March 11, 2025 • 17 mins
Blair Burke from Greenfrog Waterproofing joins Regina League to uncover the hidden world of home moisture management in Charlotte. What began as Blair's teenage experience building trail systems in the New Mexico mountains evolved into a thriving waterproofing business built on comprehensive solutions rather than quick fixes.
Did you know Charlotte receives more rainfall than Seattle? This surprising fact shapes our region's unique waterproofing challenges. Blair explains that while Seattle gets constant drizzle, Charlotte's heavy downpours create intense water pressure around foundations. He shares critical warning signs homeowners should watch for: musty odors after returning from vacation, hardwood floors that begin to cup (edges rising higher than centers), and structural cracks appearing around doors and windows.
Perhaps most alarming is Blair's revelation about indoor air quality – approximately 40% of the air we breathe on our first floor comes directly from our crawl spaces. This "stack effect" means whatever mold, moisture, or contaminants exist beneath your home are being circulated through your living spaces. Green Frog Waterproofing stands out by addressing the complete water management picture, from roof gutters to yard grading to crawl space encapsulation.
"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail," Blair explains, contrasting his comprehensive approach with competitors who offer limited solutions that maximize their profit through recurring maintenance. His team undergoes extensive training in mold remediation, stormwater management, and building science to develop customized solutions that might include gravitational drainage systems rather than mechanical pumps when possible.
Protect your home investment and family health by visiting greenfrogwaterproofing.com to schedule a thorough inspection of your property's water management systems. Blair's team services the greater Charlotte region with solutions backed by warranties up to 25 years.
Greenfrog Waterproofing
Blair Burke
Matthews, NC, United States, North Carolina
(980) 202-1222
Admin@greenfrogwaterproofing.com
GreenFrogWaterproofing.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Regina League.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of
the Good Neighbor Podcast.
I'm here in South Charlotte andmy favorite thing is to
introduce local business ownersand chat with them about what
they do, their journey and whatsets them apart, and I'm super
excited.
I've heard about this companyfor a long time and I've got
(00:31):
Blair Burke with us today.
He is the owner of Greenf rogWaterproofing.
Welcome, Blair.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Thank you, Regina.
Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I love the name of your business and I'm super
curious.
Tell us a little bit about you,maybe growing up and how you
got into this industry and,better yet, what inspired you to
create your own?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
business, even as a kid.
I'm one of four boys in myfamily and really enjoyed being
outside all the time and grew upplaying sports and was in Boy
Scouts.
And when I was 17 and 18 andthen, even so, three summers in
(01:18):
a row I went and worked on DudeRanch for the Boy Scouts in New
Mexico, and my job was to buildhiking and riding trails through
the Rocky Mountains, and so yougot to learn a lot about
grading and water and you maynot think there's a lot of water
in New Mexico we were inNorthern New Mexico but when the
(01:40):
water comes it comes fast andso we have to manage it rightly,
so it doesn't cause erosion.
And I really got into that.
You know that was back in thelate 80s, early 90s, and didn't
think I would use it.
I actually was a, but I was atthat time a civil engineering
(02:02):
major in college At that time acivil engineering major in
college and then, through aseries of events, changed my
major from civil engineering tobroadcasting documentary and did
that for about 10 years.
And then now, you know, yearsago, decades ago, got back into
civil engineering throughconstruction.
(02:23):
I started working for a firm andwith the downturn they laid off
a lot of people.
They owned a lot of the marketshare in Charlotte, and so I was
one of the ones laid off.
But I knew people were stayingput during the downturn and
putting money that they did haveinto their houses because they
couldn't sell them.
So that's hence started GreenFrog, and I actually got a lead
(02:48):
from a plumber and they saidso-and-so needs some work done
in their crawl space.
I put together a bid and thenput together a letterhead on
Microsoft Word and just someclip art.
I love the name Green Frogbecause green's my favorite
color and frogs are alwayswaterproof, and so I thought it
(03:11):
makes sense.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
I saw them at that way.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Yeah, and so put that together and won the bid.
