Let’s say I have a crack leaking in my basement but a neighboring crack is not. If I only fix the leaking crack, would the other one start to leak? Kinda like the boy and the dike story...would I start to run out of fingers after a while?
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: Multiple basement cracks but only one is leaking -- should I fix them all?
Narrator: So Rich, let’s say I have a crack leaking in my basement but a neighboring crack is not, if I only fix the leaking crack will the other one start to leak? Kind of like The Boy and the Dike story, would I start to run out of fingers after a while? Rich: Well it’s funny, I got a call from a gentleman over at Shrewsbury, well, quite a while ago and he told me that there’s two cracks. I priced it out for him to repair them with a warranty to do both of them. You never can say a hundred percent what’s going to happen. But this was a poured concrete foundation crack, went from the top to the bottom, it was leaking, and I gave him a price to fix that. We fix that with a polymer resin and with an injection with the electric pump. We have other methods at our disposal too depending on what we see. So my technician went over and repaired that. He saw the other crack, and as we always say, especially if it’s on the same wall or near it, you got a better chance that the pressure is going to build up outside with the water because that one crack was repaired. The water is looking for a place to come in, another area.
So this client was settled in his house and we got that heavy rain around Christmas time, and he called me up in a panic. He said “I should’ve fixed the other crack like you guys said.” So we had to go back and fix the other crack for him as he wanted done. I know he’s wishing that he would’ve done it the first time because it would’ve saved him money, saved us another trip out there for him. But, human nature, what it is, and in you selling the house, you want to spend as little as you can. We told him there will be a good chance that it could leak, being so close to it. So to answer your question there, it’s smart while we’re there to repair that additional crack. If you don’t, keep an eye on it because there’s a good chance that it could leak sometime in the future. You can’t tell when.
Narrator: Well, thanks Rich for explaining why it’s a good idea to fix all those cracks even before they start leaking. 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.