Beyond those fresh realities of sanitisation, social distancing and mask wearing, to get up and running in 2021, we need to address those jobs which will secure and update, strengthen and beautify our buildings, in most cases, for the long term, to make them home.

Let’s make last year’s problems 
this year’s opportunities.

We know now, how to be, on a daily basis, to avoid contagion, maximise our efforts, be they at home, or on site and work within a framework which puts safety first to get the job done.

But these are not the only fresh facts.  Our new way of living raises many prudent considerations, which in themselves will enable us to life save our social lives, without driving them all to ZOOM.  This is especially possible if you intend to build from scratch or make some architectural additions to your home.

Space and the distances between are now the common denominators, when considering post pandemic construction. Yes it sounds, tastes and smells like social engineering 

and it is!

If we are to be proactive, that ‘busy’ house, under-utilised and wasted space and those poorly ventilated rooms might just become airy, light and healthy!

The indoor/outdoor concept is not a new idea.  

Throughout history, courtyards and gardens, fountains and rock pools, within the four walls of our compounds, were a must.  

They were places of relaxation, solitude and contemplation, without the risky exposure, outside the perimeter walls.  Viruses, pandemics and lawlessness were the reason for that insularity.  From that perspective, cynics may say that nothing appears to have changed!

We are human.  We crave entertainment, stimulus and interaction and above all, we are gregarious by nature.  

As Caribbean people we gather to enjoy.

So it is now incumbent upon all of us to look to this new future and learn the new language of space, which now equals health, distance, which now means safety and cleanliness which now means survival and development.

We left home before, to make our daily bread and the more we made, the more of it we spent gathering with random crowds in places different from our homes.  So much so, that we often used our homes only as flop houses and recovery centres, between phases of our busy outside lives.

But, as chance would have it, we have had inordinate lengths of time in the past year, where our own four walls became our refuge, with the internet as guide.  We lived the frustration of lockdown, reinvented our work, pastimes, family interactions, friendships and new ways to exist, day by day.

Whether it be by lean-to, or gazebo, extension or bay window, roof garden or plunge pool, garden shed or spare room, we have had more than enough time, considering and surmising what our new lives will be like if we just knocked down 'that' wall or let the breeze blow through, added a door, or walled in a private space and called it 'porch'.

Yes we live in the new age of evaluation, where our considerations, be they grand or humble, will directly effect our lives and our fundamental happiness.

It’s a time to make those real.

At ECMIL, we stand ready to deliver the materials and advice, at remarkable ‘get it done’ factory prices, to make those post COVID ideas come alive.

And when you plan for those new and evolving spaces,

think weather, temperature, water storage and controlling the elements to your greatest benefit.  From vent blocks to louvres, screens and pocket doors, blinds and push-out jalousies, our culture has been here before!

Within the Caribbean, fresh air and water, sunlight, an abundance of locally grown food and significant living space are largely, easily acquired and managed.

Our recurrent risks are wind and water and consistent protection from both, and now COVID -19.

Learning to coexist with all of this, allows us time to think, work, interact and enjoy our environment.  This maybe the greatest takeaway from the torments of 2020.

Steel is our business and the core of that new security.  It lasts, endures and protects that new found home, as you make best use of what you have, staying in alignment with these changing times.

From foundation to roof, our products will contribute to your construction efficiency, reliability, viability and help you get this done.

Let’s build intelligently manage spaces, to bring what we like closer to us and encompass tastes and space, to include a foreseeable future, where, even in our region, containment will become like gold, especially when faced with contagion.

Call ECMIL today and let’s get started!