And then the hardest thing iswhen you win a bid, now you got
to go produce a job, and so forthat first year I was the crew,
along with a business partner,and so and since we've that was
14 years ago we've grown andright now we've got about five
(03:36):
crews today that are working andat different levels of doing
grading.
We're doing inside the crawlspace, basement work, also
outside we're building retainingwalls, we're doing riverbeds,
so we're trying to stop thewater before it gets to your
house, and then we also handlethe effects of when it gets into
(03:58):
your house or under your house.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
What are the signs for a homeowner that there is
potential water damage?
Because I lived in a house andhow we found out was we were
having the I guess the ACreplaced, and so he's under the
house and he's like, okay,you've got a problem.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
There's water.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yeah, so if you don't have another subcontractor that
goes under the house like atermite company or HVAC who
could ring the ring, the alarmfor you, you might have so much
water.
It may have been in your casewhere it actually can shut off
the air conditioning or heat.
That's a possibility.
But there are other signs thatshow a lot of times.
(04:43):
If you go away for a day or afew days for a vacation, to come
back in and your house smellsmusty, then you probably it
doesn't.
Then you what we call it thenose test or the smell test that
you probably have some kind ofwater issue going on, and so you
want to go to your kitchen andstart checking into the cabinets
(05:05):
, because those tend to.
If you have a crawl space, thecrawl space is going to come up
through those cabinets and hangout there.
Another sign is if you havehardwood floors and they start
to cup not crown but cup thenyou know you have moisture on
the bottom side, and so thatmeans where the edges of each of
(05:26):
the hardwoods start to push upand the center is lower, that's
cupping.
So those are signs, and then ifin general, you're actually
seeing water damage around thebaseboards, whether you're a
slab crawl space or if you're ina basement.
It's a little bit easier to seethat.
(05:47):
But then I would even say, gooutside your house and if you
see your gutters are full andit's causing erosion next to
your house, chances are thatwater's not just staying there
or draining away, it's comingunder your house.
So we'll take a look at allthose things.
We start at the roof, look atthe gutters, look at the side,
(06:08):
look at the grade and then gounder and then even come inside
the house and evaluate there.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
What are some of the most common waterproofing issues
you see in Charlotte?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, I would say probably and most people don't
know this that we actually get.
Charlotte gets more rainfallthan Seattle Washington, and so
the Seattle Washington gets itin drips.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, I was about to say we get it all in a few days.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
We get it in buckets, right, and so because of that,
your roof produces a lot ofwater and most people don't
clean their gutters, and so thenthe gutters dump next to the
foundation and then the watersettles next to the foundation
and will cause structural issues, and then you can even notice
(06:56):
that's.
Another sign you can notice isthat you're starting to get
cracks around doors, windows, orthe windows aren't opening.
Then you probably know you havea structural issue, because
every house moves, because ifthe ground is wet it's going to
swell and your house is going tolift up, and if we're dry it's
going to contract, and that'snot a problem.
(07:17):
It's just that when your housemoves unevenly, that's when you
have structural issues.
And so we need to come and takea look at what's happening with
your gutters.
What's happening once the waterhits?
Is it running away from yourhouse or is it running towards
your house?
And then where's it going fromthere?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Well, you've got a great website.
It's very, very informative.
And one thing I read that Inever even tied the two together
is the air quality in your home, where you stated that 40 of
the air you breathe on yourfirst floor comes from the crawl
space.
That's.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I had no idea yeah, yeah, that that is as air.
There's something called thestacked effect and as air heats
up, it travels through yourhouse and winds up in your attic
the hottest air does.
So a lot of people have ventedcrawl spaces, and that was for
100 years.
(08:13):
That was the building sciencethat you could open the crawl
space for air to flow through,and the prevailing thought was
it's like opening windows inyour house.
You can get a cross ventilation.
The problem is that doesn'thappen.
Air comes into your crawl spaceand as it heats up, it goes
through the floor insulation andcomes inside the house through
(08:37):
tiny cracks in your floor orpipe penetrations and that's how
you're breathing the air fromthe crawl space.
