Winter is fast approaching, believe it or not. In this episode, The Crackdaddy gives an important tip to keep your foundation in check during the freezing temperatures.
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 Daddy himself, Adam Tracy. Adam and The Crack Man Rich have over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry. Rich as over 25 years as the president and founder of A1 Foundation Crack Repair. This podcast 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: A key winter preparedness tip to keep your foundation in good shape.
Narrator: So Adam, winter is fast approaching, believe it or not. What’s an important tip to keep your foundation in check?
Adam: Yeah, absolutely. We get a lot of calls every year at this time because people start seeing water coming into their basements and into their foundations or around their foundations. And it has to do with a simple thing that most people forget about. There’s one in the back of a house that usually is under a porch somewhere, is making sure that the water lines to the outside have been shut down.
What happens is a lot of times we forget that we have a hose attached to the house somewhere in the sides, somewhere we’re not there everyday. As the temperature starts to drop, and drop, and drop, all that will begin to freeze. When it happens, obviously when a lot freezes it expands and tries to push on all the joints and knuckles of the pipework that might be there. So, at least a few times a year we’ll get a phone call from a homeowner, panicking that they're getting water in the basement. They’re not sure where it’s coming from. It’s maybe a dry day, if they’re not seeing where exactly it’s coming in, all they’re seeing is water on the floor. And after usually a few minutes of conversation, what we find out is that it might be coming up from up high, or in through the foundation, or could be a spigot outside that has been broken and now water is just pouring through the house down to the foundation and exposing flaws in the foundation. It just continuously flows water out there.
So, a simple tip for homeowners is to make sure that your foundations are protected by making sure all the water lines that go through the house to the outside, to your garden hoses have been bled down and shut off from the inside. If it does freeze and break, you’re not getting water flowing up to the ceiling into your basement, or not flooding the outside, causing issues with the concrete, stone, or block foundations. Simple tips but it’ll go a long way in keeping the basement dry.
Narrator: Great tip, Adam. And thanks for sharing this important winter preparation tip.
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.