This week we have four horror stories that have to do with basement waterproofing.
The first is misdiagnosing the problem. With years of experience we can usually diagnose what the problem is. I’ve gone into homes where owners have put in sump pumps near a finished basement wall because water is coming in under it. I go outside and there is a foundation wall crack. It’s not ground water which needs a sump pump, they need the foundation wall repaired. They spent a lot of time and money putting in a sump pump when they didn’t need one at all.
The second is putting things off. I recently went into a house where a wife was not too happy with her husband. He had put off opening up a finished wall in a basement to try to fix a crack. His wife took it into her hands to call me and asked me to fix it. I opened the wall up and it was full of mold because he procrastinated. Not only was there mold on that sheet rock, there was mold upstairs in the living area as well. So procrastination can cause more problems.
The third horror story is choosing the wrong material and/or the wrong technique. TV is great at marketing, but I see a lot of homeowners buying Flex Seal, spraying it on their foundation, and hoping that it will fix the crack. I have never seen it work yet. You have to have the right experience, the right materials, and do it correctly to fix the problem. Many of these materials and mixes at big box stores are really only temporary fixes.
The fourth is relying on waterproofing paint. It is pretty tough for paint to stop water from coming in because it is applied to the surface of the concrete. We see this paint peeling all the time. That’s the problem, people paint the whole basement and then it starts peeling and they have a really big mess on their hands. No matter what, don’t put paint on concrete.
For more information on basement waterproofing, contact A1 Foundation Crack Repair.