So out of every 10 breathsyou're taking four of those is
like you're in the crawl spaceand so whatever condition that
is down there from the mold toanimals to the water that's
(08:59):
under there and the oldinsulation, the dankness that's
why it can smell inside yourhouse when you come back from
vacation.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
So walk us through the process.
Someone calls you and says Idon't know, tell us how it works
.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Yeah, that's right.
We would encourage them to goto our website and there's a
form you can fill out.
It's pretty simple, and then wehave someone that will follow
back up with you through email,get your information, see where
you are in charlotte, assign youto myself or some another
technician or salesperson on thenorth side, and then we'll come
(09:36):
out.
After we make that.
We want you to be there so thatwe can ask you some more
interview questions about thehouse and your experience with
what the perceived problem is.
And then we go and take aboutan hour around the house and and
check it, go through checklistand and taking pictures, taking
(09:58):
readings of the wood, moisturelevel, the relative humidity,
whatever it may be, or if it'syard drainage.
We also take gps of your yard sowe can see the, the topography
of your yard, the flow of youryard, see what your neighbors
are doing all those are factorsthat are affecting.
(10:18):
And then we put put together aquote, usually a multi-page
quote, with pictures, adescription and prices that and
try to give you an option.
We don't just say hey, we don'tshow up and say here's what you
need Now, what's your problem.
We try to find out what yourtrue problems are not just the
manifesto problems, and thengive you a good, better, best
(10:40):
approach so that you can enterin.
If you're trying to sell thehouse or if you want to be there
forever, then you can enter inat whatever price point or
whatever scope that's best foryou.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
What are some of the biggest misconceptions that
homeowners have aboutwaterproofing?
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Yeah, I think they think a French drain encompasses
everything, and a French drainis typically it has a limited,
it can handle a few things.
It's meant.
The best way I can describe aFrench drain is just a sponge in
the ground.
So if you have some area that'swet, it's constantly drying
(11:19):
that area out for 24 hours a day.
But you may also have agradient issue.
You may also have a downspoutissue with your gutters.
You may have a landscape issuethat you have trees and plants
growing too close to the house.
You may have a humidity issuein your crawl space, and so a
lot of people say, hey, justcome over and put a French drain
(11:40):
in.
Maybe they've watched too muchHGTV, whatever it is, but you
know whenever I bring on a salesspecialist.
it takes them about 18 months oftraining, so it's not a quick.
I'm trying to teach them on.
They're going to becomecertified in mold remediation.
They're going to be certifiedwith a state on stormwater
(12:04):
movement.
There's other certificationswith pavers, retaining wall,
blocks, building science thatare bringing them on, and so let
us come out and just assesswhat the issues are and then
we'll build that.
Here's what ought to happen.
And you may say well, we have alot of customers say can I do
that this year and then dowhatever else you say next year?
(12:28):
So we try to give you a masterplan of having a dry, healthy
house.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Do you offer any kind of financing solutions?
Speaker 3 (12:36):
We do.
We offer our financing throughWiseTac, which is a pretty easy
procedure.
Whenever we send a quotethrough WiseTac, which is a
pretty easy procedure Wheneverwe send a quote, you can right
then apply for a loan amount andget approval within a minute.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Well, I love all of this.
I can tell you really know yourbusiness.
Well, what do you think setsyou apart from other
waterproofing companies inCharlotte?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Yeah, there's the expression if all you have is a
hammer, everything looks like anail, and most companies pare
down what they do so that theycan make it easy on their
salespeople and maximize theirprofit.
A classic example is mostcompanies in Charlotte will say,
oh, you need a sump in thecrawl space, a sump and a pump.
Well, that's somethingelectrical that that can go out,
(13:23):
that's something mechanicalthat needs to be replaced.
But it's really good for thecompany because they they now
have a revenue stream thatthey've got to replace that sump
pump.
But if we, if you live in a lotthat we can gravitationally
drain that water out of yourcrawl space and trench a pipe
going out so that it'sconstantly draining out of your
(13:43):
crawl space or around your house, then we will do that.
And because we keep machinerythat we can do outside work and
so we have a bigger toolbox thaneverybody else.
We don't just have a hammer, wehave screwdrivers, we have
other things that we can canmultiple tools.
