A Bump in the Road

Nationwide, the Coronavirus is slowly getting under control. But, Vermont, a state of mostly older people, stays buttoned up. Senior members of our nearby family are sufficiently elderly to be rightfully terrified and remain sequestered and hunkered down. Being alone on our mountain property, we feel safe, but take no chances. Vermont requires face masks, we carry hand sanitizer in the car and we use it anytime we leave the car. Saturday markets and social events are cancelled, schools are closed, people are working from home, and the home improvement industry gets very active as sequestered homeowners try to make use of their time at home. But the virus has disrupted the supply chain, so the availability of lumber and other construction supplies becomes spotty.

In the midst of the chaos, our builder accepts other work. Things are not going well and we are devastated, so we reach out to some of our local friends for advice. Neighbors stop in the road to talk, and we get emails and phone calls offering names of tradesmen, contractors, and handymen. With such a short building season — basically mid-June until October snow — the really good guys have lined up their projects during the winter, and are unavailable until next year. Karma intervenes and one of the top general contractors in the area returns our call. He’s had big cancellations because of the virus, so could give us 4 weeks starting next month.

This is the shot we need and we’re off to the races. We make full use of our prep time as we clean up and reorganize, finish some incomplete projects, and work the phones. We meet with the new GC to prioritize several important projects. He is highly knowledgeable, helpful, and gives us confidence that his team will do a great job.

We are back in business!