Dave Olson and Minnesota Basement Flood

Dave Olson started Minneapolis Basement Flood after years responding to spring thaw calls across the Twin Cities and surrounding counties. Watching how frozen ground, heavy clay soils, and sudden melt combined to push water into basements convinced him a local crew that knew every foundation type would serve homeowners better than national outfits that treat every state the same.

Block foundations built through the 1950s and 1970s suburbs typically weep along mortar joints once hydrostatic pressure rises, while poured walls in newer exurbs leak first at cold joints and tie-rod holes. When a sump discharge line freezes solid in 42- to 60-inch frost depth, the pump keeps running and simply forces water back under the slab, turning the very device meant to protect the basement into the source of the flood.

From the Minneapolis base the crew now travels statewide, handling ice-dam backups in Saint Paul neighborhoods, combined-sewer overflows in older city blocks, and rural properties on the outer edges of the metro. They stay reachable every hour of every day so a homeowner in any part of Minnesota can reach someone who understands how local conditions actually move water.