That is best for the customerand it's good for our company.
(14:06):
But we try to give you a lot ofdifferent options without
overwhelming you, but also justgives you a choice yeah, I'm
sure, and do you offer any kindof warranty?
we do.
We offer warranties from oneyear workmanship all the way to
25 year performance warrantiesthat are renewed every year.
Yeah, so we come back once ayear and inspect the our work
(14:32):
and whether it's outside orinside that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Well, you sound like a very busy man.
Do you ever have time off andif so, what do you like to do?
Speaker 3 (14:42):
yeah, yeah.
So I've got three kids.
One of the things I do for funis I stay.
I like to play in the mud withmy job, but we also we do a lot
of Spartan races, and so that'sa.
That's a pretty dirty racewhere you're, you've got all
these obstacles in the mud, andbut it's fun, it's.
I can do that with my kids, andthen I live on about 10 acres
(15:05):
and so I literally on SaturdaysI love Saturdays they're they're
kind of my rejuvenation daywhere I can experiment with
things here at my house and myland that I will actually then
roll out to customers.
So if you come to my house,it's like a giant showroom.
I have retaining walls, I haveriverbeds, I'm actually
(15:27):
experimenting with arecirculating creek and pond
that I'm working on.
So there's lots of things goingon here that are in process
from A to Z.
So some things are unfinished,but I'm trying to do some work.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I love what you're exposing your children to.
That's a game changer when theyget to see all of that
firsthand.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Yeah, yeah, well, they actually all of my kids
have worked for me.
My daughter's done some socialmedia and then both my sons have
been, have worked for mecurrently and ongoing.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Wow, I love it.
It has been a pleasure gettingto know you, blair, so tell our
listeners how they can findGreen Frog Waterproofing.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Yeah, thank you, greenfrogwaterproofing.
com.
You can go to our website.
You can find us pretty easy.
You can Google GreenFrogaterproofing.
com.
You can go to our website, youalso.
You can find us pretty easy inGoogle Green Frog Waterproofing.
And so sorry, I've got it.
Not only do I have three kids,I've got three dogs.
Oh, wow and so.
But that's the best way toreach us and then from there
(16:38):
we'll follow up with you.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
How far out fromlotte do you guys cover?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
well, as charlotte's gotten bigger.
We brought our territory in,but I've just brought on another
sales guy so that we will, wewill go up to the peninsula, up
in davidson, mooresville, andthen we go out to belmont, we
also, we all of south char, andthen going to Alba Mar tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
So how about South Carolina Indian land, fort Mill
yeah?
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Indian land, rock Hill, where I consider that
Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
I know, I know.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, well, it's been such a pleasure getting to know
you and congratulations on your.
You're going on 15 years as abusiness center, yeah.
That's amazing, so thank you somuch for joining us.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Thank you, Regina.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go toGNPSouthCharlotte.
com.
That's GNPSouthCharlotte.
com, or call 980-351-5719.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Regina League.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of
the Good Neighbor Podcast.
I'm here in South Charlotte andmy favorite thing is to
introduce local business ownersand chat with them about what
they do, their journey and whatsets them apart, and I'm super
excited.
I've heard about this companyfor a long time and I've got
(00:31):
Blair Burke with us today.
He is the owner of Greenf rogWaterproofing.
Welcome, Blair.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Thank you, Regina.
Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I love the name of your business and I'm super
curious.
Tell us a little bit about you,maybe growing up and how you
got into this industry and,better yet, what inspired you to
create your own?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
business, even as a kid.
I'm one of four boys in myfamily and really enjoyed being
outside all the time and grew upplaying sports and was in Boy
Scouts.
And when I was 17 and 18 andthen, even so, three summers in
(01:18):
a row I went and worked on DudeRanch for the Boy Scouts in New
Mexico, and my job was to buildhiking and riding trails through
the Rocky Mountains, and so yougot to learn a lot about
grading and water and you maynot think there's a lot of water
in New Mexico we were inNorthern New Mexico but when the
(01:40):
water comes it comes fast andso we have to manage it rightly,
so it doesn't cause erosion.
