Do Landscaping Companies Work In The Rain? How To Avoid These Problems?

Whether the job is hard landscaping or lawn care maintenance, the bulk of landscaping work is carried out outdoors. Thus if you hire a landscaping or lawn care business, you will be subjected to the whims and fancies of the weather.

Weather delays are not uncommon when it comes to landscape services, and in particular, rainy days can cause problems for commercial clients and residential customers.

The occasional rain delay might just be a small hiccup in small projects, but consistent bad weather over several days can throw the schedule of the landscaping company off track and cause major inconvenience to the clients – especially when contractors are working on a huge project with many moving parts and dependencies across teams.

Of course, the rainy season generally does not come as a surprise, be it spring or fall rains. Depending on your location and climate, the landscaping crews know when to expect wet weather, and good landscapers would have prepared for this eventuality in some form.

However, the ripple effects of a delayed competition can be devastating, especially for commercial businesses that need to fully operate to start paying off the costs of the landscaping – a catch-22 that no one can afford.

But how can rain delays be mitigated by landscaping and lawn care businesses? And what other potential delays should you expect? Read on to prevent these project hazards!

Will A Rain Day Affect Work?

A rainy day is never great news for landscaping businesses, but it does not have to be a complete bummer.

Light Rain

If it is raining a light drizzly rain, most landscapers will not be fazed. The majority of hard landscaping activities can continue in such weather conditions. However, cement work may not be possible. A lot of lawn maintenance jobs can also still be carried out, albeit slower.

However, lawnmowers may be out of action. The equipment is sensitive to moisture, particularly its oil tank and parts of the engine.

Mowing wet grass can also increase wear and tear damage to the mower blades. Moreover, persisting to mow wet grass will likely yield poor cutting results. Fertilising may also be an issue, as the rain might wash the good stuff away!

Heavy Downpours

Rainy days become a real issue when it is absolutely pouring. Mowing is out of the question, as is the rest of thelandscaping work. When it rains so hard that the crews cannot spend time outdoors, actual service on the ground will simply have to stop.

So, does rain affect work? Well, the answer is complicated.

Yes, the rain will delay actual work on the lawn or garden, however, it is also a great opportunity for the crew to catch up on other kinds of work.

What Can A Landscaping Company Do When It Rains?

When the crew is on the job and it starts to rain, here are a few industry standard options that they have, which often alignwith expectations from customers.

Wait An Hour

If mowing or a similar dry weather activity is a priority, the workers might take a break to wait out the rain. Often, it does not pour for hours, and once the sun peaks out, the crews are back on it.

Clean up

A big part of every job is cleaning up, yet this is often put aside till the end. A rainy day is a perfect time to get ahead of the cleaning. There is always something to clean, e.g. weed control might mean piles of foliage trash, or hardscaping might result in scrapes and construction dust.

Equipment Maintenance

Equipment maintenance is not just something the landscape business has to carry out at their own shop or warehouse. It is also something that needs to be done on the spot during the job – mow blades might need to be repaired, oil changes need to be completed, etc. This keeps the crews busy during bad weather.

Other Landscaping Delays

It might not be raining much where you are, but you still are seeing delays in your landscaping project. Fret not, this is a common occurrence in the post-COVID-19 world.

According to risk management and forecasting consultants, Nplan, delays in landscaping projects have doubled.

These are some reasons why:

1. Post-Pandemic Plant Shortage

The rise of horticulture love, the increase of plant parents, and the general public’s obsession with foliage have surged during the pandemic. As a result, a large quantity of plant stock was sold in 2020 and 2021.

After clearing out much of plant inventory; many growers started selling into the subsequent years’ stock, to ensure that demand was met.

Nurseries and supplies may have to resort to first-come-first-serve tactics moving forward.

2. Huge Demand For Landscaping Projects Coupled With Limited Workforce

While the number of landscape improvement projects has risen with the increased interest in plants and outdoor spaces, the workforce has been trailing behind. Some of this is due to pandemic-related issues, such as the slow-down of training new hires due to social distancing policies. Also, self-isolation, quarantine, and an increased number of sick days have also led to crews that often face manpower shortages.

3. Other Weather Delays

Of course, it’s not just rain that delays projects. Bad weather does not just come from rain. As the southern hemisphere enters winter, frosty conditions and snow can affect landscaping activities too. The cold can be a disaster for the curing of cement.

It can also cause certain materials to swell temporarily, causing issues when the material returns to a normal size e.g. pavements sinking.

What Landscaping Companies Can Do To Mitigate Delays And Manage Customer Expectations?

How a lawn care or landscaping company plans for rain weather delays and other delays depends on their size, location, and budget, as well as whether they service business customers or residential clients.

