A1 Foundation Crack Repair is known for saving real estate deals that are on the brink of disaster due to unexpected basement water leaks. The Crackman recounts a recent event where he saved a deal for a grateful Homeowner and real estate agent.
Narrator: It’s time once again for the “Crack Man Podcast” hosted by A1 Foundation Crack Repair. I’m Darren Kincaid here with the Crack Man himself, Rich Comeras. Rich has 30 years’ experience in the construction industry and over 25 years as the president and founder of A1 Foundation Crack Repair. This podcasts provides expert basement waterproofing, concrete repair, and preventative maintenance tips for homeowners and businesses. A1 Foundation’s valuable insight will help avert a disastrous flood within the basement, health problems associated with water infiltration, and protect your biggest investment….your home. The topic of today’s podcast: A1 Foundation Crack Repair saves stone foundation repair job -- Worcester, Mass.
Narrator: So, Rich, in your 25 years as The Crackman, you’ve seen many DIY jobs gone bad. Butt you’ve also seen professional repair jobs gone bad as well. Am I right?
Rich: I certainly have. We had a good one that came in. A fellow called us up. He had one of the large “waterproofing companies” that can drain systems, French drains or perimeter drains, whatever you want to call it. He had a stone foundation and he actually had called me before. I went out, gave him a price on it. These people had sold them on what they wanted to do and they went with the other company. Which is fine. But he called me back.
And after that job was done these people continued having water come in. He was in the process of court case against this company because they put a perimeter drain in the foundation. They to put some paint, Magic Paint that reportedly will stop water. After he complained that the water’s coming in through the stone, his attorney hired me as an expert witness. So we had gone to court and he won his case. In fact, he had spent about fourteen thousand dollars to hire this company, and the long and the short of it is paint doesn’t stop water from coming in.
The water was coming in between the stones and putting a perimeter drain is when they break the floor, they put gravel in pipe in there and then they connect that to a sump pump. Well, that’s a great thing to do when the water is coming up from below, now water was coming through the wall, through the voids in damaged mortar in between the stones and it doesn’t stop the water. Now they put paint on there, painted it with this “waterproofing paint”, which I see peeling all the time, to think of it, how can paint stop water? And what needed to be done is to repoint properly in between the stones with the right type of mortar, and where it was leaking to use oakum, which is like rope, soak in a polymer resin, put it in between the stones, it will expand, and then especially, mortar over that.
So, this poor guy, the case has been going on for like a year and a half. He finally got restitution from that other company. We went and took care of it and long behold, he doesn’t have water coming in. So, you got to know where it’s coming in, ask the right questions, and do the right thing. Don’t spend 10, 12 thousand dollars for a perimeter drain when you need a repointing job done.
Narrator: So what I’m hearing is perimeter drain, Band-Aid; paint on a wall, Band-Aid. And all of that was $14,000, probably in excess of that, plus the court costs fees. When, if they had gone with you to begin with, it’d probably be a fraction of that, am I right?
Rich: Yeah. Perimeter drain is not really a Band-Aid, it’s just given the wrong medicine for what the situation was.
Narrator: Gotcha. Well, great story. A1 Foundation Crack Repair must feel like a life raft for desperate homeowners shipwrecked by a crippling basement water problem. I guess you guys are saving lives one day at a time. Am I right?
Rich: Well, working to have basements dry.
Narrator: All right, well, thanks Rich, great information.
Narrator: If you have a basement water problem and think you need a professional, or, if you’d like more information on foundation crack repair and basement waterproofing topics, please visit A1FoundationCrackRepair.com or call Rich at (866) 929-3171. Or you can email Rich at info@a1foundationcrackrepair.com. Thanks for listening and keep that basement dry.