And I really got into that.
You know that was back in thelate 80s, early 90s, and didn't
think I would use it.
I actually was a, but I was atthat time a civil engineering
(02:02):
major in college At that time acivil engineering major in
college and then, through aseries of events, changed my
major from civil engineering tobroadcasting documentary and did
that for about 10 years.
And then now, you know, yearsago, decades ago, got back into
civil engineering throughconstruction.
(02:23):
I started working for a firm andwith the downturn they laid off
a lot of people.
They owned a lot of the marketshare in Charlotte, and so I was
one of the ones laid off.
But I knew people were stayingput during the downturn and
putting money that they did haveinto their houses because they
couldn't sell them.
So that's hence started GreenFrog, and I actually got a lead
(02:48):
from a plumber and they saidso-and-so needs some work done
in their crawl space.
I put together a bid and thenput together a letterhead on
Microsoft Word and just someclip art.
I love the name Green Frogbecause green's my favorite
color and frogs are alwayswaterproof, and so I thought it
(03:11):
makes sense.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
I saw them at that way.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Yeah, and so put that together and won the bid.
And then the hardest thing iswhen you win a bid, now you got
to go produce a job, and so forthat first year I was the crew,
along with a business partner,and so and since we've that was
14 years ago we've grown andright now we've got about five
(03:36):
crews today that are working andat different levels of doing
grading.
We're doing inside the crawlspace, basement work, also
outside we're building retainingwalls, we're doing riverbeds,
so we're trying to stop thewater before it gets to your
house, and then we also handlethe effects of when it gets into
(03:58):
your house or under your house.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
What are the signs for a homeowner that there is
potential water damage?
Because I lived in a house andhow we found out was we were
having the I guess the ACreplaced, and so he's under the
house and he's like, okay,you've got a problem.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
There's water.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yeah, so if you don't have another subcontractor that
goes under the house like atermite company or HVAC who
could ring the ring, the alarmfor you, you might have so much
water.
It may have been in your casewhere it actually can shut off
the air conditioning or heat.
That's a possibility.
But there are other signs thatshow a lot of times.
(04:43):
If you go away for a day or afew days for a vacation, to come
back in and your house smellsmusty, then you probably it
doesn't.
Then you what we call it thenose test or the smell test that
you probably have some kind ofwater issue going on, and so you
want to go to your kitchen andstart checking into the cabinets
(05:05):
, because those tend to.
If you have a crawl space, thecrawl space is going to come up
through those cabinets and hangout there.
Another sign is if you havehardwood floors and they start
to cup not crown but cup thenyou know you have moisture on
the bottom side, and so thatmeans where the edges of each of
(05:26):
the hardwoods start to push upand the center is lower, that's
cupping.
So those are signs, and then ifin general, you're actually
seeing water damage around thebaseboards, whether you're a
slab crawl space or if you're ina basement.
It's a little bit easier to seethat.
(05:47):
But then I would even say, gooutside your house and if you
see your gutters are full andit's causing erosion next to
your house, chances are thatwater's not just staying there
or draining away, it's comingunder your house.
So we'll take a look at allthose things.
We start at the roof, look atthe gutters, look at the side,
(06:08):
look at the grade and then gounder and then even come inside
the house and evaluate there.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
What are some of the most common waterproofing issues
you see in Charlotte?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, I would say probably and most people don't
know this that we actually get.
Charlotte gets more rainfallthan Seattle Washington, and so
the Seattle Washington gets itin drips.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah, I was about to say we get it all in a few days.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
We get it in buckets, right, and so because of that,
your roof produces a lot ofwater and most people don't
clean their gutters, and so thenthe gutters dump next to the
foundation and then the watersettles next to the foundation
and will cause structural issues, and then you can even notice
(06:56):
that's.
Another sign you can notice isthat you're starting to get
cracks around doors, windows, orthe windows aren't opening.
Then you probably know you havea structural issue, because
every house moves, because ifthe ground is wet it's going to
swell and your house is going tolift up, and if we're dry it's
going to contract, and that'snot a problem.
(07:17):
It's just that when your housemoves unevenly, that's when you
have structural issues.
