In this episode, Richard Comeras (aks “The Crackman”) discusses how a Boston area home owner applied a creative do-it-yourself project to temporarily fix his water leak. Listen and enjoy!
Narrator: It’s time once again for the “Crack Man Podcast” hosted by A1 Foundation Crack Repair. We’re here with the Crackman himself, Rich Comeras. Rich has 30 years of experience in the construction industry and over 20 years experience as the President and founder of A1 Foundation and Crack Repair Inc. His podcasts provides expert basement water proofing, 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 within the basement, and protect your biggest investment….your home. The topic for today’s podcast: Creative DIY Project Temporarily Fixes Water Leak in Boston Mass.
Narrator: So Rich, you sent me a picture that we definitely need to talk about. It looks like someone is using a big rubber container to capture water and pipe it down to a drain. Am I right?
Crackman: Your right. It was a leak that was coming from a small crack in between the seal plate and the concrete. Water was dripping not only in that one particular area but also the whole back of that building. It was a commercial building. The gentleman called me from Boston. Part of his problem was that the wood was below grade that sits on the concrete. He has asphalt up against it. What we had to do was take a look outside and what we found were cracks in the asphalt, somewhere between a quarter-inch and half-inch gaps. Asphalt does shrink. This of course lets water in and caused this problem. What we have is a flexible sealant that we put into that area and then we build an “asphalt skirt” that the water hits and allows it to naturally disperse. We had to do the whole side of the building.
Narrator: That’s a very interesting case. I keyed-in on something you just said, that the asphalt drinks. I can see in the picture that there is a bottle of Jack Daniels directly above the container. Is that part of the creative DIY solution that we’re talking about?
Crackman: I think it was necessary while he was trying to come up with a solution. By the way, I said asphalt shrinks, not drinks.
Narrator: Shrinks, OK!
Crackman: That’s how we solve these problems that we see all the time in both commercial and residential applications. Narrator: All right. Thanks for sharing another great case study. If you have a basement water problem and think you need a professional, or, if you’d like more information on foundation repair and 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.