Here are 5 industry best practices and tips for handling a rainy day and other delays. If you are hiring a landscaping company, be sure to check that they have some of the following practices in place.

1. Schedule Morning Hours

Smaller and more residential landscape service businesses can schedule clients in the morning. This gives the crew leeway into the afternoon hours to tend to the rest of the job should rain or snow interfere with the service early in the day.

2. Work A Four-Day Work Week

Likewise, it is common for a landscape business to schedule jobs from Monday through Thursday. This gives the crews a Friday, and even the weekends to complete the services should the weather be poor or should there be manpower shortages during the week.

3. Use A Two Day Service Window

The same concept is applied to the two-day service window. Here, the clients are informed the mowing or other jobs will take place within a two-day time frame. This gives both the clients and service providers breathing room to deal with rain delays or other issues.

4. Have A Rainy Day Policy

It is also good practice in the industry to be upfront with clients about any rainy day policies, especially if your business needs to close shop during the rain for any particular service. Putting this policy into your quotes and agreements is the way to get clients to be aware of it before they sign any contract. Clients can also be forward in asking about rainy day rescheduling and the timeline they expect.

5. Keep Customers Updated

Of course, sometimes the delays simply cannot be avoided even with the above tips in place, especially if it is not a rain delay but the business is dealing with plant or manpower shortages.

Our advice is to always keep in contact with the clients in such situations. This helps customers to feel in the loop, and they will be assured that their mowing, fertilization, or spring planting needs will be rescheduled and taken care of. Phone calls are the easier way to inform clients, you might also want to post updates on your company’s social media or websites.

Delay Go Away

Just like we can wish the rain away to no avail, rain delays and other delays are here to stay. Delays can and do happen.

It is important for the client to research the landscaping company, look through their track record and check past reviews. It is also best for the clients to know what they want before starting the project, and understand that changes to the plans can slow down progress.

While the onus is on the landscaping company to establish clear communication channels with their clients and to share consistent updates and progress reports, in this post-pandemic reality, both parties need to agree on a workable and flexible timeline for the project.

Although plant and manpower shortages may be a reality, it also bodes well, as cities, businesses, and individuals are embracing green living and green spaces.

Why Jay Scotts Planters Help Reduce And Mitigate Project Delays

At Jay Scotts, we are always here to support the landscaping industry with our versatile, high-quality, commercial fiberglass planters. Manufactured to the top grade standards, our fiberglass composite materials can stand up to the challenges of project delays and help to reduce them.

Here are five reasons why!

1. Lightweight and Strong

Fiberglass is famous for its supreme strength despite its light weight. Pound for pound, its strength to weight ratio is unrivalled compared to even steel, wood, or concrete. Moreover, it has only a quarter the density of steel.

This makes it an ideal material for planters. Even at an extra-large size, our planters are easy and safe to move, compared to metal, wood, terracotta, and concrete planters.

This means less manpower and specialized equipment is needed to install the fiberglass planters and hence fewer delays!

2. Durable and Weather Proof

Second, fiberglass has a long lifespan. Even under tough conditions, its mechanical properties and micro-structural integrity can last for longer than 15 years.

Strong winds, freezing temperatures, and harsh sunshine have no adverse effect on our fiberglass planters. They are frost-resistant and UV-resistant, no harm will come to their look or structure.

Therefore, Jay Scotts’ fiberglass containers can be installed despite rainfall, and they will last through many storms to come.

Top Read: Check out the 5 commercial office design trends for 2022 and how planters are your secret weapon.

3. Flexible in Design

No matter what color scheme or layout you are looking for – we have the planter for you. Yet another great thing about fiberglass is that it can be molded into various complex shapes and is suitable for many design styles from rustic to contemporary, from industrial to beach chic.

Choose from our extensive stylish collection; there are 18 stunning colors to choose from along with many shapes, sizes, and even finishes. The versatility of fiberglass and the extensiveness of our collection means less time needs to be spent on sourcing.

Top Read: Find out more about outdoor design and commercial landscaping ideas.

4. Battle-Tested Delivery

Jay Scotts planter delivery and logistics are battle-tested with a proven track record of on-time delivery. Our dedication to delivery means fewer delays and less backlog for you.

5. Industry-Leading Warranty

Last but not least, we stand by our products with an industry-leading warranty. Each planter holds a three-year warranty to ensure the purchaser of our products that they are of quality material and workmanship, and are free of manufacturing defects

See Jay Scotts Planters In Action!

Take a look and see how Jay Scotts planters were perfect for this residential space!

With Jay Scotts’ planters, you have one less thing to worry about causing delays. Let us help you with custom planter solutions – feel free to give us a call or send us a message, and our team will be more than happy to walk you through any outstanding questions or requests you might have.

Alternatively, why not browse our planters and get a quote to begin costing your next project!