And so we need to come and takea look at what's happening with
your gutters.
What's happening once the waterhits?
Is it running away from yourhouse or is it running towards
your house?
And then where's it going fromthere?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Well, you've got a great website.
It's very, very informative.
And one thing I read that Inever even tied the two together
is the air quality in your home, where you stated that 40 of
the air you breathe on yourfirst floor comes from the crawl
space.
That's.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I had no idea yeah, yeah, that that is as air.
There's something called thestacked effect and as air heats
up, it travels through yourhouse and winds up in your attic
the hottest air does.
So a lot of people have ventedcrawl spaces, and that was for
100 years.
(08:13):
That was the building sciencethat you could open the crawl
space for air to flow through,and the prevailing thought was
it's like opening windows inyour house.
You can get a cross ventilation.
The problem is that doesn'thappen.
Air comes into your crawl spaceand as it heats up, it goes
through the floor insulation andcomes inside the house through
(08:37):
tiny cracks in your floor orpipe penetrations and that's how
you're breathing the air fromthe crawl space.
So out of every 10 breathsyou're taking four of those is
like you're in the crawl spaceand so whatever condition that
is down there from the mold toanimals to the water that's
(08:59):
under there and the oldinsulation, the dankness that's
why it can smell inside yourhouse when you come back from
vacation.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
So walk us through the process.
Someone calls you and says Idon't know, tell us how it works
.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Yeah, that's right.
We would encourage them to goto our website and there's a
form you can fill out.
It's pretty simple, and then wehave someone that will follow
back up with you through email,get your information, see where
you are in charlotte, assign youto myself or some another
technician or salesperson on thenorth side, and then we'll come
(09:36):
out.
After we make that.
We want you to be there so thatwe can ask you some more
interview questions about thehouse and your experience with
what the perceived problem is.
And then we go and take aboutan hour around the house and and
check it, go through checklistand and taking pictures, taking
(09:58):
readings of the wood, moisturelevel, the relative humidity,
whatever it may be, or if it'syard drainage.
We also take gps of your yard sowe can see the, the topography
of your yard, the flow of youryard, see what your neighbors
are doing all those are factorsthat are affecting.
(10:18):
And then we put put together aquote, usually a multi-page
quote, with pictures, adescription and prices that and
try to give you an option.
We don't just say hey, we don'tshow up and say here's what you
need Now, what's your problem.
We try to find out what yourtrue problems are not just the
manifesto problems, and thengive you a good, better, best
(10:40):
approach so that you can enterin.
If you're trying to sell thehouse or if you want to be there
forever, then you can enter inat whatever price point or
whatever scope that's best foryou.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
What are some of the biggest misconceptions that
homeowners have aboutwaterproofing?
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Yeah, I think they think a French drain encompasses
everything, and a French drainis typically it has a limited,
it can handle a few things.
It's meant.
The best way I can describe aFrench drain is just a sponge in
the ground.
So if you have some area that'swet, it's constantly drying
(11:19):
that area out for 24 hours a day.
But you may also have agradient issue.
You may also have a downspoutissue with your gutters.
You may have a landscape issuethat you have trees and plants
growing too close to the house.
You may have a humidity issuein your crawl space, and so a
lot of people say, hey, justcome over and put a French drain
(11:40):
in.
Maybe they've watched too muchHGTV, whatever it is, but you
know whenever I bring on a salesspecialist.
it takes them about 18 months oftraining, so it's not a quick.
I'm trying to teach them on.
They're going to becomecertified in mold remediation.
They're going to be certifiedwith a state on stormwater
(12:04):
movement.
There's other certificationswith pavers, retaining wall,
blocks, building science thatare bringing them on, and so let
us come out and just assesswhat the issues are and then
we'll build that.
Here's what ought to happen.
And you may say well, we have alot of customers say can I do
that this year and then dowhatever else you say next year?
(12:28):
So we try to give you a masterplan of having a dry, healthy
house.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Do you offer any kind of financing solutions?
Speaker 3 (12:36):
We do.
We offer our financing throughWiseTac, which is a pretty easy
procedure.
