Foul weather and you are looking for a drainage contractor
Every year the same scenario unfolds. Winter somes sooner than you think. The drainage market is brisk all year round, but when it starts raining in Portland, Oregon, it gets nuts.
The phone has gone off 21 times a day during hard rains, with customers angry, confused, and “stuck” with drainage issues that they knew existed prior, but did not handle. Don’t expect to find a quality drainage contractor who is not booked up.
Even in the summer months it is more likely for a quality drainage contractor to be booked for 5-8 weeks or more, and not have the time for new customers. Customers most often find their drainage contractor based on referrals, such as Angie’s list, or other former customers or contractor referrals from the area. If you have a drainage concern, I suggest you call before it gets crazy. At times the frustration level rises to the point of hysteria.
Homeowners selling homes with pest dryrot and structural inspections that indicate they have groundwater problems are some of the worst off. I understand their situation but sometimes I feel like saying, “you really need to dial 911 if you have an emergency”, and then follow it up with a referral to a therapist. If drainage issues sound like something you might face in the marketing of your property, I suggest that you get on someones list in the early fall before the rains come, and save yourself the anxiety and hard times.
The worst of it for these homeowners is that they get stuck with a poor contractor with some “voo doo” drainage idea that they think will work. Very few contractors specialize in hand excavated french drain groundwater removal. Few understand the engineering and variables, and even fewer do the work well enough to get referrals and happy customers.
It is not uncommon for a hand excavated system of french drains with 100-150 lineal feet and a drywell or two to require a weeks worth of hand excavation and dirt distribution combined with rock and perforated pipe placement. Each job is a lot of time and work. That means the drainage contractor installing hand excavated french drains can only do so many.
This is especially true in bad weather. Plus, when it is frozen, you can’t work at all. Think about it folks, don’t let the whole thing sneek up on you to the point of hysteria and frustration. Winter is coming soon.