Q. I have some small cracks in my basement that have started to leak. Can I just use FlexSeal to keep the water out? A. I get calls from people all the time that say they have tried FlexSeal. That's the the product you see advertised on TV. But, I've repaired a ton of cracks in basements that have had FlexSeal. Maybe a crack in the wall, tie-rod, bulkhead, or where a floor and a...

We have had a ton of rain this winter; warm weather with heavy, heavy rain and snow melt. We got a call from a past customer. He had a leaking bulkhead problem. The bulkhead was leaking from the seam where the steps meet the house. This is a very common problem. He was keeping a wet vac there because the water was just flowing in. He called in a state of panic. We sent in...

Here's a photo from the Jordan-Gunter Basement. The photo shows lots of water coming from the tie rod. For wall cracks and tie rod leak repair. Contact A1 Foundation Crack Repair.

About a week ago we experienced a Nor'Easter here in Massachusetts. It really hit Boston hard on the waterfront and there are some really high end apartments in that area. I was watching the news and there was a dumpster floating down the street. A few hours later we got a call from a condo property manager on that street. There was water coming in. What we found out through pictures is that it was...

Q.I've got a leaking coal chute and everything I have tried has failed. Is there anything the crackman can do to fix it? A. Yes. First, I'd like to explain what a coal chute is. In the old days, people heated their homes with coal. And, rather than bring the coal to the basement where the furnace is in buckets, there was a little hole on the outside of the house. It's like a little...

I recently did a repointing job in Quincy. I was referred to them by a pest control company who will take care of the rats once they are inside. But, they do not stop the rats or mice from coming in through the foundation. Especially with stone foundations where there is mortar between the stones. Rats can gnaw on this and make larger holes. We went into Quincy, where they have such a problem, there...

Here is another flexseal failure from Arlington, MA. "The first picture which shows the side view you can see the gap where the precast stairs meet the foundation wall. The gap runs the whole width of the stairs. That's where the water is percolating up from due to our high water table. When they cut the door opening there is a 6 inch height of the foundation wall still there. The interior door (taken off...

There are actually quite a few differences between mortar and concrete. When you think of cement, you think of those big trucks that keep turning the body. Now if you think of cement as a binder, similar to a recipe with flour, the cement is the flour. The purpose of cement is to hold other materials together. But, you can't use cement alone, you have to use other materials mixed into the cement, such as...

Sometimes, when you have a home for 20 years and have never gotten a crack in the foundation you can get lulled into a false sense of security in thinking you will never have a problem. However, this is not always the case and it seems to happen to people as they are getting ready to sell their house. Some of the reasons why foundations crack after such a long period of time can be...

Most people don't really look at the details of the foundation. Why would the homeowners be concerned about how it looks? Oftentimes when homeowners are selling their house, which is the number one reason, we know a home inspector is going to check the foundation. If they see crumbling concrete or mortar in between the stones or powder on the floor, they know that the mortar needs to be repointed in the basement. The first...