Shawn Coffey of HiLine Painting and Powerwashing in Marion said the demand for jobs went up 250% since the start of the coronavirus because people wanted work done on their second homes. Dave Petersen of Petersen Electric in Rochester was in the same situation — people wanted their house ready so they can move in early.

And while work hasn’t slowed down for DG Services in Mattapoisett, its steady stream of jobs is from innovation: the company has seen an increase in installations of cutting edge air purification systems in homes and businesses.

When the pandemic first started, Coffey had a “bull rush of jobs” in the late spring and early summer. He credits this to the amount of second homes owned by temporary residents in Marion, the town where he gets 90% of his work. 

“That was pretty hectic,” Coffey said.

Once people realized it would be better to work from a home where they are near the beach, the demand came in. 

The rush created a problem for him — he now works 12 hours a day, seven days a week just to keep up with the amount of work.

The jobs are also bigger. With people home, Coffey said that owners are taking care of painting a room or a ceiling, but will call him for a hallway or a two-story staircase.

The jobs take longer too. Coffey is involved with a renovation project in which in the house was supposed to be on the market at the end of May. To keep workers safe, the contractor in charge of the job is only letting one worker in at a time rather than having the plumber, the carpenter the electrician and the painter work all at once.

Safety is not a concern for Coffey because he and his clients are good about keeping everyone protected. At this point in the virus, he said people are good about wearing masks and he is oftentimes working alone in homes. 

“We’re all pretty much set with this thing,” he said about getting used to working during the pandemic.

Vacation homes have also been a source of jobs for Petersen.

Though the start of the pandemic was slow, he worked on many empty second homes, so he was able to work uninhibited.

“People still need work done,” he said.

Now that restrictions are relaxed, Petersen is being bombarded with work that could have been done months ago, if not for the virus. 

This created problems in two ways: supplies and inspections.

What would once be a two-day waiting period for supplies is now a five-day delay due to the backup in the supply chain.

And when the jobs are completed, it has been hard to get them inspected. With building departments open in varying forms, he either had to delay the completion of jobs, or find an alternative way to have them inspected, such as using FaceTime. Fortunately, most homeowners are understanding.

For him, not shaking hands with people and being friendly has “definitely felt weird.”

During work, he stays away from homeowners and wears a mask. Petersen said he isn’t a worrier, so the virus hasn’t concerned him.

DG services has been able to help residents with their fear of the virus using technology. 

The heating and cooling business offers an active indoor air purification system for homes and businesses. 

The system injects a odorless combination of ultraviolet light and ionized hydrogen peroxide into the air to actively purify it.

“I never thought that it would take off to the degree it would,” said DG services President Grace Knox.

Since the start of the pandemic, the company has installed 100 units in homes and businesses.

At the start of the pandemic, 80% of their commercial work shut down in April. Since then, Knox said 90% of their work was in homes.

Employees wear masks and gloves, and everyone has their temperature checked daily.

Being in an attic for some jobs “has presented challenges for the service,” but the pandemic has taught Knox about thinking on her feet.

After the pandemic is over, she wants to create a separate division for indoor air quality services because of the success the company is having with the product.

“We made a positive out of a negative,” Knox said.