Boldt Company, The $383,414,848 15 Barton Malow Co. $326,435,545 16 Jacobs $325,500,000 17 PCL Construction Enterprises $316,370,796 18 Haskell $308,953,119 19 Skanska USA $291,968,243 20 Benham Design $286,208,822 21 Ryan Companies US $256,656,840 22 Lendlease $247,572,000 23 Structure Tone $237,350,000 24 JE Dunn Construction $230,329,260 25 Mortenson Construction $215,686,000 26 Brasfield & Gorrie $215,053,316 27 Graycor $205,583,128 28 CRB $194,200,000 29 McCarthy Holdings $192,922,793 30 IPS $189,168,000 31 McShane Cos., The $174,903,990 32 Pepper Construction Group $165,940,000 33 Robins & Morton $164,870,000 34 LeChase Construction $144,721,800 35 Burns & McDonnell $144,414,420 36 Millie and Severson Inc. $139,782,463 37 Choate Construction Co. $118,402,080 38 Hensel Phelps $106,140,000 39 Paric Corporation $101,600,000 40 BlueScope Construction $87,902,611 41 Layton Construction Co. $78,800,000 42 Beck Group, The $75,808,761 43 Hill & Wilkinson General Contractors $71,955,000 44 Messer Construction Co. $70,200,000 45 Austin Industries $70,134,204 46 EMJ Corp. $68,495,286 47 Level 10 Construction $65,041,374 48 BL Harbert International $64,024,794 49 Jordan Foster Construction $59,000,000 50 McGough Construction $58,000,000 51 Schimenti Construction Co. $55,000,000 52 Epstein $51,200,000 53 Adolfson & Peterson Construction $47,830,000 54 W.E. O’Neil Construction Co. $37,293,606 55 New South Construction Co. $34,732,000 56 Graham Construction $30,700,000 57 S. M. Wilson & Co. $29,377,410 58 Holder Construction Co. $28,000,000 59 Shook Construction Co. $26,992,833 60 Sundt Construction $25,082,465 61 Hill International $19,000,000 62 Walsh Group, The $18,397,986 63 Hunter Roberts Construction Group $16,818,331 64 Leopardo Companies $16,015,558 65 Hagerman Group, The $11,000,000 66 Fortis Construction $9,954,310 67 JLL $9,080,130 68 Power Construction Co. $8,500,000 69 HITT Contracting $8,000,000 70 Haselden Construction $7,929,980 71 Branch & Associates $7,534,354 72 Manhattan Construction Group $7,045,000 73 C.W. Driver Companies $6,877,195 74 SSOE Group $6,580,000 75 BRPH $6,305,789 76 W.M. Jordan Company $5,366,820 77 Hoar Construction $4,875,000 78 VCC $3,482,262 79 Bette Companies, The $3,414,643 80 Zak Companies $2,589,604 81 Stalco Construction $2,200,000 82 Kitchell Corp. $1,811,997 83 WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff $1,388,000 84 Coakley & Williams Construction $1,373,624 85 Cahill Contractors $1,100,000 86 Cumming $1,027,000 87 dck worldwide $1,000,000 88 Balfour Beatty US $667,550             TOP 50 INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING FIRMS Rank Firm 2015 Revenue 1 Jacobs $376,070,000 2 AECOM $372,820,000 3 Fluor Corp. $219,140,000 4 CRB $99,760,000 5 IPS $92,543,417 6 SSOE Group $91,240,000 7 Burns & McDonnell $55,044,777 8 Ghafari Associates $40,000,000 9 Benham Design $34,174,572 10 ThermalTech Engineering $23,650,000 11 Robins & Morton $17,540,000 12 Hixson Architecture, Engineering, Interiors $13,000,000 13 Affiliated Engineers $10,845,000 14 Coffman Engineers $10,330,788 15 Luckett & Farley $10,045,144 16 Jensen Hughes $9,873,913 17 Shive-Hattery $6,500,834 18 Simpson Gumpertz & Heger $6,342,000 19 I. C. Thomasson Associates $6,254,210 20 KJWW / TTG $6,110,000 21 Arup $5,215,217 22 Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates $4,660,000 23 STV $4,629,201 24 Stanley Consultants $3,811,036 25 Woolpert $3,339,562 26 Graef $2,706,059 27 Pedco E & A Services $2,650,000 28 P2S Engineering $2,358,525 29 M/E Engineering $2,344,177 30 Highland Associates $2,300,000 31 Walter P Moore $2,239,087 32 Baird, Hampton & Brown $1,890,082 33 Dewberry $1,851,537 34 KZF Design $1,462,116 35 Smith Seckman Reid $1,379,207 36 H.F. Lenz Company $1,299,139 37 RDK Engineers $1,251,505 38 JQ Engineering $1,235,100 39 Glumac $973,496 40 Cardno Haynes Whaley $963,026 41 Peter Basso Associates $883,125 42 KCI Technologies $800,000 43 Wick Fisher White $786,000 44 RMF Engineering $754,200 45 Magnusson Klemencic Associates $749,824 46 Vanderweil Engineers $670,400 47 WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff $644,000 48 Hankins and Anderson $628,528 49 TLC Engineering for Architecture $611,667 50 G & W Engineering Corp. $600,154 51 Interface Engineering $545,140

 

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