There’s an old adage we adhere to in the construction industry when it comes to dealing with wet fall and winter weather:
“Keep your head down and hope it works out.”
That’s part of the excitement of construction and trying to keep customers happy despite a major variable and condition that’s out of our control.
Any time after mid-October, the weather starts to become a critical issue on exterior jobs. To do most of this kind of work, we need the temperature to stay above freezing. With brick and stone, if the nighttime air temperature doesn’t get above about 40 degrees, it usually doesn’t dry out between rains and that can make projects difficult to take care of.
After decades in this business, we’ve seen it all when it comes to favorable, unfavorable or unworkable weather conditions. About eight or nine years ago, we went from Labor Day to Thanksgiving with practically zero rain. It usually doesn’t work out that way, but that year was great for us because we could pretty much just work non-stop. Yet that same year it probably didn’t stop raining or snowing from Thanks giving until well into January.
That’s just how our industry ebbs and flows from season to season. Throughout the year, we pay pretty close attention to the forecasts. We watch the news, use six or seven different weather apps and websites and try to keep a close eye on what’s coming. And while the wet, rainy and colder months can hinder what we’re able to do in most applications, we aren’t completely helpless all winter.
We try to save interior work for the winter, but even outdoors there are still measures we can take to help keep structures dry and secure. There are specialty products like window caulking that sticks to wet surfaces or waterproofing materials that will work all the way down to zero degrees, but you just have to be extra careful and diligent about what you’re doing and how you do it.
So while the weather conditions might not be perfect these next few months, we aren’t scared off by a little rain or cold and can still do our best to keep your facility free of leaks and other damage.
We can’t control the weather, but the experts in our service department can find a solution to help you make it through the season.