Franklin is about 15 minutes south of my shop in Hill, and it's on most of my routes already. Between the homes on Webster Lake, the older neighborhoods off Central Street, and the commercial stretch along Route 3 and Route 11, there's always a Franklin job or two running in a given month. The town's got a specific character — older housing stock, a lot of mature trees, and soil and drainage that reflects being right where three rivers converge.
What I do most often in Franklin
Franklin has the highest concentration of older homes in my service area. Homes built when foundation drainage wasn't a standard spec. Homes with mature hardwoods right up against the house. Camps on Webster Lake that need seasonal access maintained through mud season. Each one gets a different version of the same work.
- Older-home drainage and foundation work. A lot of Franklin homes date to when basements were simply stone-walled holes in the ground. A proper curtain drain, regrading the lot, or installing a new perimeter drain usually costs less than people expect — and it's the difference between a dry basement and a spring flood every year.
- Webster Lake camp access and plowing. Seasonal driveways that need regrading, year-round camps that need a reliable winter plow, and the occasional tree down across the drive after a storm.
- Tree removal in the mature neighborhoods off Central Street. The streets near Odell Park, Mill City Park, and the residential blocks off Central have some of the oldest trees in town. Emerald ash borer is already working through the ash population here. Big hardwoods near the house need to come down carefully.
- Driveway rebuilds and grading. Franklin's terrain isn't flat. A lot of drives were cut decades ago and the pitch has gone wrong — water runs toward the garage instead of away. That's a grading fix, not a bigger project.
- Firewood delivery year-round. Franklin's on my base delivery route. Seasoned hardwood, cut and split, dumped clean on the drive.
Where in Franklin I work
Downtown around Central Street and the Mill City Park area, the neighborhoods near Odell Park, out to Webster Lake on both the north and south sides, along Route 3 toward Tilton, up Route 127 into the hills, and of course the stretch of Route 11 and Route 3 coming up from Franklin toward Hill. Franklin Falls Dam area and the Pemigewasset/Winnipesaukee confluence — all within my normal routes. ZIP 03235.
Common questions from Franklin
How long is the drive to Franklin from Hill? About 15 minutes. I'm on that route most weeks anyway — Franklin is rarely a detour.
Do you do work on Webster Lake? Yes. Shoreline excavation, seasonal drive clearing, tree work near camps and docks. Familiar with shoreland setback rules.
Can you handle older-home drainage problems? Yes — and I'd encourage you to get a site visit before assuming it's a huge project. Most Franklin wet-basement issues come down to pitch and a simple drain line. Fixing it is usually cheaper than people expect.