Masonry waterproofing questions, answered plainly
The questions we get on the phone from Scranton and valley homeowners, with the answer in the first sentence. Prices referenced here are on the cost guide.
- What is the difference between waterproofing and damp-proofing?
- Damp-proofing is a coating that slows vapor, and it is what most builders put on a block wall in the 1960s. Waterproofing stops liquid water under pressure. On a basement that gets wet, damp-proofing is not enough, and the interior packages on our cost page are waterproofing systems, not a coat of tar.
- How do I know if my foundation is stone, block or poured?
- Look at the inside wall. Irregular rocks with mortar between them is rubble stone, common on anything before 1940. Uniform gray rectangles about 8 by 16 inches is concrete block, 1950s through 1980s. A smooth continuous wall, sometimes with form lines, is poured concrete, mostly 1980s onward. Each gets a different repair.
- Can I just paint the wall with a waterproof paint?
- You can, and it will blister off within a couple of years anywhere water is actually coming through, because paint does not bond under pressure. The crystalline coatings we use grow into the pores of the masonry and are applied over repointed joints and a rebuilt cove, which is why they hold.
- What is a crystalline coating?
- A cementitious product with chemicals that react with moisture inside the masonry to grow crystals that block the pores. It becomes part of the wall rather than a layer on top of it, tolerates water pressure, and still lets vapor through.
- Why does my basement smell musty in spring but not in summer?
- Because the water table and the ground moisture peak in March through May in the valley, and stone joints that are dry all summer weep for two months. That seasonal pattern almost always means joint seepage, which is the $3,000 to $8,000 interior package.
- Will you match the color of my old brick and mortar?
- Yes. Mortar is tinted in sample batches against a cleaned joint and held against the wall before we commit. Replacement brick for coal-era walls comes from salvage or close-production runs. A repair that reads as a patch from the sidewalk is a failed repair.
- How long does the work take?
- Interior stone foundation packages take three to five working days. Drain tile adds two to three. Crack injection is a few hours. Sealing a house is one to two days after repointing has cured. Facade work downtown is scoped in weeks per elevation.
- Do you work in winter?
- Interior foundation work goes year round. Exterior sealing, crown pours and repointing need the wall above about forty degrees and dry, so they run roughly April through November in Scranton. Emergency visits are year round.
- What should I do before you arrive?
- Clear about three feet along the walls we will look at, and if you have photos of the water when it was coming in, have them ready. If you know which wall or corner gets wet first, that alone saves half an hour of hose test.
- Do you handle commercial buildings and landlords?
- Yes. Restaurant basements, storefronts, apartment buildings and downtown facades in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Carbondale and Pittston. Landlords get photos and the write-up the same day, and we coordinate access with tenants directly.
- Are you registered and insured?
- Pennsylvania HICPA registration and liability insurance, with the registration number printed on every estimate. You can verify any contractor on the state HIC search before letting them in your basement.
- What happens if the wall leaks again?
- Injected cracks and interior drain tile carry a written warranty against re-leaking through the repaired area. If a repaired wall leaks, we come back and find out why at no charge. If it is a new path, we say so and quote that separately.
Ask about your wall
Send the address and what you see, or call (570) 909-2820.