Whenever we send a quotethrough WiseTac, which is a
pretty easy procedure Wheneverwe send a quote, you can right
then apply for a loan amount andget approval within a minute.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Well, I love all of this.
I can tell you really know yourbusiness.
Well, what do you think setsyou apart from other
waterproofing companies inCharlotte?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Yeah, there's the expression if all you have is a
hammer, everything looks like anail, and most companies pare
down what they do so that theycan make it easy on their
salespeople and maximize theirprofit.
A classic example is mostcompanies in Charlotte will say,
oh, you need a sump in thecrawl space, a sump and a pump.
Well, that's somethingelectrical that that can go out,
(13:23):
that's something mechanicalthat needs to be replaced.
But it's really good for thecompany because they they now
have a revenue stream thatthey've got to replace that sump
pump.
But if we, if you live in a lotthat we can gravitationally
drain that water out of yourcrawl space and trench a pipe
going out so that it'sconstantly draining out of your
(13:43):
crawl space or around your house, then we will do that.
And because we keep machinerythat we can do outside work and
so we have a bigger toolbox thaneverybody else.
We don't just have a hammer, wehave screwdrivers, we have
other things that we can canmultiple tools.
That is best for the customerand it's good for our company.
(14:06):
But we try to give you a lot ofdifferent options without
overwhelming you, but also justgives you a choice yeah, I'm
sure, and do you offer any kindof warranty?
we do.
We offer warranties from oneyear workmanship all the way to
25 year performance warrantiesthat are renewed every year.
Yeah, so we come back once ayear and inspect the our work
(14:32):
and whether it's outside orinside that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Well, you sound like a very busy man.
Do you ever have time off andif so, what do you like to do?
Speaker 3 (14:42):
yeah, yeah.
So I've got three kids.
One of the things I do for funis I stay.
I like to play in the mud withmy job, but we also we do a lot
of Spartan races, and so that'sa.
That's a pretty dirty racewhere you're, you've got all
these obstacles in the mud, andbut it's fun, it's.
I can do that with my kids, andthen I live on about 10 acres
(15:05):
and so I literally on SaturdaysI love Saturdays they're they're
kind of my rejuvenation daywhere I can experiment with
things here at my house and myland that I will actually then
roll out to customers.
So if you come to my house,it's like a giant showroom.
I have retaining walls, I haveriverbeds, I'm actually
(15:27):
experimenting with arecirculating creek and pond
that I'm working on.
So there's lots of things goingon here that are in process
from A to Z.
So some things are unfinished,but I'm trying to do some work.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I love what you're exposing your children to.
That's a game changer when theyget to see all of that
firsthand.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Yeah, yeah, well, they actually all of my kids
have worked for me.
My daughter's done some socialmedia and then both my sons have
been, have worked for mecurrently and ongoing.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Wow, I love it.
It has been a pleasure gettingto know you, blair, so tell our
listeners how they can findGreen Frog Waterproofing.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Yeah, thank you, greenfrogwaterproofing.
com.
You can go to our website.
You can find us pretty easy.
You can Google GreenFrogaterproofing.
com.
You can go to our website, youalso.
You can find us pretty easy inGoogle Green Frog Waterproofing.
And so sorry, I've got it.
Not only do I have three kids,I've got three dogs.
Oh, wow and so.
But that's the best way toreach us and then from there
(16:38):
we'll follow up with you.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
How far out fromlotte do you guys cover?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
well, as charlotte's gotten bigger.
We brought our territory in,but I've just brought on another
sales guy so that we will, wewill go up to the peninsula, up
in davidson, mooresville, andthen we go out to belmont, we
also, we all of south char, andthen going to Alba Mar tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
So how about South Carolina Indian land, fort Mill
yeah?
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Indian land, rock Hill, where I consider that
Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
I know, I know.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, well, it's been such a pleasure getting to know
you and congratulations on your.
You're going on 15 years as abusiness center, yeah.
That's amazing, so thank you somuch for joining us.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Thank you, Regina.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go toGNPSouthCharlotte.
com.
That's GNPSouthCharlotte.
com, or call 980-351-5719.
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