Hammers have begun to fly again at residential constructions sites in Spokane County that were shut down by Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-home order to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Construction industry officials and Inslee reopened what’s called phase one last Friday, and contractors had about a week before that to get the necessary safety equipment needed to protect workers. Phase one of the plan calls for opening mostly pre-existing construction sites that had to be shut down, said Joel White, executive officer of the Spokane Home Builders Association.

“Trying to bring all employees back will be a slower process than we would have liked,” White said. “But protecting the workers and their customers is the top priority.”

The new guidelines require that workers always wear gloves, eye protection and face coverings and keep a social distance at all time. Employers must provide wash stations and keep a log that documents which employees come and go.

If the crew has more than seven workers, one of them must monitor the others for safety compliance, White said.

At the last minute last week, the state added a requirement that employees either check their own temperature or have employers check their temperature when they arrive at the job site, he said

“That was agreed to,” White said. “Nobody wants to have a worker on the job site with COVID-19. But with the social distancing and wash stations, it should be a very safe environment now for workers.”

Corey Condron, owner of Condron Homes in Spokane, said he’s been able to restart about 14 residential projects in Spokane County under the phase one reopening.

“The biggest issue was rounding up all the equipment to follow the rules,” Condron said.

He couldn’t find thermometers in any of the five stores he tried. He then went online to Amazon, which limited sales to one thermometer per buyer. Condron then checked with each of his crew, all of whom already had a thermometer at home.

If any of them take a reading of 100.4 degrees or higher, they are required to stay home, Condron said. But the new requirement is already bumping heads with another federal law: the Health Insurance Portability and Privacy Act, or HIPPA.

“HIPPA laws don’t allow us to record or ask for their specific temperatures,” Condron said. “I can ask them, ‘Do you qualify to come to work or not?’”

The crews did not exactly embrace the new changes, he said.

“There was the moaning and groaning, but once it sunk in, they went to work,” Condron said. “If this is all we have to do to follow the rules, hey, we are happy to be working.”

Mike Ennis, government affairs director for the Association of Washington Business, said Thursday he has been part of the ongoing negotiations with Inslee about opening even more construction as part of phase two.

But, he said Inslee and state health officials want to see infection rates drop and how construction crews comply with phase one before opening up things like new construction and privately funded commercial projects.

“We are probably a month to a month-and-a-half away from phase two,” Ennis said. “That’s frustrating. But (Inslee has) at least told us he is waiting for that data to improve.”

White, of the Spokane Home Builders Association. said another huge piece of the restart included workers from the city, county and state. Construction crews can only build so much before they need inspectors to sign off on that work, he said.

Inspectors need to approve everything from plumbing, electrical, insulation and framing.

“Then you get into the utilities department, looking at sewer and water plus access to the roads,” White said. “The city, county and state has to bring folks back on line. That was part of the negotiation was to get those people back working.”

The shutdown came at a time when the market for new homes was hot. Condron said he continued to work during the stay-at-home order.

“I kept getting inquiries the entire time,” he said. “I’m still seeing demand during the shutdown, which is very encouraging.”