$('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); We are smack dab in the middle of Fall and during this tumultuous time of year, every day can bring it's own exciting conditions from heavy rain, to freezing conditions, and even snow. We try to always help our customers and others out there who have basement water problems. We've had some really heavy rains recently. One call that comes to mind was at 9:30pm on a Friday night. We got a call from...

$('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); Winter is fast approaching and we are starting to get calls from homeowners with stone foundations about cold air and mice in the basement. The typical issue there is that these stone foundations are pretty old, usually 80 to 100 years old. Mortar, kind of like the glue, is what holds these stones together. Well, if we were that old, we'd get a little decrepit and so does the mortar in between the stones....

$('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); We take good care of concrete. Concrete can start to look rough and pitted, we see this in New England all the time. This happens because water penetrates the concrete because concrete is porous. When the water penetrates, and then the concrete freezes, it can pop some of the concrete a little bit. That's when you see that rough spalling going on. We also use salts or materials that melt the ice, and the...

$('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); Winter is right around the corner and that often means that your sump pumps will get a workout. We have a quick four step process that people can do at home to ensure their sump pump is ready for action. The first step is to make sure it is plugged in. Then, raise the float in the sump pump and make sure it turns on. The second step is to check and make sure...

$('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); We got a call because a customer was concerned about the exterior surface of their foundation wall, it showed signs of excessive pitting and spalling. Why does this happen anyway? Is it just poor concrete or is it something else? It could be poor concrete. It could be how it was mixed, when it was poured, or when they pulled the forms. Concrete is supposed to be vibrated to get the air out, and...

$('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); How do you know it is time to worry about replacing a lally column that shows signs of corrosion. These pictures are from a home in Lexington, MA. They came from a homeowner who had just bought the home and they had the home inspection. The home inspector said the lally columns need to be replaced because of all the rust. The facts are, according to structural engineers, if a lally column is rusted...

$('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); We got called to a home in Beverly, MA. A gentleman was considering buying a house and he wanted me to be there while the home inspection was going on because there were a lot of cracks in the foundation floor. It was a very large house. There were expansion joints in the floor, those are the lines you see in concrete so that it can expand and contract. Everything looked fine, I didn't...

$('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); Check out the video! These people had so much condensation on their basement wall they were using it to play Tic Tac Toe. That much water in the basement...is a bad thing. This can lead to mold, mold can lead to problems with your respiratory system, and it can get into your heating ducts. You want to stop condensation at all costs. We got a call from a customer whose home is about a...

$('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and concrete will eventually crack. If you discover a crack in your basement floor, wall, or foundation and it is not leaking, should you fix it? Well, you know the three certainties in life, but there is another: a foundation crack is going to leak sooner or later, you just don't know when. There is a reason people repair foundation cracks. One, because you get the...

$('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); Imagine the disdain of a homeowner who just had new sheet rock done, and suddenly saw wetness at the bottom of the wall. We got a call from a builder who had recently finished the basement walls; he had studded them, put in the insulation, and the walls had been plastered. Keep in mind that plaster starts as a powder; one part powder to two or three parts water. The homeowners went away for...