When he took the helm at All Seasons Construction, Mark Corrallo, a former attorney and East Bay businessman with extensive experience working with construction contractors, introduced a new company objective: to provide high-quality workmanship while striving for professionalism throughout the process–from beginning jobs on schedule to working every day until they’re complete.

All Season Construction’s professionalism starts with a concentration on foundation work, says Mr. Corrallo. It specializes in foundation replacement and perimeter drainage/waterproofing, but also provides retaining walls, earthquake retrofitting and decks.

The company’s responsibility for customer service begins with its vice president of operations, who visits each site at least once a day and whose sole task is to serve as a liaison and executive-level contact if customers have any questions or issues that the foreman and crew can’t resolve. The responsibility continues with the foreman, who supervises day-to-day activities at the work site, and flows down to the individual members of the work crews.

All Seasons Construction’s workers are insured employees of the company–day laborers are never used. Even the most junior laborer has been on the company payroll for at least two years. This experience not only maintains the company’s focus on the customer, says Mr. Corrallo, but it also ensures the individual workers have necessary skills and know what they’re doing. “It’s very risky to hire a non-foundation replacement expert to do foundation work,” he says. “You could end up with a substandard foundation, so it’s important to deal with somebody who knows how to correctly shore up a home. The ramifications of improper shoring can be dramatic.”

All Seasons Construction’s demand for expertise goes beyond its work crews. When faced with a complex job, the company works with third-party engineers, who work for the client and not the contractor, to assess the scope and requirements of the job. “The engineer has no financial stake in the outcome or conflict of interest,” says Mr. Corrallo. “He doesn’t gain anything by recommending a bigger or smaller job. He’s going to charge a flat fee to come out, take a look and give an opinion. Ultimately, the customer is better served by that kind of relationship.”

All Seasons Construction prides itself on professionalism, customer service and expertise. A family home is most often the biggest investment a person will make, says Mr. Corrallo, and his company is dedicated to ensuring that home rests on a solid foundation.

Few repairs can have as big an impact on the value of a home as foundation or drainage work, so it’s important to choose a specialist. “The integrity of your foundation is probably the most important aspect of the construction of your home,” says Mark Corrallo, president of All Seasons Construction. “You need to trust foundation removal and replacement to a firm that will do the job correctly, without any shortcuts.”

In this economy, says Mr. Corrallo, there are a lot of contractors that will take any work that’s offered to them, even when they have no particular expertise in that area. It’s very risky to hire a non-foundation replacement expert to do foundation work. A home is the biggest investment most people will make, and a substandard foundation can severely damage the value of that investment. Not knowing whether the job was done right can undermine the peace of mind people have in their home.

Because much of the work involved in foundation replacement and repair is manual labor, some contractors might be tempted to use unskilled day laborers for this work. It may save some money, but day laborers are unknown commodities. While the permanent foundation is being replaced, a temporary one has to be established to hold up the house. It’s important that the work crew knows how to correctly shore up a home, because improper shoring can result in severe structural damage, and even catastrophic failure. “A company should be able to vouch for every one of the workers that’s digging under your house,” says Mr. Corrallo.

Drainage work is similar in this regard. Improperly installed drainage systems can exacerbate a water problem, requiring the removal or replacement of the system and repairs to the foundation. Hiring a contractor who knows and understands all the components of perimeter drainage and waterproofing can save you money in the long run.

Q: How do I know my foundation needs repair?

A: The three most obvious signs are: cracking and crumbling of the foundation; exterior bulging or rotation of the foundation due to weakening of the underlying soil, usually from water intrusion or an improper fill; and floors deflecting three to six inches due to sinking. Other signs include: • Doors or windows that stick or squeak • Separation of door sills from frames • Cracks in interior walls near the corners of windows, doors and fireplaces • Nails popping out of sheetrock or corner frames • Curling or tearing of sheetrock or wallpaper • Caulking that pulls away from exterior surfaces

Q: How do I stop water from getting into a lower living space or a crawl space?

A: In the Oakland and Berkeley Hills areas—and even in the flatlands—there’s a lot of horizontal ground water. When most of the older homes were built, there weren’t measures employed to intercept it. As a result, if allowed to flow unimpeded, the water will soak through a foundation, causing deterioration, undermining the soil underneath it, or even entering below-grade living spaces. Usually, the best way to address this is a ‘French drain,’ a vertical trench that extends at least 12 inches below what you’re trying to protect, with a perforated pipe on the bottom and gravel on the top. That will give you a channel of protection to intercept the water.

Q: Are plans and permits required for a job?

A: Foundation jobs always require plans and permits. Some jurisdictions require permits for drainage jobs, but others don’t. Even if they’re not required, we recommend you get them, because it shows our work has been reviewed by a city inspector and has been completed pursuant to the plans. It’s also helpful information to have if you ever want to sell the house. All plans and permits are included in any proposal we give you.

Q: What kind of supervision do your crews have?

A: You’ll be assigned a foreman who’ll meet you at the job site the afternoon before the job is expected to begin. Your liaison throughout the course of the project will be our vice president of operations, who’ll visit the job site daily and be available to answer any questions or concerns you have, either in person or by cell phone.

Q: Why don’t you have an engineer on staff?

A: It serves everyone’s interest that we don’t. If an engineer was on our payroll, you wouldn’t know whether or not the assessment was motivated by professional judgment or financial gain. We prefer to work with independent, third-party engineers who have no financial stake in the work they’re recommending.

Q: How long do foundation jobs typically take?

A: That really depends on the scope of the particular job. But we’re committed to moving through a job as quickly as possible, and we don’t pull resources off your job to finish someone else’s. From the day we start to the day we’re finished, we have a full crew on site, working toward completion.

Q: What exactly does earthquake retrofitting entail?

A: Proper earthquake retrofitting usually involves two types of work, plus a third that’s sometimes required. The first is making sure the foundation is bolted to the framing of the house. This is done by bolting the mudsill that runs around the perimeter to the foundation, so when the earth and foundation move, the mudsill moves with it.The second is to install sheer paneling—structural plywood that’s nailed on four sides to the mudsill. When the mudsill moves, the house will move vertically with it instead of being jerked in a parallelogram or whipping motion. The third comes into play when you have a ‘soft story,’ where the supporting walls aren’t up to the task of supporting the living space above. This is often the case with living spaces above garages, where the garage door has replaced the studs that would normally support the upper story. There are various ways to address a soft story, such as additional sheer paneling or supporting columns, but each situation is different and requires an engineer’s assessment.

Q: Do I need a concrete retaining wall?

A: It depends on how high the wall is and how much weight it will have to withstand. If the wall is less than three feet high, you have a number of options, some of which are quite decorative. For example, you can use stacked decorative blocks or a wooden wall. But concrete is the longest lasting, and we recommend a reinforced concrete wall for any load in excess of three feet high. A large retaining wall isn’t simply a wall; it’s actually an L-shaped structure with the base extending downhill about half the length as the wall is high. A four-foot vertical wall has a two-foot horizontal counter footing. When planning for such a wall, you have to be sure the property line, trees, sidewalks, and other factors leave enough room for this counter footing.