Fast and Affordable Basement Repairs in Massachusetts

Almost every time I meet a Massachusetts homeowner, I seem to hear the same story… “we’re afraid to go away on vacation because we don’t know what we’ll come home to”… or… “we have to get up every few hours to suck up the water with the shop vacuum so all of our stuff doesn’t get wet.”

Really? Why put up with that? Most basement repairs can be done in a single day, and our repairs are very affordable.

Let’s talk about one recent foundation crack repair in central Massachusetts. This very nice couple had been dealing with a wet basement for over 10 years. The problem? A foundation crack right at the corner of one of the basement windows. After examining the crack, we determined it was only a common settlement crack and non structural. I gave the customers our quote to repair it and they said… “why so inexpensive?” I explained to them the three-step process to repair foundation cracks and then I showed them the price sheet of our services. We then talked about how long the foundation crack repair would take – approximately 4 hours – and the fact that we guarantee it not to leak for 10 years.

The next comment is always the same… “why did we wait so long to get our foundation fixed!” Don’t put up with a wet basement. Call New England Dry Basement today at 413-297-3080. We’re located in Massachusetts and we’ll  travel all over the State of Massachusetts to repair your wet basements.

Expert Basement Waterproofing Services in Bloomfield, CT

Do you know how many people tell me that they hate going down into their basements? At New England Dry Basements, we think that’s just crazy. Don’t let a leaking, damp, moldy or wet basement run your life. There’s no leak we can’t repair.

Last week, we received a call from a really great couple in Western MA who said that they’d just about had enough of the leak in their basement. The wife said – and I quote – “My husband has been up all night vacuuming up water and now, he has to go to work all day. Please help us. The other company we called told us we needed to spend thousands of dollars… dig up our leaking foundation… and redo our whole basement. The next company we called sent out some kid who just wouldn’t leave. He just kept trying to sell us all the stuff he had in his toolbox. Can you come out right away?”

I made an appointment to meet this couple the very next day. We only talked for just a few minutes and then I had a chance to check the area of the basement where the water seemed to be coming from. We found it! There was a small crack in the foundation wall behind the sheetrock. When we looked at the foundation from the outside, it was easy to see exactly where the water in this basement was coming from. I inquired about the response from my competitors. The couple told me that none of my competitors looked at their basement’s foundation from the outside. They just came in with a case full of things they wanted to sell to this couple.

Sometimes water in the basement does require a little more work, but many times it can be repaired quickly and easily and in just a few hours. To properly diagnose what’s causing your leaking basement, it takes years of experience… not some fancy sales pitch. We’ve been fixing leaks in basements in Massachusetts for over 35 years and we are hands-on when it comes to waterproofing your basement.

Here’s another story I seem to hear often from MA homeowners… they fear the summer and Massachusetts’ thunderstorms. If your basement leaks every time it rains, you don’t have to dread Massachusetts’ thunderstorms.

Why would you let your wet basement cause you to dread Massachusetts’ summer season… think baseball and cookouts… not thunderstorms and wet leaky basements. At New England Dry Basement, our leaky basement repairs are very affordable. And come summer, you’ll be thinking baseball and cookouts and dry basements. What a nice change that is. No more wet basements… and it’s as easy as calling 413-297-3080.

I’ve found over the years that there are basically three types of homeowners in Massachusetts. The first one has lived in his home for over 10 years and has never had water in his basement until now. The second ones have lived in his home for over 10 years and has had a wet basement since the day he moved in and he is just sick of dealing with that leaky basement by now. The third one – and the one I feel the most sorry for – is the one that just bought a new home and was told by the seller… “Oh no, Mr. There’s-A-Sucker-Born-Every-Minute, we’ve ever had water in our basement before.” Yeah, right! If you believe that one then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn – and it doesn’t come with a damp, smelly, musty basement. I promise!

Before you buy a new home – anywhere in Massachusetts – please call New England Dry Basements and ask for our free basement inspection!

We look for:

• Basement foundation cracks
• Basement hatchway leaks
• Sump pumps
• Leaks, mortar joints, tie rod leaks, etc. etc.
• Signs of water, (old and new)
• Damp musty air
• Mold
• And so much more

We’re licensed Massachusetts Contractors ready to turn your wet basement into a dry basement.

I know what you thinking… you’re thinking about that ugly, dirt hole in your basement floor, aren’t you? What? Oh. You’re really thinking about that last piece of chocolate cake sitting on your kitchen counter. Well, stop thinking about cake! You have an ugly, dirt hole in your basement floor that’s causing your basement to flood with water! Who can think about cake at a time like this?

Face it. It’s time to fix your leaking basement. But times have changed. That leaky basement can now be fixed with a sealed, hard-covered basin installed below the floor and an automated pump system that prevents water from flooding your basement. The proper sump pump system can prevent thousands of dollars in damages and hours and hours of clean up work. No more water in your basement… not to mention that you’ll get rid of the mold and the damp, musty basement smell that accompanies a wet basement, especially with Massachusetts’ humid climate.

At New England Dry Basements, we offer several types of sump pump systems because it’s not-one-size-fits-all. First we assess your individual needs… then, we offer you options for your basement repair that will work best in your home. Think about it…  you can go away again without worrying if you’ll come home to a wet basement. It’s debatable whether or not you’ll come home to find that last piece of chocolate cake!

Let’s just face it… basement hatchways leak. And when they leak, water settles in the door frame and eventually find its way into your basement. Many basements have precast steps that are bolted to the existing foundation. This creates what’s called a cold joint. What’s a cold joint? It’s when two pieces of concrete are poured at different times and then joined together. And ya know what? Cold joints leak, causing water in your basement. While most of the older homes in Massachusetts don’t have precast steps, they still have basement hatchways. After years of stress from the hatchway on the foundation, the hatchway seams tend to crack and pull apart, causing… you guessed it! A leaky basement in your beautiful Massachusetts home!

