It’s only natural for a homeowner to try and fix problems with their house on their own before calling in a professional. The Crackman has seen some doozies in his 3+ decades as the Crackman. Listen in as he regales us with some of his favorite DIY disaster stories.
Narrator: The topic of today's podcast: Creative DIY remedies for foundation crack repair. So Rich, it's only natural for a homeowner to try and fix problems with their house on their own before calling a professional. I'll bet you've seen some doozies in your time as a Crackman, haven't you?
Rich: We sure have. And in fact, I got to say before I was in this business over 30 years ago, there was a foundation on the house that I had bought and I am guilty of it. I tried to fix it myself and this is one of the reasons why I got into this business. One thing that people try is hydraulic cement. You can pick that up at, you know, Home Depot or any store. And what hydraulic cement is, it's a fast drying mortar based material and it's supposed to stop water. If you think about it, how are you going to get the material into the crack? Well, they say you’ve got to drill at a V and then a V going the other way in the crack and try to get it in. And hydraulic cement, it dries really quick, and concrete expands and contracts and the hydraulic cement doesn't, so you get a leak again. I get calls all the time from contractors and homeowners that have tried that. We've seen everything from, this is a good one, where they'll put clocking into the crack and then they put one of my favorites, Flex Seal. We've seen it advertised on TV. It may work great on gutters or bird baths, but I'm seeing it failing all the time in basements, on cracks. So they try that and that doesn't work, the Flex Seal. Then what they'll do, they'll see this magic paint that they have at the home centers too, that's supposed to stop water and they'll put that on too, and then they'll get a good rain and it will come through, and then they call us. One of the most creative ones I've seen is somebody taking a piece of a very absorbent towel and sticking it in the crack from the top, towards the bottom and then letting it go into a basin. And what they're trying to do is use that towel as a wick, so it wicks the water into the basin. Now that does work, but then the basin fills up and it's not a solution to the issue, and if you’re going on vacation or whatever, you could have a problem. So we've discovered ways by talking to engineers and chemists and playing with techniques to repair this using electric pumps or carbon fiber blankets, and we've been doing this for 30 years. So if you want a foundation crack repair with a warranty, I don't care if you're in Mass., Rhode Island or Connecticut, we can take care of you at A1 Foundation Crack Repair. If you have any questions, give us a call.
Narrator: Well, thanks Rich for sharing some of your DIY disaster stories with us.
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.