Do Landscaping Companies Work in the Rain?

The majority of landscaping projects are completed outdoors, so when you hire a company for the job, keep in mind that they will be working in whatever weather conditions are present on any given day. Unfortunately, delays due to weather are all too common in the landscape industry-- especially on rainy days. This can cause major problems for both commercial and residential clients.

While an isolated rain delay might be viewed as a mere inconvenience on small projects, if bad weather persists over several days, it can cause havoc to the landscaping company's schedule and result in major client disruptions. This is especially true when contractors work on large projects with numerous interdependent teams.

The rainy season is, unsurprisingly, not a surprise. Landscaping crews are generally prepared for wet weather, whether it's spring or fall rains since they know when to expect it depending on their location and climate. On the other hand, delayed work may have serious ripple effects, especially for landscaping crews that must operate at full capacity to offset operating costs.

How Will Rain Affect Landscaping Work?

While a rainy day is not the best news for landscaping businesses, it's not necessarily terrible.

Light to Medium Rain

Most landscapers don't mind working in light rain, as many hardscaping activities can continue. However, cement work is usually not possible in these conditions. Lawn maintenance jobs can be carried out but may take longer than usual. The majority of lawn mowers are sensitive to moisture and won't work properly in the rain.

Although most landscapers don't mind working a little in the rain, many activities will take longer than normal. For example, lawn maintenance jobs may take longer than normal because lawnmowers usually don't work well when it's wet outside.

Mowing wet grass may cause the mower blades to wear out more quickly. Furthermore, continuing to mow wet grass will almost certainly result in subpar cutting results, and fertilizing may be a problem since the rain might wash away any nutrients!

Heavy Rain

When it pours rain, landscaping companies have to deal with a laundry list of issues. Mowing the lawn is out of the question, as well as any other work that has to be done outside. Service crews can't stay outdoors in those conditions, which means that progress on current projects will come to a screeching halt.

So, does rain have an impact on landscaping productivity? The answer is complex. The rain does cause workers to miss out on time spent working on the lawn or garden, but it also allows them to catch up on other types of work.

Landscaping Practices For When It Rains

When it begins to rain on the crew, here are a few industry standards options that they typically have, which generally match with client expectations.

Wait

The crew can wait it out in the rain if mowing or any other dry-weather work is essential. It generally only lasts up to an hour, and the employees are back to work when the sun comes out.

Tidying up

It's inevitable - every job will have some cleanup afterward. It tends to get put off until the end, but procrastinating on this means more work for you later on. A rainy day is actually a great opportunity to take care of the cleaning early. And there's always something that needs cleaners, whether it be mountains of foliage after weed control or shreds and dust from hardscaping.

Equipment Maintenance

Not only does equipment maintenance need to happen at the shop or home base, but it also needs to be done on-site during jobs. This might include repairing lawn mower blades, changing the oil, and keeping crews busy during inclement weather.