How do you find out if your hatchway is leaking water into your basement? Do a simple test. During daylight hours, take a walk down into your basement but DO NOT turn on the lights. Look at your hatchway doors. Do you see light coming in from outside even when the doors are closed? If so, then your doors are not 100% water-tight. Don’t worry. You’re not alone. Over the last 35 years, most of the doors I’ve seen in Massachusetts basements are not water-tight. It’s just the way things have always been with basement hatchways.

But not any more! The good news for you, dear Massachusetts homeowner, is that we can fix your leaky basement hatchway doors with something called a mason drain. A mason drain is essentially a long floor drain that’s installed at the base of the hatchway stairs. It prevents water from entering your basement.

But! If you don’t want a drain installed in the floor, that’s not a problem. We can inject the seams and the cracks with a special polyurethane resin to seal out any water. We can seal the base of the hatchway doors and we can install new basement hatchway doors if necessary.

And we’ve got even more good news for you… most basement leaks can be repaired in less than a day.

In spite of today’s improved materials and the way homes are built, it is still very common to have cracks in your foundation walls and floor. Foundation cracks can be caused by many things:

• Basement settling
• Soil expansion and contraction around your basement’s foundation
• Temperature changes
• Hydrostatic pressure
• and more

A common place for a foundation crack to appear is at the corners of your basement windows.

Many times these basement foundation cracks leak and – with Massachusetts’ rainy weather – we find ourselves trying to soak up all that water in the basement. Of course, we usually have to clean up our leaky basements in the middle of the night or when we come home from work or a vacation only to find a wet basement. And as inconvenient as the wet basement floor is, the possibility of mold is an additional, major concern.

Some Massachusetts homeowners try to fix their basement foundation cracks themselves only to find that the material that they used just cracks again. Do-it-yourself basement foundation crack repair just doesn’t cut it. At New England Dry Basements, we repair your basement foundation cracks correctly using special epoxies and polyurethane resins. We inject them deep into your basement wall or floor to seal the entire foundation crack… not just the surface. The good news?… most foundation cracks can be repaired in less than a day.

Homes – particularly homes built on Massachusetts’ rocky terrain – are almost never built on level ground… and it’s a requirement that the ground is excavated to allow for the cement foundation. This means that the excavators need to either remove or add a whole lotta dirt to make room for your home’s foundation.

How does one build a cement foundation? First, the footing is poured into a wooden form and then cement is poured into the wooden form. The cement is leveled off and – after just a few hours – the cement is dry and the wooden forms are removed. Then, the foundation is expected to carry the home’s weight once the construction of the house begins. An average home of 1,600 square feet weighs in at approximately 345,000 pounds. That’s over 172 tons!

What does that mean for your foundation? Cracks! Of course, there are going to be cracks in the foundation. When all that weight starts to settle in the ground and the foundation moves, weak points develop. These points are most often found around the basement windows or where the foundation wall might drop down to a lower level. These foundation cracks are actually called settlement cracks and they’re very common. But don’t be alarmed… they can be repaired.

But here’s where it gets interesting… did you know that concrete expands and contracts with the changes in temperature? That’s why a crack can’t be repaired by the average homeowner or the neighborhood handyman. When a New England Dry Basements technician is called out to repair a foundation crack, the first thing we see is layer after layer of hydraulic cement someone has put over the foundation crack in an attempt to stop the foundation leak. But hydraulic cement does not expand and contract! The concrete foundation expands and contracts but the hydraulic cement does not expand and contract along with it… causing another water leak in your basement

We repair foundation cracks professionally and guarantee our work with a full  10 – YEAR WARRANTY. Your repair will be made using our three step process. This process includes the use of a two-part thixotropic paste followed by a high pressure injection of hydrophobic polyurethane resin every 8” – 10” along the length of the crack. The system then utilizes a liquid rubber membrane as an additional water barrier. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again… most foundation cracks can be repaired in less than a day.

That was a trick question. The obvious answer is… any water in your basement is too much! But did you know that when it rains 1″ over an acre of land it produces approximately 27,150 gallons of water? And… although it varies based on whether it’s heavy snow or the light and fluffy stuff, a storm with as little as 3″ to 4″ of snow can produce 1″ of water. Where does all that water go? Unfortunately, here in Massachusetts, some of that water finds its way into our basements.

What do you when you find water in your basement? The same thing that you’d do if you had mold in your basement, or a damp musty smell in your basement, or foundation cracks in your basement for that matter.

October… the weather is warm one minute and cold the next. It’s the changing of the seasons, and — in Massachusetts — that change can be severe in just a matter of hours. So… how do the changing seasons affect your Massachusetts basement?

The change of seasons and the dropping temperatures can have an impact on your your entire home, but your basement is particularly impacted. Your foundation expands and contracts with fluctuations in temperature. Even in a relatively mild winter, the difference in temperature can cause the soil around your home to shift. This movement can be enough to generate cracks in the foundation. While the cracks may pose no immediate threat, they can, over time, grow larger and are an easy way for water to enter the basement. Wham, bam, one-two-three! No more dry basement!

But at New England Dry Basements, our three-step, pressure-injected foundation crack repair not only fixes the crack, but it remains flexible. This allows it to move with the foundation during temperature changes, keeping the bond from breaking and allowing water to leak in.

The injection process requires a certain level of experience and patience by the technician to do it right. What’s a homeowner to do? Call New England Dry Basements at 413-297-3080 in Massachusetts.

Winter is right around the corner in Massachusetts. Take a walk around your home’s perimeter now. If you notice any cracks in your foundation walls, give us a call for a free estimate now, before the winter winds howl… and before your expanding and contracting foundations crack!