NAHB has published a toolkit for the residential construction industry to help covered companies comply with the requirements of a new emergency temporary standard (ETS) from OSHA that mandates COVID-19 vaccinations for workers or weekly testing. On Nov. 5, 2021, OSHA issued the COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in workplaces. It requires all employers with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccinations for their workers or weekly COVID-19 tests to attend work. Although the ETS is being vigorously challenged in courts all over the United States, its publication in the Federal Register made it effective on Nov. 5. And some of its provisions will be enforceable by OSHA inspectors…

By Keith Liston The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way we live in a matter of months. With less time out in the world, we have realized the ways that our homes now need to change, too. Tiny apartments clustered around communal laundry mats and all-inclusive workout rooms must reassess safety in a new age of social distancing. Event spaces once created for public gatherings and parties must reinvent. Open-plan suburban homes with little storage and vast raised ceilings need new ways to separate work, school, and play. As increased isolation has become the new norm, so have frustrations with the one space we rely on most to be safe, comfortable, functional, and efficient:…

By Ana Durrani Home trends come and go, but social distancing and staying at home have ushered in a new way of life—and some of those changes have spurred home trends that are likely to stick around well past the COVID-19 era. “The idea of what is necessary is changing,” says Camille Thomas, a real estate matchmaker and lifestyle expert in Jackson Hole, WY. “The home has become more than a living space.” This means a lot of people have started to evaluate how they live in their home and what matters most to them when buying. Here are some of the real estate and design trends people have latched on to during the pandemic that will likely…

Bill Lewis Special to The Tennessean Remember going to the grocery last spring and finding empty shelves where the bathroom tissue was supposed to be? Stores unexpectedly rationed sales because COVID-19 disrupted the supply chain. The toilet paper shortage of 2020, like everything else about the pandemic, is having an effect on home designs as they change to keep up with the way we live today. Peek behind the master bathroom door of some new houses in Williamson County and instead of an ordinary toilet you’ll find a combination potty-bidet. It’s an ordinary fixture in many European countries but something new in Tennessee. “We’re pricing them for all of our houses and installing them…